Why spend money on veggie broth when it is such a simple recipe to do at home. Not only will this save you money but it will reduce your food waste and environmental impact.
Simply place a large bag into your freezer, and add veggie scraps or expiring veggies. When full cook with some simple spices and viola, homemade veggie broth for free!
Head down for this easy veggie broth recipe
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Is zero waste food possible?
Can you really produce NO waste when it comes to food? The short answer…not really. But we can certainly aspire to be as low waste as possible when it comes to how we buy, prepare and discard our food.
So the term ‘zero’ or βNOβ food waste is one that we should not get so hung up on, but rather our focus should be on doing the best that we can to minimize food waste. The idea of zero food waste is also not a new one. Most people are aware of this issue but may not understand their impact on this global problem.
The truth is that while 168 million metric tons of food is being wasted in North America EACH YEAR, 67 million tonnes of that food waste occurs at the consumer level (thatβs you!). That means what you do with your food has a major impact on the total amount of food that is being wasted. This, my friend, is great news!
So what can we do to reduce our food waste?
Why is this such great news? Well, that means that any small step you take can have a big impact on change! But what are these small steps? And how hard will it be? Donβt worry, I got you covered! Here are five simple things our family does to reduce our food waste and environmental footprint.
- Make homemade veggie stock:
- Literally one of the easiest steps. This saves a ton of money, reduces packaging waste, and lets you control what ingredients and flavours are inside your food!
- Responsible Food Hauls:
- A simple idea that is harder in practice. Pay attention to what foods are being wasted. Think about upcoming trips or reasons you may not eat at home during the week. Then adjust your grocery trips accordingly. And if you do overbuy, freeze any expiring veggies to use in smoothies or veggie stock.
- Look in your fridge:
- Something I was once very guilty of doing. I would search for recipes for dinner or plan what I wanted to eat but never looking inside my fridge for ideas. Before deciding on your next meal, open your fridge and see what needs to be used up!
- Learn how to properly store your food/ use produce bags:
- This is also a money saver. there are lots of posts out there on how to properly store your food. In addition, I love using bags like The Swag Bag to help my veggie last longer and stay fresher. These bags are literally magic!
- Buy in bulk when possible
- This is not always possible for our family due to my son’s celiac disease, but when possible try and buy in bulk. Check your local grocery store for bulk sections and visit bulk stores. Make sure to bring a reusable jar so you are not trading food waste for plastic waste.
Not so hard now is it! These are small steps but small steps add up to something significant!
A few tips on making your own veggie stock
First, you will need a big enough reusable freezer bag and space in your freezer. I use an old rice bag but you can use a brown paper bag, reuse a large ziplock or an old clean diaper wet bag (for my cloth diapering mamas)
Now while it may be obvious I’ll mention that is important to not add spoiled produce into the bag! My favorite things to add are the ends and skins from onions, garlic, carrot, celery ends, kale, cabbage and the stems from herbs. All leftover items that would otherwise go into my compost bin.
The best part of making your own stock is that you can tailor it and change the flavors each time you make it. You can add in ginger or lemongrass for a curry stock or a hot pepper and oregano to use for a chili recipe. The options are endless!
To read more about reducing your food waste, check out my guest post over at Earth Mama International. And check them out over on IG too! They have lots of great tips and tricks.
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How To Make Homemade Veggie Broth and Reduce Your Food Waste [Recipe]
Difficulty: Easy10
minutes1
hour10
minutesSave money and reduce your food waste with this simple recipe.
There will be no amounts int his recipe because this is a ‘kitchen scrap’ recipe. You will have varying amounts each time depending on how long it takes to fill you bag and what your have been cooking.
Ingredients
Ends of veggies like carrots, celery, cabbage,fennel, zucchini etc..
Any leftover ends or peals from onion and garlic
Stems from herbs or cruciferous veggie
1 bay leaves
1 tsp each of salt and pepper
Optional to add dried oregano, rosemarry, sage, ginger or hot peppers if you want to make this broth specific for a certain recipe.
Large reusable freezer bag. I use an old rice bag.
Directions
- Add veggie scraps or expiring veggies to your freezer bag.
- When full remove your veggie scraps from the freezer and add it to your instant pot or a large stove pot. Fill it with water until the veggies are submerged (you want more than 6 cups, about 8-10).
- Next, add in the salt and pepper and if you like some extra herbs or spices. I added dried oregano and extra garlic.
- Cover and cook in an instant pot under soup setting for 70 minutes. Or in a large pot on the Stove by brining to a boil then reducing the heat and simmering for about 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
- Once finished cooking let it cool completly until you can handle the veggies. Strain the mixture to remove all the veggie scraps. Pour the broth into mason jars and seal. The broth is good for 5 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.
Notes
- the best most flavourful broths usually contain carrots, celery and lots of onion and garlic. If you do not have any of these scraps wehen the bag is full simply add in a few bits of each when cooking.
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