Food Waste

In awe of the abundance in Australia that I can view food as expendable.

Becoming a Naturopath created a new relationship with food I’d never had before. It also made me realise how careless and unthoughtful I’d been with my attitudes towards food; especially the ever magical plants.

Reducing my “food waste” was one of the ways I changed my relationship with food. Recognising the parts that I once thought were useless and only to be disposed of are sometimes the most nutrient filled parts made me realise that how we’re taught (more importantly; not taught) about food has a significant impact. On our health, on our plant and on our wallet.

By experimenting, researching and learning you can build a better relationship with food and it can start by recognising that not all of it waste is a good place to start.

Some of the simple changes I’ve made include washing but not peeling my vegetables (fruit is a little different) or if I do peel or cut the ends off I keep them to make a veggie stock paste (recipe below!) or use them as a base to make a veggie broth.

I keep the seeds from pumpkins and dry them in the oven to snack on (pumpkin seeds or peptides are great source of zinc, calcium, fat and protein).

Keeping the peelings of ginger for a delicious digestive (just steep them in hot water… that’s it!)

Veggie Stock Paste Recipe

• 500g-1kg of Veggie peelings, off cuts etc (ends of carrot, broccoli and cauliflower stalks, the leafy tops of beetroots, onion skins, garlic skins, tops of celery) or any veggies that are starting to look a bit sad in the fridge
• Any herbs fresh or dried to desired taste
• 50-100g of rock salt
• dash of olive oil

Method

• Chop up veggies into 3-4cm cubes
• Blend with the herbs until a grated consistency (in batched depending on capacity and power of blender)
• Place in a large pot on the stove at medium-high heat with the olive oil and salt. Cook down for 20 minutes with lid on to trap the steam (and water soluble nutrients!)
• Let it cool for 10-20minutes and return to blender
• blend until a smooth consistency is achieved
• Allow to cool before storing

*Stock will last up to two weeks refrigerated in a jar or once completely cooled down divided into ice cube trays and frozen (transfer to a container once frozen to seal flavour)

*1 tablespoon of paste is approximately equivalent to 1 store brought stock cube. for liquid stock I add 1 tablespoon for every 250mL of water