As the environment becomes the focus of many conversations, we are all looking for ways to reduce our waste. An easy way to start is with food waste in the kitchen! Did you know that in the US about 150,000 tons of food are thrown away each day? The great thing about reducing food waste is it often results in a very simple and tasty meal!

So, before you throw away leftover odds and ends in your fridge, look for some ways to get creative! Some inspiration:

Leftover Vegetables:

Pickle them: Use a simple brine of Filippo Berio Red Wine Vinegar, water, and salt. Try it with old onions, carrots, or jalapeños!

Roasted Vegetables: Toss any leftover vegetables with Filippo Berio Olive Oil and Filippo Berio Balsamic Vinegar for a healthy flavorful side dish!

Soup: Got vegetables that might go off soon? Toss them in a roasted vegetable soup!

Pizza: The perfect way to use up odds and ends in the fridge, even better if you have Filippo Berio Balsamic Glaze for topping!

Curry: This simple flavorful coconut curry is an amazing way to give leftover vegetables a new life! Try it with potato, sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peppers, or zucchini.

Baking: You read that right! Use the odds and ends of vegetables in baking. Try these chocolate doughnuts with hidden veggies, carrot cake or zucchini muffins. Pro tip: swap the butter for Filippo Berio Extra Light Olive Oil to make these goodies even healthier!

Leftover Bread:

Croutons: Toss bread cubes in Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt and Italian seasoning and bake to make homemade croutons! Great for topping soup and salad.

Stuffing: Chop and freeze bread cubes. When it’s that time of the year, you will already have your breadcrumbs for stuffing!

Herbs:

If you have herbs that are about to go off, try blending them with Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil, lemon or vinegar and nuts to make homemade dressings and sauces. Try this Chimichurri Sauce or Mint Pesto.

Homemade Stock:

Use your leftover chicken carcass to make homemade chicken stock. Alternatively, freeze your vegetable scraps such as carrot tops, celery stems, and onion peels to make homemade vegetable stock!

Leftover Fruit:

Smoothie: Have some fruit that’s going off? Freeze it! Extra ripe and frozen fruit make extra sweet smoothies. Spinach is also a great thing to freeze before it goes off to add to smoothies for an extra kick of nutrition! Bonus – add a Tbsp of Filippo Berio Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil to smoothies for a boost of healthy fats.

Crumble: Use up extra fruit such as berries, apples, pears and peaches in a simple crumble! Extra ripe? No worries! This will make the crumble even more flavorful! This one has a hint of tanginess from Filippo Berio Balsamic Glaze.

Citrus Peel Cleaner: Put those citrus peels to good use! Save your extra peels from lemons, oranges, and grapefruits. Soak with vinegar and combine with water to create a homemade all-purpose cleaner!

Leftover Wine:

How would that ever happen? Try adding depth of flavor to recipes: Fusilli with Lamb Ragu, Lobster Risotto. If you aren’t prone to having leftover wine (who is), sub a Tbsp of Filippo Berio White Wine Vinegar and a splash of vegetable stock. Cook off as you would with wine for the same tangy flavor!

Extra Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/18/americans-waste-food-fruit-vegetables-study