• Coffee grounds. Very famous and generator of tons of waste, coffee grounds can be reused in many ways: as an exfoliant, when mixed with oil (coconut for example) or even directly to your shower gel, and goodbye dead skin. Indeed, coffee grounds contain vitamins and antioxidants, while its slightly abrasive grains are perfect for an effective exfoliation that does not strip the skin. If you are not a fan of scrubs, coffee grounds can also be used to remove odours placed in a jar in the refrigerator, in potting soil to change the pH, as an ant repellent around plants...

​

​

• Used tea bags (if you are not already using loose tea). If you're not into coffee, you can always recycle your used tea bags into an anti-pocket patch under your eyes. Simply place them in the refrigerator overnight and squeeze them under your eyes for a few minutes if you have puffy eyes the next day. Theine is capable of boosting blood circulation, green tea offers a decongesting action that is very useful against under-eye bags and the cold boosts these effects.

​

​

• Cracker crumbs. To save those crumbs that end up at the bottom of a cracker packet, just keep them and use them in the kitchen to breadcrumb your next meal or sprinkle on soup. In addition, you can use the crumbs from sweet cookies like speculoos, palets Bretons or boudoir to make pie or cheesecake bases or for a crumble! For a pie crust, you just need 200g of cookie powder mixed with 80g of melted butter and pack them in the bottom of a pie dish on 5mm.

​

​

• Bread. The same goes for leftover bread, which due to our French appetite for daily bread, generates a lot of food waste (according to the governmental waste prevention program, we waste 328,000 tons of bread per year). We can use dry and damaged bread in many ways to avoid it ending up in the garbage: toast it, fry it, make croutons, breadcrumbs or French toast...

​

​

• Citrus peels (lemons, oranges). The most known use is to capture bad smells and diffuse an aromatic scent by drying them above a radiator in winter. Mixed or grated, the peels can also be preserved as a fine powder in an airtight box: very fragrant and rich in vitamin C, it can be used in your desserts (it is better to opt for untreated and organic fruits to avoid pesticides). But it is also possible to perfume your drinks or waters with zests of these said citrus fruits. A good cognac, 3 to 4 weeks of waiting and here is your perfect cocktail to drink as is or to add to your pastries. 

You can also use the lemon's remains to whiten you nails because it has attractive lightening virtues. To do this, simply squeeze the leftover lemon juice and mix it with a bit of hot water, and dip your fingertips in the mixture for a few minutes. Be careful, this treatment is not recommended if you have minor cuts on your fingers.

​

​

• Vegetable peelings. The good idea is to make chips out of them! Potato, carrot, turnip, eggplant and zucchini peelings make crispy chips; once brushed with olive oil and a pinch of salt (and other spices according to your taste), just put them in the oven for 15 minutes at 180°C. The skin of the vegetables concentrates the central part of the vitamins; for example, the potatoes have their vitamin C concentrated under the peel, and we can lose up to 35% of it when they are peeled. However, the vegetable skin is also abounds in pesticides, so choose organic vegetables to avoid any residues. You can also serve vegetable peels in tempura, dipped in fritter batter and deep-fried or use them in your next vegetable soup!

​

​

• Green roots (carrot tops, beets, radishes, onions). They can all be added to the next velouté or soup you cook. Alternatively, use beet tops as a replacement for spinach, sautéed. Carrot tops are bitter but pleasant to add to a salsa verde or pesto. Radish leaves make a delicious soup, can be eaten as a salad leaf or as spinach and used for pesto. For the pesto for instance, chop the tops with pecorino, garlic and olive oil, and you're done.

​

​

• Salad leaves. They are the most common food bought and then thrown away without being eaten (and often in plastic bags), with 45% of salads ending up in the garbage. The important thing is to store them correctly and to eat them in time. But if it starts to wilt, don't throw them away: you can restore them by refreshing them in cold water. If nothing is done and it is too late, you can always chop them up and add them to your vegetable soup (yes, salad can be eaten even when cooked).

​

​

• Broccoli core. This so-called core is full of vitamin C and rich in fibre, calcium and potassium. It can be cooked cut into thin strips and roasted in olive oil or grated like carrots in a raw salad.

​

​

• Chickpea juice or aquafaba. Recovered when using canned chickpeas, vegetarians know it as a perfect substitute for egg white with a neutral taste (count 3 tablespoons of juice to replace 1 egg); it can make chocolate mousse, meringues, even mayonnaise. You can keep it for 2 to 6 days in the refrigerator.

​

​

• The water used to cook pasta and rice. Like any good student, pasta is the ultimate dish, but remember to save the starch-rich water, which can be used to bind your sauces or soups. Of course, you can keep it frozen in an ice cube tray and reuse it like a stock cube! But it can also be used as a household cleaner, very effective for removing stubborn stains from dishes, tiles, stainless steel or furniture.  

​

​

• Banana peel. It is always a waste that we do not know what to do after eating the fruit inside it, but here are two uses that can change everything: skincare because it has antiseptic properties. Use the inside of the banana peel on your face directly and to let act about fifteen minutes before rinsing. It can also be used to whiten your teeth (I let you find grandma's techniques on the internet). But if you are not a big fan of homemade masks, you can also use them to... Shine your shoes! And yes, another way to use old banana peels is to use them to clean and shine your shoes.

​

​

• Watermelon peel. Yes, this may come as a surprise, but watermelon peel is edible. Remove the outer skin, cut the green part into pieces, run it with water and brine, and let it sit overnight. Then cook them for an hour until they become translucent, and like pickles, put them in jars and close tightly. It is ready!

​

​

• Cheese crusts. The crusts of specific cheeses as Camembert, goat cheese sticks but also Reblochon, Raclette, etc... are perfectly edible and even richer in minerals and vitamins than the cheese centre. Add them grated in a pasta sauce or a delicious vegetable soup; you won't notice the difference. You can do the same if you have leftover cheese that has dried out and is too hard.

​

​

• And many other tips that can be found on the internet in one click, just a little bit of curiosity and you won't have any waste you don't know what to do with! Find your own uses, be creative!

​

 

To cook your leftovers without leaving a crumb, we also advise you to visit the Instagram account of the application To Good To Go. Indeed, this app aims to limit food waste and regularly shares anti-waste tasty recipes, and its users also give their best tips! In the same way, don't hesitate to share your favourite anti-waste recipe ideas with us!

​

​

However, if you have leftovers as eggs, ham, or cream in your fridge and you don’t know what to do with all of that, you can use the app “Frigo magic” or “Save eat”. These apps help you generate recipes with all the food you have in your fridge: they were designed to reduce food waste.

​

​

​

Resources:

[1] Stop Food Waste | Tips and Tools to Reduce Food Waste

[2] Repurpose & Reuse | Too Good To Go

[3] Frigo Magic & Save Eat

[4] Leftovers recipes: How to avoid food waste | BBC Good Food

​