5 Food Scraps Worth Saving (and How to Use Them)

Vegetable skins for homemade stock, coffee grounds body scrub, scallion ends you can regrow in your windowsill—here are five practical ways to use the food scraps you'd normally toss.

So you want to cut down on kitchen waste, but despite your best intentions, your compost bin remains a distant dream? We’ve been there.

Thankfully, composting isn’t the only one way to make use of food scraps. If you’re wanting to cut waste, save money, and make a little practical kitchen magic, here are 5 of our favorite things to repurpose.

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Beet & Carrot Tops

They’re not just decorative. Beet and carrot greens are actually some of the most nutritious parts, and can be used just like other hearty greens (think kale and collard greens).

Sauté them in a little olive oil and lemon as a delicious side dish, juice them or blend them into a smoothie, or throw them in a soup.

Green Onion Stems

Don’t throw away the roots — you can regrow them! Simply chop off about 1-2 inches of the root ends, and put them in a jar with water covering them about halfway. Put the jar on your kitchen counter or windowsill, and swap out the water every day or so.

Your green onions will regrow in about a week.

Carrot, Onion, & Garlic Peels

Plus celery ends, ginger peels, herb stalks, and just about any other vegetable scrap you can think of. Save them in a bag in the freezer, and then add them to broths. You can either use them to give additional flavor to chicken or other types of broths, or wait until the bag is full and then use it on its own to make a delicious, zero-waste vegetable broth.

Citrus Peels

Save all your lemon, lime, and orange peels for a natural air freshener. Bring a pot of water to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer. Add your citrus peels, alongside any herbs or spices you have on hand and love the smell of (think rosemary, cloves, cinnamon). The oils in the citrus peel will release into the air, cleansing and making your space smell delicious.

Coffee Grounds

You can repurpose coffee grounds into a DIY body scrub to exfoliate dead skin cells, boost circulation, and leave you glowing.

Mix ½ cup of coffee grounds with ½ cup sugar and ½ cup melted coconut oil (or olive, avocado, jojoba, or sunflower oil) in a clean glass jar. If you’d like, you can also add a few drops of essential oil like lavender or vanilla.

In the shower, massage the scrub onto damp skin in circular motions, focusing on rough areas like elbows, knees, and heels. Rinse thoroughly.