Spooktacular ways to reduce food waste

It’s all ghouls and goblins at our house!! One of our favorite parts of Halloween is the pumpkins. From carving to making pumpkin seeds, we use the entire pumpkin. It’s a great reminder to reconsider what is really waste. So many things we consider trash are actually edible…. 

Here are some of my favorite Spooktacular foods and some outside the box ways to use different parts, starting with the pumpkin! 

  • Pumpkin 
    • Seeds: Roast the seeds 
    • Puree: After cleaning the inside out cut in half and bake. 
      • Perfect for soup, smoothies or even dog food. 
  • Carrot
    • Tops: The green top part of the carrot is perfect for pesto 
  • Citrus
    • Peels: Lemon, lime and orange zests are perfect to add flavor, or you can take the peel, dip in chocolate and make a treat. The peel is full of vitamins! 
  • Kale
    • Stems: Instead of tossing the stems, cut them up and toss them in olive oil and sea salt for a yummy sauté. Perfect for soup! 
  • Pineapple 
    • Core: The core is perfect to add to a smoothie to add texture.
  • Watermelon 
    • Rind: That’s right, you can juice it or pickle it. 
  • Onion
    • Peels: Perfect for adding to a stock! 

Next time you are cooking in the kitchen with your little one and go to toss something in the garbage, look up if you can use it. Make a fun game out of it, and see if they can guess if it’s a Trick or Treat!

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