Think Like a Bunny, Eat Like a Bunny, or How to Reduce Food Waste by Using Veggies from Root to Stalk

It all started with my pet bunnies. When I gave them a carrot with the greens still attached, the bunnies always devoured the greens first. Only when the greens were all gone, they would start chewing the carrot itself.

So I thought, those greens must really taste good! Yet I kept throwing the greens away, or asking the farmer the cut them off.

Until I found Lisa Casali’s excellent book, Cuisiner mieux en jetant moins, where the Italian author tackles the problem of food waste and explains in detail which parts of the most common fruit and veggies can be used for cooking. And surprisingly enough, that includes – just about everything! One just needs an open mind and a bit of imagination to create delicious meals out of potato peels, carrot peels and greens, radish greens, orange, pear, and apple peels, and so on.

When you think of it, it actually doesn’t make any sense to first buy a product and then throw in some cases most of it away! It’s not good for your wallet, and it isn’t good for the environment, either.

So in the past months, I’ve developed a couple of new habits to reduce my food waste. For instance, I try to use up all I have in the fridge and cupboards before going grocery shopping (see my No Cost Food Week). But I’ve also started to put those carrot, potato, and orange peels, kohlrabi leaves, radish greens, and so on, into use. Just one example is the orange peel powder, needed to make Orange and White Chocolate Ice Cream.

During the following days, I’ll be posting some more of my best no-waste recipes!