19 Food Hacks That'll Reduce Waste And Stretch Your Groceries

    Make the most of what you have in the kitchen.

    Whitney Jefferson
    by Whitney Jefferson

    BuzzFeed Staff

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    1. Turn leftover potato peels into potato chips.

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    Don't throw away your leftover potato peels! If they've been washed — and you should be washing potatoes, especially right now — you can bake or fry them into potato chips easily. Try it out with this recipe here, it's basically like a free homemade snack!

    2. Turn leftover wine into vinegar.

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    Do you have an unfinished bottle of wine laying around? Sure, we might be going through bottles of wine quicker than ever before, but you may find that you've enjoyed so much that you've left it out to spoil... However you come by your leftover wine, you can use apple cider vinegar with "the mother" inside to kick yours off. Instructions here.

    3. Turn your orange peels into candles.

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    If you have candle wicks at the ready, you can easily make these citrusy-smelling DIY candles with olive oil and a little creativity! Here are a list of tips and tricks to make it happen.

    4. Or repurpose your orange peels to make candy.

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    Candied orange peels are deliciously citrusy, gummy-like treats. If you have sugar, water, and orange peels, you can make them pretty easily with this recipe. If you happen to have lemons, limes, or grapefruit on hand as well, you can use the same recipe with them too!

    5. You can actually eat the leafy green tops of carrots.

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    So you might as well try this recipe for upcycled carrot tops pesto the next time you buy carrots.

    6. Similarly, the tops of beets are actually quite tasty when sautéed.

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    This recipe for coconut-braised beet greens is the perfect side dish that you didn't realize you already had in your home.

    7. Turn lemon rinds into lemon powder.

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    Follow these instructions on how to dehydrate and grind your rinds into a powder. You can use it for salad dressings, baked goods, lemon pepper seasoning, and more!

    8. Keep your leftover vegetable scraps instead of tossing them and make a delicious veggie broth base.

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    Any vegetables will do here, but I do recommend using garlic and onion scraps for an ideal taste. No more wasted veggie parts! Watch a how-to video here.

    9. Infuse vodka (or any hard alcohol, really) with leftover herbs or fruits that are about to go bad.

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    This tutorial will show you how to make fruit-infused vodka (think raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, etc.), and this tutorial will take you through using herbs, like rosemary, lavender, or juniper.

    10. Speaking of beets, did you know that you can use them to dye your clothes?

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    It's true — natural dyes are amazing. All sorts of food ingredients can easily be turned into dyes in a bath of water. Beets will produce a red dye, carrots produce orange dye, turmeric and saffron produce yellow dye, parsley and other green herbs produce green dye, blueberries produce blue dye, purple cabbage produces purple dye, and coffee produces brown dye. Check out a tutorial here.

    11. Stale bread? Turn it into homemade croutons.

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    Making fresh and flavorful croutons from bread that's not exactly sandwich-ready is a great way to avoid food waste. Here's a tutorial.

    12. Make it a habit to take stock of your fresh produce and freeze it before it goes bad.

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    Fruits are great foods to freeze because they don't take any preparation and when frozen can be quickly turned into smoothies, spreads, and ice creams. Vegetables are a little bit trickier, though, and usually need to be cooked first before freezing. Check out these tips on how to prepare foods for freezing and avoiding "freezer burn" here.

    13. Pickle (pretty much) anything.

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    You do not need to be precious when it comes to pickling vegetables, herbs, and spices — the more the merrier! Try doing this with one vegetable at a time, or use scraps from multiple different sources to make a tasty blend that's uniquely your own. Click here for tips on pickling.

    14. Save your apple peels to make apple-flavored bourbon.

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    Making an apple pie? Great, just don't throw away the peels! This simple recipe will show you how to turn them into a summer-y alcoholic drink.

    15. Or turn apple scraps — or full apples if you have them — into apple cider vinegar.

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    Do you have an apple tree or have a bunch of apples that are past their prime? This tutorial turns them into apple cider vinegar. Not an apple person? You can also make pineapple vinegar!

    16. Toss your leftover herbs into a bottle of olive oil.

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    Just make sure they're cleaned first — you don't want any dirt or grime in there. This one is pretty self-explanatory, but here's a guide using parsley for reference.

    17. If you have bananas that are turning brown, turn them into banana bread.

    Tasty / tasty.co

    Do what everyone else on your Instagram feed is doing and turn your overripe bananas into banana bread. Try this recipe from Tasty.

    18. You can regrow vegetables that you've already used by planting their roots or seeds and watching them grow.

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    You can do this with too many vegetables to name! Seeds are easy to plant and watch grow, of course. But you can also chop off some vegetables and plant them into water or dirt and they'll regrow their leaves! Try this with lots of herbs and veggies, including (but not limited to): romaine lettuce (pictured), chives, rosemary, celery, cilantro, lemongrass, scallions, and onions. Watch this tutorial to see the process in action and click here for a full guide.

    19. If all else fails, try composting!

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    Composting is as easy as identifying what can and cannot go into the bin and then setting up your pile or receptacle. You can DIY a system for yourself or use a compact bin if you don't have access to a backyard. Afraid that you don't have enough space? You can compost in something as small as a bottle.