Home cook shares surprisingly easy trick for making the most of your vegetables: 'Liquid deliciousness'

Focusing your diet on plant-based meals filled with lots of vegetables is one of the best things you can do for yourself and the planet. 

However, you can make your veggie habit even more sustainable and affordable by putting vegetable scraps to good use. 

The scoop

In a viral TikTok video, Kevin Tatar (@letskwoowk) shared his tips for using vegetable scraps instead of throwing them out. 

@letskwoowk Replying to @Bland Soy ♬ original sound - KWOOWK with Kevin

Kevin explains how he ends his weeks with many scraps, skins, and stems from the onions, carrots, potatoes, and broccoli he uses to prepare meals. 

He puts all these scraps into a bag, seals it, and puts it in the freezer. After accumulating enough scraps, he dumps everything into a large pot along with some olive oil, salt, and water. 

"All I did was simmer this for about 30 to 40 minutes and then strained it," he shared of the liquid deliciousness that would have been trash. 

In the comments, Kevin explained that this mixture can be used for soups, stews, and sauces to add flavor to dishes. 

How it's helping

Kevin's veggie scraps hack is useful because it helps people make the most of their vegetables without wasting parts. 

Turning food scraps into nutritious broths is an excellent way to get more nutrition from your groceries and save money on store-bought broth. It's also a great strategy for reducing household food waste since you aren't tossing out perfectly usable food.

There are many ways to maximize your produce purchases to save money, reduce trips to the grocery store, and curb your landfill contribution. In addition to following Kevin's advice, you can compost food scraps, use proper containers to keep food fresh longer, and repurpose leftovers to create new dishes. 

What's your biggest motivation in trying to reduce your personal food waste? Saving money 💰 Helping the planet 🌎 Not being a wasteful person 😇 I don't think about reducing food waste 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

However, when making your broth, be mindful that cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli can make it bitter. It is also best to wash your vegetables with water and baking soda before soaking them. 

What everyone's saying

Kevin's followers loved his food scraps hack and shared their reactions in the comments. 

"I've been doing this for a couple years now; it literally makes the best broth," one commented. "I omit some veggies that I've learned can make the broth bitter." 

"You can also roast them before to add more flavor," another TikToker suggested. 

Someone else wrote, "Then throw the strained veggies into the compost so you can grow more." 

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