ADD TO YOUR MEALS & UPCYCLE

Recently, there has been a concern about how what we buy and eat affects the environment. Likely you want to reduce food waste and in the process save money. In today’s post, I will explain some simple ways you can do both through upcycling.

What is upcycling and how does upcycling relate to what we eat?

Upcycling is taking something that you no longer use for its original purpose and reusing it in another way. For example, a water gallon that is repurposed as a planter in the garden. You can also repurpose parts of foods that are not part of one recipe and use them for another recipe. For example, if a recipe requires only the beetroot, you can save the leaves for another recipe. When you upcycle foods, you reduce food waste while adding extra nutrition to your meals. Some recipes, may be easy and do not take too much time. 

Below I will go through a couple of foods that I commonly use at home and perhaps you may also use. I will provide nutrition information and recipe ideas for each of them. 

Potatoes are a staple

Baked potatoes with skin and other Ukrainian foods

I use potatoes in many recipes at home. I dislike throwing away potato skins. Usually, I opt for saving time and just scrub my potatoes clean before adding to a recipe. If you plan on preparing potatoes without the potato skins, you can prepare them separately to add additional fiber and nutrients to your day. 

Nutrition: Potato skin is a great source of fiber, potassium, vitamin B, and vitamin C. 100 g white potatoes cooked with skin provide 2.2 grams of fiber,  544 milligrams of potassium compared to 1.8 g of fiber, and 328 milligrams of potassium in white potatoes cooked without skin. 1

Recipe idea:  Potato skin can be turned into snacks or garnishes. Toss the skins with olive oil and your favorite seasonings. I like dill, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bake the potatoes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes. Now you have a crispy snack or garnish. 2

Potato Dish

Beet and Carrot Greens are edible and easy to repurpose

Raw Beet Greens

1. Nutrition: Carrot greens are a great source of vitamins K, C, calcium, and potassium 3.  Beet greens are also a great source of vitamins K, C, and calcium. Beet greens are rich in antioxidants such as beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin as well as Vitamin A. 100 grams of beet greens has 6326 IU meets 211% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) per 100 grams.4  

2. Recipe Idea: You can sautee beet and carrot with your favorite spices and veggies. 5  See how to saute veggies, if you do not know.  

Beet Greens Sautéed with Garlic

There are more ways to upcycle foods out there. Some helpful websites are organic.org, onegreenplanet.org, and goodhousekeeping.com. Upcycling is just one of the ways you can add flavor and nutrition while limiting waste. 

Sources

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3650512/

2. https://organic.org/cooking-with-vegetables-from-root-to-stem/

3. https://njaes.rutgers.edu/home-lawn-garden/pdfs/carrots-family-fun-page.pdf

4. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170375/nutrients

5. https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/beet-and-carrot-greens-how-to-use-them-instead-of-toss-them/