Scraps, Peels, and Stems: Recipes and Tips for Rethinking Food Waste at Home

by Jill Lightner, Shannon Douglas (Photographer)

All across the country, food processors, grocers, restaurants, and regular folks throw away perfectly edible food. In fact, every month nearly twenty pounds of food per person is thrown out in the United States, and we consumers are the worst offenders. However, the good news is that it’s easy to reduce waste―while saving money and eating healthier too!

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Reference

224 pages, Paperback

Published September 10, 2018

Reviews

[Prima Seadiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Written by a local writer. Library book.
So often today people feel as though they'd like to do more to cook and feed themselves but are not sure where to start. In general the corporate food industry wants people to waste then spend more. It promotes convenience and helplessness.

If you are new to the idea of less waste I think this book would be very helpful. You may not use everything it offers but there are a lot of good tips, many very easy to adapt. Whether you live alone, live with housemates or have a family you will find some useful information. There is even a chapter on using take out and leftovers.

As someone who worked much of my life in the food business and has lived on slender means there were many tips that are already habitual for me and some new ones.
Once you get used to some routine about it becomes much easier.

In particular I found the chapter on date information is quite helpful.
Because of local regulations we had to pull items that were perfectly good rather than mark them down or cull slightly dinged produce because people want perfection. Often they were the tastiest and ripest. Such things went to staff and to several local soup kitchens and food banks.

Buying in bulk is great. Buy only what you need and bring your own bags/containers. Not only is food not wasted but over packaging is avoided.

Some things I do regularly:
Keep a "stock" bag in the freezer for vegetable trim and when it's full make stock, sometimes also using cooking water. I do not put cabbage family items in as they make stock acrid but such stems and leaves are as good as the rest of a cauliflower or broccoli. I freeze in the size that works best for my cooking needs.
I have a very small freezer but I keep it stocked. Items also get labeled and dated when purchased and rotated.
I keep a small pantry of staples,buying things like grains, lentils,oil, tomatoes,condiments etc when on sale. Also it contains some ready to eat items like nut butters, beans, sardines for power outages. All do get the "expire" date on the front in marker so I can see and rotate easily. This is a great money saver as long as you use what you buy.

After my main shop of the week I wash dry and wrap my greens in a flour sack towel than plastic bag. They keep quite well. Dry items like mushrooms, waxy skin vegetables (eggplant, peppers, cucumbers) go into the crisper in paper only. Dry goods get labeled and rotated.

I use cooking water in other dishes or when cooled off it goes onto garden plants. I don't have a dishwasher so that's where vegetable or dish rinse water goes.
I often plan my meals by assessing what I want to use up.

We have a good food and yard waste program so really unusable items can go there. It gets turned into compost which is then sold. The book includes good tips for managing that and for places that do not have such programs

The book has much more detailed information and also some recipes.

[Kurt Reighley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This entertaining book radically transformed how I think about shopping, cooking, and eating. Highly recommended.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but had hoped for more practical information from it. If you’re new to the idea of reducing food waste, this is a great book! If you’re already immersed in the rhythms of reducing food waste in your own home, through creative leftover use, homemade stocks, composting, etc., and looking for more ideas, this might not be for you. I learned a few things and got a couple ideas, but I was just expecting more, I think.

[Gail Storey · Rating 5 out of 5]

SCRAPS, PEELS, and STEMS: Recipes and Tips for Rethinking Food Waste at Home is actually a rich and luscious book under the guise of virtue. Plenty of virtue, too, though, in its highly specific tips such as the pros and cons of alternatives to traditional stores, how to navigate a grocery store, what to make of food expiration dates, and how to make your own (better) spices. This book is bound to be a best seller in Boulder, CO, where I live, with people who are at once discerning foodies and environmentally conscious. Particularly favorite sections include "Hosting a Soup Swap," "Keeping Chickens,"
and "Repurposing Leftovers." The recipes throughout are fabulous and fresh!

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was well-researched, clear, and kind to budding waste-reductionists. My household and I are farther along this journey than the audience for this book, though, so while I learned a few useful things, all in all it wasn't super helpful to us. Although I am circling closer and closer to getting us a worm farm XD

It's v, v interesting reading different books about waste reduction from different perspectives: the food waste perspective vs the no-plastic perspective is particularly intriguing, because many food preservation techniques discussed in this book involve freezing or otherwise wrapping perishable food in plastic.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I checked this one out from the library because I was hooked on the idea and have been for awhile. The problem for me was I'm already doing most of what was suggested or I use my food scraps up in very similar if not the same recipes that are suggested. I think it is a valuable resource for someone who has no idea of what they are doing or where to begin.

[Trace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this little book and learned several new things!
Did you know that you can use the liquid in canned beans as an egg substitute? Or that you can make broth out of corn cobs? I didn't but I do now!

I feel that we are entering into a new era where learning to make the most of food scraps will be a valuable skillset to possess!

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, interesting, and useful.

[Candis Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice overview of what we can use rather than throw away, nice recipes, and interesting to read.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

ended up buying a used copy to keep on hand

[Katrina Clohessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Includes some great ideas and recipes for reducing food waste and making something tasty out of what might normally be discarded.

[Sandy Whitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great help in reducing food waste. From meal planning and grocery lists to leftovers, composting, and gardening, this book gives a lot of practical ideas that are easy to implement.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting recipes in here. Who would have huessed?

[Dayna Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking ideas. Recipes I tried are quite good.

[Blythe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a while to get into but ended up liking. The author's tone seemed a bit smug at first that may be due to living in a community that was progressive about composting and food, but then she relaxed and the book become more approachable and useful. I got it from the library but am considering buying my own copy.