Looking to save time, energy, and money when cooking dinner? Well, look no further because cook Ramona Cruz-Peters (@fabeveryday) has just the hack for you.
The scoop
Instead of throwing away your vegetable scraps, try saving them for a delicious, homemade vegetable stock instead.
Simply collect your vegetable scraps in a plastic bag or other container, storing it in the freezer until the container is full.
Once it's full, you're ready to make the stock. Place the vegetable scraps in a large pot and fill it with water. Then, bring it to a boil and let the vegetables simmer for about 30 minutes.
Next, use a colander or other strainer to separate the vegetables from the broth.
And just like that, you have a healthy, yummy vegetable stock that's ready to be portioned out and stored in the freezer (or in the refrigerator for up to four days).
How it's working
Hacks like this one utilize food scraps that would otherwise be thrown away, reducing food waste.
Food waste poses a significant problem thanks to the planet-warming methane it produces. When food waste is discarded in landfills, it gets buried and becomes deprived of oxygen — a crucial part of the decomposition process that creates compost.
Without oxygen, food rots and produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is 28 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, per the Environmental Protection Agency.
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Do you worry about how much food you throw away? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Definitely 😭 The EPA reports that food waste in landfills generates more methane than any other waste type, making up about 58% of landfill pollution. This figure highlights a startling reality: Around 38% of food in the U.S. is never sold or eaten, leading to an astounding 88.7 million tons of food waste sent to landfills, according to Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment research.
Fortunately, reducing food waste in your home is one of the easiest things you can do to help reduce your impact on our warming planet. Properly storing food and utilizing your freezer, planning your meals ahead of time, using recipes with food scraps, and composting are all perfect ways to reduce household food waste.
What people are saying
Users in the comments of the video praised Ramona's meal-prep hack.
"OK, that is so smart!" one person wrote.
"This is amazing!" another said.
"Love this! I make chicken stock a lot but will certainly try this," another thrilled user commented.
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