With sky-high prices and inflation around every corner, we are all trying to find ways to tighten our budgets.
Luckily, there are lots of ways we, as consumers, can help reduce food waste in the kitchen which ultimately helps our budgets and the environment too.
Here are a few ideas to reduce food waste in your home.
Create stock
Instead of tossing chicken body and veggie scraps like carrot and onion peelings and celery ends, add them to water to create stock. Keep a bag or container in your freezer and add scraps to it as you go.
Pickle leftover vegetables
Pickling your vegetables is an easy and brilliant way to use any leftover odds and ends. Chop any vegetables like onions, cucumbers, cabbages, carrots, or zucchinis and submerge them back into leftover pickle juice or apple cider vinegar.
Let them marinate for a day or two, and they will be ready to be served as a side or a delicious salad topper.
Get baking
Throw leftover cake, dessert squares, cookies, and even pecan pie into a blender, add a spoonful of cream cheese, peanut butter, or Nutella, and make rum balls (liquor is optional).
Form into round balls and roll them in cookie crumbs, chopped nuts, or sprinkles. Package them up between layers of waxed paper in a plastic container and freeze. There you go. You have just taken care of some of your weekend baking.
Add your herbs to ice cubes to make them last longer
Did you know that you can make fresh herbs last longer by chopping them up and portioning them into an ice cube tray?
Simply top them up with enough water that they are completely submerged, and place them in the freezer.
Once frozen, you can transfer it to a sandwich bag so that you can get your ice tray back. The next time you need to use herbs in your cooking (or even your gin), you will have a convenient portion to hand.
Give your booze an upgrade
Who knew that saving food could also make your home bar a little more interesting? You can use produce and herb scraps to infuse spirits.
Save extra mint leaves, stems, and leftover citrus pieces, and use them to infuse a bottle of gin or tequila with new flavours. Just leave those repurposed food pieces in the bottles for about two days.