Broccoli is well known for being a very healthy food, but we often waste some of its more undesirable parts.
A popular Instagram reel shows broccoli fans that not a single part of it needs to go to waste.
The short video was displayed to the world by Erica Wides (@funnypeoplemakingfood), who has 240,000 followers.
"Don't throw away your broccoli stems, people!" Wides says in her clip.
The scoop
The video begins with Wides explaining how most people throw the stem of the broccoli into the trash.
"This is perfectly edible, this is food," she states.
Wides explains how the "little twiggy bits" can be cut up and cooked along with the top part of the broccoli.
The stem of the broccoli is the toughest part, but it has skin.
Wides then chops the skin away and is left with what she calls "filet of broccoli heart," which she describes as "super tender and delicious" and something that can be eaten raw or with hummus or with a salad.
She also mentions a few other creative options for this part of the broccoli, which is often overlooked.
How's it helping?
Food waste is a major issue around the globe. In the U.S. alone, 30% to 40% of all food is thrown away yearly. That's approximately 119 billion pounds of food that ends up in dumpsters every 12 months.
More than half of the food waste in the U.S. comes from households.
But food waste also impacts people in the form of air pollution.
The United Nations reported that between 8% and 10% of harmful planet-warming gases result from food that has not been eaten. That's because the production of food requires lots of land and energy.
Deforestation to make produce kills trees that would have otherwise helped take pollution out of the air, and oil is burned to transport food from one place to another.
What's everyone saying?
The reel has more than 1,400 comments, so commenters were apparently quite excited about the broccoli-saving hack.
"Am I the only one who loves the stem more than the broccoli head?" one wrote.
Another confessed that "it's the tastiest bit of the broccoli!"
"I can't believe this," another expressed.
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
