Reading Time: 4 minutes 12 Kitchen Hacks that Reduce Food And Financial Waste
Life is already stressful. Eating is essential—no reason to feel stressed out about it. When the budget is tight, and you have to throw food away because it’s spoiled, it is like throwing money away. Don’t fret.
There are many ways to repurpose food waste to save money. Here are some great kitchen hacks to up-cycle your food waste.
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Banana peels as Fertilizer
Most of us know by now you can use overripe bananas to make banana bread. There are a ton of recipes you can do with overripe bananas. However, there’s another banana hack you may not know, and you can use every last piece of it. Save the banana peels and add to water for excellent Fertilizer. Your house plants will thank you.
Veggie or Meat Stock From Scraps
Next time you cut veggies, keep all the scraps you usually toss in the trash. Put those scraps in a bag and keep them in the freezer. When the bag gets full, drop all the leftovers in a pot with water. Then season the stock to your liking, and simmer on the stove. You’ve just made delicious veggie stock.
For meat stocks, save your bones and meat trimmings to add to them.
Buy Meat on sale and save it for later
Buy quality cuts of steak – ( bone-in) when on special. Then freeze and BBQ them for many meals over the summer, saving bones. Buy tougher cuts of steak when reduced, cut into chunks, and you will have stewing beef costing less per pound than the pre-cut packages.
Check the prices of reduced meats, ie: 30% off. Compare with regular prices. They are often more per pound than the regular price even with 30% off.
Freeze or Dry bread
- Buy reduced bread then freeze the loaves.
- If you don’t like the ends or crusts of bread, then tear them off, dry them on cookie sheets in the oven, then bag them for croutons.
- Pound dried bread crumbs for crumbs to coat meats, (season at the time of use)
- Use the pieces for bread pudding.
Dried bread crumbs will keep for months.
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Revive Stale Bread
Do you have stale slices of bread? You can rehydrate stale bread by quickly putting it under running water and in the oven at 350 for 5-10 minutes. You can also turn your stale bread into breadcrumbs.
Tear stale bread into pieces and place it on a baking tray. Drizzle pieces with olive oil and season with your choice of salt, pepper, and spices. Bake at 250F for about 20 – 30 minutes.
Grow from scraps
Do you want to save on expensive organic fruits and veggies? A quick google search will tell you everything you need to know to grow your produce at home, and it’s super easy! You’d be surprised how many fruits and veggies you can grow from the scraps of produce you buy at the supermarket.
Our favorite is green onions. Instead of throwing away the scraps just plant the bulb of the green onion in dirt and it will grow back a few weeks later.
Cheese Rind
Leftover rind from Parmesan cheese? Keep the cheese rind in the fridge or freezer, and toss it in soups, sauces, or stews for an extra oomph to your dishes. Please don’t throw it away.
Leftover Herbs Into Olive Oil or Freezer Cubes
Do you ever buy fresh herbs for a dish and have too much left over? Put your leftover herbs in olive oil for infused oils for cooking. You can also put fresh herbs in an ice cube tray, top with water, and freeze them.
Just toss them into whatever you’re making, and the water will melt. The next time you need them, you’ll have perfectly portioned herbs.
Dry Herbs
Buy fresh herbs and put them in the fridge wrapped in a paper towel in the container you bought them in, they get dry but still are potent!
You can also dry your leftover herbs. Tie them in a rubber band and air dry in your kitchen area.
Coffee Scrub
This kitchen hack is also a beauty tip. After making coffee, take the leftover grounds and mix with coconut oil for a moisturizing body scrub with a buzz. Coffee scrub is excellent for blood circulation, and your skin will be silky smooth.
Coffee grinds for fertilizer
Use coffee grounds for fertilizer and kitchen scraps for compost heap in the yard.
Bruised Fruit Face Masks
Do you have bruised fruit that’s on its last leg? You can always make a delicious smoothie out of it. However, if you need a little self-care, why not make a face mask? Bananas, papayas, strawberries, and avocados are great ingredients to add to a DIY fruit face mask.
Got a little yogurt that’s about to go off? Yogurt has lactic acid, which is excellent for skin cell turnover. You can throw that in too! Mix up the ingredients of your choice, apply to your face, and leave on for 20 minutes. It’s a free spa day at home! Self-care Sunday, anyone?
Self-care is essential for our well-being. It’s important to prioritize your physical, mental, and emotional health regularly.
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Erin is the mother of identical twin girls and their slightly older brother. She is a domestic engineer, and previously had a career leading customer service teams for a major HVAC company. Cleaning without harsh chemicals, and cooking easy and usually healthy meals are part of Erin's daily life. She volunteers with youth leaders, and genuinely wants to help others win. Erin has a degree in Communications, with a focus on Broadcast Journalism.