Pimp up your meals – Creative ways to use left-overs

This week is Food Waste Action Week, where I want to give you some useful, easy tips how to turn left-overs into delicious wee meals. In my book, I have a separate section for this featuring a variety of creative, unusual ways of plant parts that can actually be eaten!

Today, I put together five ways to limit your food waste:

USE THE PEEL

Many of you know or do this already – use the peel of lemon or lime ground up in cakes.

Use the peel of your vegetables, and if you did not know it yet, the skin contains the most nutrients. So, wash your vegetables neatly rather than peel them. A tip: A little grated orange or lemon peel gives your food a fruity-bitter taste and, also, Vitamin C. Did you know you can even eat kiwi fruit with skin and try to put a bit of the banana peel in a smoothie.

USE THE KERNELS

Avocado kernels you can use for a homemade hair conditioner: Peel, let them dry and then grate and soak in water overnight.

Pumpkin kernels are just like the pumpkin seeds you buy in the supermarket: Wash neatly, season with oil and roast in the oven (Attention they might burn fast).

USE THE LEAVES & STRAW

USE THE LEAVES & STRAW

Broccoli straw, cauliflower leaves, carrot and radish greens all add incredible nutritional value to your dishes. Use the cauliflower leaves as a basis for your soup, the carrot or radish greens can be neatly washed, chopped and blended with oil, nuts and spices used as a pesto. It almost tastes like Basil Pesto.

MORE ap- PEEL-ing WAYS

Orange peel: On your food, as a tea, as an all-purpose cleaner (leave the peel overcast with vinegar in a covered jar, shake once a day, use two weeks later as a cleaner).

Banana peel: Cut in small pieces in your food, use as a mulch for your plants or make some yummy jerk baco n.

BREAD CRUMBS

The classic bread crumbs are easily made yourself and do not need to be store-bought. Any old, dry bread? No problem, chop them up in smaller pieces, turn in oil and fry for immediate bread crumbs or grind up and store for crumbs to be used later. Just make sure the bread is fully dry before storing.