No one likes to throw away money, right?! Unfortunately, almost all of us are guilty of doing so in the form of food waste. Whether you bought more veggies than you needed or you can’t bear to see a loaf of stale bread go to waste, we have some tips and tricks to help you reduce your food waste while giving these products a second life!
Use brown bananas for banana bread
When it comes to making banana bread, the darker the banana the better! The darker the color, the sweeter the flavor, making it perfect for this food waste hack.
Freeze fruit for smoothies
Fruit can be pricey, and it’s a shame to throw it away when you’ve spent good money on it. Instead, cut up your products into bite-sized pieces, and place them in a freezer-safe plastic bag. When you’re ready for a refreshing smoothie, take the fruit out of the freezer and put it right into your blender! Pro tip: Make your morning smoothie even easier by pre-packaging all the ingredients for one smoothie into one bag!
Dry out apples for healthy “chips”
Did you know that dried apples can make for a healthy and delicious snack? Peel, core and slice your apples. Arrange them on a drying rack inside your oven and bake them at your oven’s lowest setting until they are leathery on the inside and crisp on the outside.
Make bread into breadcrumbs or croutons
For your bread that is starting to dry out and become hard, re-imagine it as breadcrumbs or croutons! For croutons, dice up the bread into small squares, toss with olive oil and your desired seasonings and bake for about 15 minutes at 375°F. For breadcrumbs, tear your bread into manageable pieces and toss them into your food processor or blender. Then, spread the crumbs on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 300°F until they are lightly toasted.
Use a banana peel to shine your shoes
If your shoes need a shine but you don’t have any polish, reach for a banana peel! Rub the skin side of the peel all over your shoe and then buff with a soft, clean cloth. The potassium in the peel, a key ingredient in commercial shoe polish, will help bring your shoes back to their almost-new shine!
Put citrus into your garbage disposal for cleaning
Before you throw away your citrus peels, place one or two pieces down your garbage disposal. Run your disposal with a steady stream of warm water. The rough texture of the peels helps to clean the blades and the natural citrus oils leave a wonderfully pleasant scent!
Freeze yogurt into drops
If you’re nervous about yogurt going bad (or even if you’re not!) give it a second life as delicious snack drops. Spoon your yogurt into a plastic bag, and then cut off one corner of the bag to use as a DIY piping bag. On a piece of parchment paper, squeeze a small amount of yogurt into a bite-sized drop. Continue until you’ve used up all your yogurt. Freeze for an hour, peel them all off and you’ll have a healthy snack that’s easy to take on the go!
Use vegetables for broth
It’s easy to pick up a can of vegetable broth at the store but with some prep, it’s almost as easy to make it at home! Keep vegetable peels, tops and ends that you would otherwise throw away in your freezer until you have a good amount saved up. Saute the vegetables down until they are soft and tender, then add water, salt, pepper and any other desired herbs. Simmer on low for an hour (simmering longer will create a better, stronger flavor), strain and put into storage jars for your next recipe.
Turn tomatoes into sun-dried tomatoes
When tomatoes start to look a little wrinkly, it’s time to give them a second life. You may not have a sunny Italian rooftop at your disposal, but your oven can easily be used to make sun-dried tomatoes at home! Cut your tomatoes in half, scrape out the insides and place them cut side up on a sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt and bake them at a low heat like 250°F for about 3 hours. When they have reached the desired level of dryness, serve right away or store them in a jar with olive oil to keep them fresh.
Use wilting greens for a sauce
Whether you have arugula, spinach, kale or basil lying around, they can all be used to make a delicious sauce. Combine with olive oil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese in a food processor for the perfect pairing with your pasta of choice.
Make a roasted garlic appetizer
Garlic lasts forever, but after a while, you might notice it starting to develop a green sprout inside the clove. There is nothing wrong with it, although you might notice a slightly bitter taste. Combat that aging process by making a delicious roasted garlic appetizer that you can spoon onto bread or a cracker. Roasting the garlic will make the cloves aromatic, soft and oh-so caramelized.
It is shocking to hear, but up to 40% of food in the United States is never eaten, with about 94% of the food we throw away ending up in a landfill. Whether you want to do your part to reduce those drastic numbers or you simply want to stretch your grocery budget a little further, you can easily find ways to give your old, mushy or bruised food a second life, sometimes one that is even more delicious than it’s intended purpose!
Erika focuses on email marketing, copywriting and merchandising at Zazzle, but she has a secret obsession with all things wedding! During the week you can find her writing punny subject lines while also pinning the latest wedding trends, and outside of the 9-5, she is usually cheering on the San Jose Sharks, reading a good murder mystery, or hunting for the best Philly Cheesesteak in the Bay Area.
The number one way to reduce food waste is better meal planning! Everything else is secondary advice.
Another great suggestion, thanks for sharing!