11 easy ways to the get the most out of your groceries
As promised last week, today’s post will be a deep dive into many different ways to get the most out of your groceries. Did you know that about 30–40% of food in the US is wasted?(1) Food waste happens at every level of the supply chain, at farm in the production level, during transportation, at the grocery store, and finally at the consumer level. It is estimated that 31% of food in the US is wasted at the retail and consumer level.(1)
Food waste not only poses a threat to the climate (more on this in a future post), it is also a missed opportunity to help feed families in need, since wasted food goes to landfills instead of food banks. By using up as much of your groceries as you can, you will not only cut down on your food waste, you are also saving money because you’ll reduce the amount of food you’ll need to buy!
Here are some easy ways to get the most out of your groceries:
- Chicken or turkey broth from leftover bones.
Got a rotisserie chicken for the family, or cooked a whole chicken yourself? What about that Thanksgiving turkey? Don’t throw away the bones! Simmer them for a couple hours with some carrots, onions, celery, or any extra veggies you might have on hand to make your own chicken or turkey stock that you can freeze and use to make soups, casseroles, etc. This way, chicken (or turkey) stock is one less thing to buy at the store, saving you money (plus homemade always tastes better!).
2. Ditch your vegetable peeler.
I have so many memories of watching my mom and grandma cook and prepare meals that involve peeling- peeling carrots, potatoes, apples, etc. Most of the time, this peeling was completely unnecessary! Of course, everyone likes a smooth and creamy mashed potato dish. Call me a contrarian, but I happen to prefer a more rustic, chunkier mashed potato, that even includes peel! Peels on most fruits and vegetables are edible. In fact, fruit and vegetable peels are quite nutritious, containing valuable micronutrients and fiber. Plus, the added fiber you get from eating the peel can help increase feelings of fullness, always a helpful thing when trying to eat healthier. Some exceptions include fruit and veg with tougher, inedible or hard to digest peels, like avocado, honeydew melon, onion, pineapple.
Skipping the peeler saves time, since it’s one less step in the food prep process. Hopefully I’ve given you enough reasons to at least give eating a few peels a try. I won’t argue with you about certain peels that are not the most appetizing, like banana, pumpkin, kiwi, watermelon etc. (although these are all fine to eat and tasty if prepared properly!).
Peels that I regularly eat include:
Carrots: fresh carrots from a garden or farmers market at absolutely the best, with no need at all to peel! Carrots at the supermarket can be a little rougher, but as long as you give them a good scrub, you will get used to having them unpeeled.
Potatoes: see above for me living my truth about mashed potatoes.
Fresh ginger and turmeric: if grating them or blending them to form a paste or steeping for a tea, you won’t even notice the peel!)
Apples: This may be controversial for a few reasons:
1. Similar to my hot take on mashed potatoes, apple peels are super delicious and I suggest keeping at least some of the apples unpeeled when making applesauce/apple pie/apple crisp/apple crumble.
2. Apples, along with several other fruits and vegetables, are coated in waxy substance to help them last longer and make them look more appealing to the customer.(2) This waxy substance has been proven perfectly safe to eat, and just passes through our systems undigested. Tons of foods contain similar types of waxes, including fruit snacks, gummy bears, even M&M’s, and skittles. In fact, LOADS of candies do. Several vegetable washes are sold that tout that they can remove most waxes, but the FDA doesn’t recommend using them as their safety hasn’t been tested.(3) Instead, they suggest you rinse fruits and vegetables, including ones that you are planning on peeling (if you must!), and scrub vegetables with a produce brush. Some folks suggest scrubbing/rinsing with vinegar followed by a thorough water rinse may get rid of some of the wax. If you really want to avoid the wax altogether, buy from farmers market or directly from farmers.
3. Some may argue that the safest way to eat unpeeled apples is to buy organic, since organic apples are not exposed to the same harmful chemicals and pesticides as non-organic apples, though some pesticides are approved for use on organic foods.(4) The chemicals used in traditional farming have been shown to concentrate in the peel, however some do seep into the body of the fruit/veg. However, buying organic can be prohibitive for many people due to either a lack of availability or the increased cost. So, if you can’t buy organic, don’t let that stop you from enjoying apples with their peel. Pesticide use is tightly regulated by the EPA so that for the most part, the level of exposure is so low that it is not harmful to humans. If you are still concerned, rinsing and scrubbing have been shown to be effective in removing a significant amount of pesticide residue on the outside of a fruit or vegetable. All in all, the nutritional benefit of enjoying this nutritious fruit in its entirety outweighs the risk of trace toxin exposures from eating the peel.
Cucumber: Similar to carrots, fresh cucs from your garden or farmers market are absolutely delicious unpeeled. If buying from the supermarket, I suggest picking out the English cucumbers (the ones wrapped in plastic shrink wrap). The non-English supermarket cucumbers have the same wax coating that apples do.
Other veggies, including zucchini, eggplant, sweet potatoes: Are all absolutely delicious with their skins on, plus, as already laid out above, the skins contain valuable nutrients and fiber!
3. Save vegetable scraps for an easy homemade broth.
If you absolutely insist on peeling a vegetable (I won’t hold it against you), wash the fruit/veg first, and save the peels along with any other scraps, like the stems, onion nubs, etc. or any leftover veggies in an airtight container and put it in the fridge or freezer until you have enough accumulated to make a batch of broth (about a gallon bag full should do). All you have to do is put them in a pot and completely cover and submerge them with water, bring to a boil and simmer for a couple hours, or more if you’d like-the longer you simmer, the more concentrated the flavor will be. As discussed in tip 1, you can also feel free to add any leftover meat bones you may have on hand. When finished simmering, strain the broth, allow it to fully cool, and then save it in the fridge for use within the next few days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Tip for freezing- freeze the broth in individual one cup servings to reduce the need to measure it out for a future recipe.
4. Herb stem and leftover nut pesto.
Speaking of stems and scraps, homemade pesto is SUPER easy to make, and is a great way to use up veggie scraps. For example, parts of the veggie that are often discarded, like carrot tops, beet greens, or herb stems (like parsley, cilantro, and basil, but not stiffer, woodier stems like rosemary or thyme) all make delicious additions to pesto. Any leafy greens that may be on their way out also make a fine addition to the pesto. You can think outside the box too and add other green vegetables, like broccoli (include those stems!), cucumbers, brussel sprouts, any green veggie really!
Pesto is also a great way to use up any extra nuts you may have on hand. Don’t feel the need to limit your pesto to pine nuts- walnuts, pistachios, almonds, any nut will work when added to the pesto mix.
You can play with your flavors too, and do a roasted red pepper pesto, or a sundried tomato pesto, etc.
5. Revive wilted veggies in an ice bath
CRUNCH. That satisfying crunch is what you’re looking for from certain veggies, but when they’re limp, that’s the worst! If you want to revive that crunch, fill a large bowl with ice water and submerge your limp veggies in for a least an hour, or better yet, leave them overnight in the ice bath in the fridge. This works great for veggies like lettuce, carrots, or celery.
6. Wilted fruit/veggie smoothie, soup, or sauce.
If you can’t (or don’t want to) bring a wilted veggie back to life, another easy way to use it would be to add it to a smoothie or soup. As long as the fruit or veg doesn’t have an off smell and you don’t see active mold growing, it should be safe to still use. You won’t notice the less than desirable texture of a given fruit or veggie if it’s blended into a fruit smoothie or blended soup or sauce! I often use up leafy greens, carrots, herbs, peppers, and tomatoes this way.
7. Stale bread breadcrumbs or croutons.
Did that fresh loaf of sourdough or Italian bread harden after a few days? Tear it up into pieces, if it’s too hard, use a serrated knife to cut it into smaller chunks. Next, throw it in a food processor, and let it breakdown further into crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a baking sheet. Feel free to add any seasons you like at this point. Then bake at around 300 degrees F for 5 minutes or so, until they just start to brown. And there you have it, super quick breadcrumbs that you can use in any recipe just like store-bought!
To make croutons, again tear or chop the stale bread into smaller pieces, toss in melted butter or olive oil, enough to coat each piece, add some salt and pepper, along with any seasonings you might like (rosemary is a delicious addition!). Then transfer them to a baking sheet and bake in a 375-degree F oven, stirring occasionally until they turn a nice golden brown. Depending on how tough your bread is to start with, you may need more or less time in the oven to crisp up nicely.
8. Proper storage of fruits, veggies, and nuts.
This is an important part of making sure that your precious produce doesn’t go to waste. There are so many different tips and tricks for this one, that I’m going to dedicate an entire post to it. For now, here are a couple of examples: Nuts can go bad pretty quickly because of their high fat content, so if you aren’t going to use them up fairly quickly, it’s better to store them in the freezer, for months at a time. A tip for making your leafy greens last longer is to add a paper towel to the bag or container. This can help catch any moisture build-up that will occur and help slow-down the inevitable slime that will form when leafy greens release their water, wilt, then inevitably go bad. This works great for lettuce (whole or chopped), spinach, kale, arugula, etc.
9. Regrowing veggies.
There are more veggies than you’d realize that can be regrown in a little cup or bowl of water. Bought some green onions for taco night? Trim them about an inch or so above the roots and submerge them halfway in a little cup or bowl of water using toothpicks to hold them upright-I often use shot glasses as the bowl. Place it in a sunny spot, like a windowsill, and in a few days you’ll see it starting to grow a green stalk right before your eyes! Change the water every couple days or so. Other veggies that this will work for are romaine lettuce, celery, and leeks.
10. Got half a can of something leftover: freeze it.
Only used half that can of tomato paste for a recipe? Transfer the rest to a freezer-safe container to freeze and save for the next time you’ll need tomato paste. Only used half a can of coconut milk? Freeze it and save it for the next time you’re making a smoothie or, better yet, a pina colada ;) I like to have plenty of small reusable containers that would fit about a ¼ cup to a ½ cup so for exactly these purposes.
11. Repurpose your leftovers.
As mentioned in my 11 ways make healthier choices at the supermarket while staying on a budget, using up leftovers is much more fun if you get creative. Say you have left over tomato sauce from pasta night-mix in some ground meat, tofu, black or beans, etc. along with some chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and you have a delicious filling for tacos or burritos. Leftover roasted veggies? Sauté them with some soy sauce and rice or noodles for a veggie-packed fried rice or stir fry. Switching up the cuisine every few days helps keep us interested in our home cooking, and is a great way to use up leftovers so they don’t go to waste.
Thanks for reading! Hope you learned a thing or two about how to get the most out of your groceries. If you have any questions, comments, or requests for future posts, don’t hesitate to DM me on Twitter @nutritionalrose or email me at nutritionalrose@gmail.com.
Look out for future posts on 1) How to store your food properly 2) Plant based diets and tips for how to reduce the meat in your diet and 3) Post 1 of my Recipe Series: Veggie lasagna
Thanks again for reading!
References:
3) FDA “Selecting and Serving Produce Safely.” (2022).
4) USDA. “Organic 101: Allowed and Prohibited Substances.” (2021)
