Learn innovative ways to 'upcycle' food for sustainability with Meri Sehat. Explore creative recipes, reducing food waste, and making the most of your ingredients.

How To ‘Upcycle’ Food?

Don’t throw out those fruit and vegetable peels. Here are our tips and tricks on how to upcycle leftovers so every part of the produce you get is used and nothing is wasted.

Overview

It may not sound like anything new to us but according to food trends predicted by experts, upcycling is on the rise.

You basically take food that will be thrown out during production and repurpose it into another delicious item to eat. At home this can look like peeling a pumpkin and roasting the flesh to make pumpkin puree, roasting the seeds to make a snack and throwing the peels to compost in your urban garden. 
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You have used the whole vegetable with zero waste. On an industrial level this will look like the seeds that discarded during the production process and repurposed into <a href="https://merisehat.pk/article/five-protein-masks-for-your-hair">protein</a> bars, pet foods and protein powders.

According to Innova Market Insights published in October 2021, upcycling was predicted as a top food trend for 2022. To quote the study, &ldquo;Over 43 percent of respondents say that &lsquo;reducing food waste&rsquo; is the top action they are taking with their food choices as it pertains to the environment. On a global scale, 35 percent of consumers are more interested in products containing upcycled ingredients than those without.&rdquo; 
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Tips To Upcycle  Food

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	<li>Make A Veggie Broth From Scraps: When chopping vegetables, you are bound to collect scraps like bell pepper cores, carrot peels and the leaves peeled off of cauliflowers. Collect them in a zip-lock bag and pop it in the freezer. When the whole bag is full, empty it in a large pot and cover with water. Simmer gently for an hour and you have your own homemade veggie broth made from scraps. You can flavour this veggie broth with salt, scent it with spices like clove, star anise and cinnamon. Pack it in jars and use throughout the year in soups or veggie pilafs or biryani. The boiled scraps can be repurposed for composting and hence resulting in zero waste. 
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	<li>Shop Consciously: When purchasing foods try to shop consciously. Purchase your vegetables and fruit fresh from the vendors and try not to buy from supermarkets that pack their vegetables in plastic. Try to buy bruised vegetables that have some scuff marks but can be used in your dishes. While this has become a trend abroad because food waste is of astronomical proportions there, we can learn from these lessons and try to reduce our food waste. 
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	<li>Grow Your Own Vegetables: Growing your own herbs is a great way to save money. Other vegetables that can easily grow in tight spaces are spring onions and these can be regrown from the tops of the spring onions (the parts that you cut off and throw). 
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	<li>Use Citrus Peels As Cleaners: Citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and grapefruits are a great chemical free way of cleaning your dishes. Most South Asian households are aware of this as their moms and grandmothers used lemon peels to clean dishes. The advantages of using natural materials to clean is that they aren&rsquo;t abrasive and don&rsquo;t dry your hands out. 
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Conclusion

These are some ways of upcycling foods and reducing your food waste. Do you have tips on going low waste? Let us know! 
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