The concept of “being green” has evolved over the years. The Food Bank takes pride in our use of solar energy and the fact we recycle papers, glass and plastics, and have an organics bin. As you might imagine, we also have a special interest in preventing food waste. When we divert food from going into the landfill, our hungry neighbors and our environment all benefit.
Here are 10 easy, cost-saving tips to re-purpose food at home:
- Add drained juice from canned tomatoes to your water or broth when making flavored rice or quinoa.
- Plant discarded white bottom part of green onions in soil to regrow. This works for some other vegetables too.
- Save the juice from canned garbanzo beans to use as a substitution for egg whites. Do a search on “acquafaba recipes” to learn about all of its other uses!
- Chop surplus herbs at their peak and place into ice-cube trays. Add water and freeze. Defrost “cubes” as needed to flavor food.
- Make croutons out of stale bread.
- Freeze unneeded fruits and vegetables BEFORE they spoil (remove unedible parts beforehand).
- Use bruised/overripe fruits in blended smoothies.
- Add used coffee grounds and eggshells to amend soil in vegetable gardens.
- Use vegetable scraps to make broth (store scraps in freezer until you have enough).
- If you use vinegar/water as a cleaning agent, add fresh citrus peels (lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit) to the vinegar and marinate in fridge until strong vinegar smell disappears. Then add water to dilute.
We want to hear from you! What are your favorite food-saving tricks?
