See how you can reuse everyday food items from your kitchen.

Did you know that the average American wastes about 14% of the food they purchase every year? Considering how high grocery prices are nowadays, that’s a lot of unnecessary food going to waste when it should be going into our stomachs.



If you’re on a budget like most of us are, then you need to know how you can recycle and reuse every scrap of food waste possible. Here are 10 cool ways to reuse some of the food items that you use every day in your kitchen. Even if you just a try a few of these, you’ll dramatically cut down on your waste consumption and also live a much healthier life.

1. Learn how to oven dry tomatoes before they go bad so you can save them and use them in future recipes.

2. If you have a bunch of broken pasta pieces leftover, gather them together and add them to rice and vegetables for a quick meal.

3. After steaming your veggies don’t just throw the water away.  Collect the water, let it cool and then use it to water plants.  The added nutrients from the veggies will be a natural plant fertilizer.

4. Instead of throwing away eggshells you can do something creative and fun by making Egg Heads with Grass Hair!

5. If you’re an avid coffee drinker but always seem to have some leftover in the pot, you can make frozen coffee cubes that are perfect for iced coffee.

6. Got too much yolk? You can learn how to freeze eggs for later use by putting them in ice cube trays.

7. If your bread is a little stale and you’re thinking of giving it away to the birds, try making your own croutons instead.

8. For a dazzling, white smile in about 2 weeks gargle with water and salt, and then rub leftover bananas on your teeth.

9. If you made too many baked potatoes and don’t want to throw them away, here’s a great video on how you can reuse old potatoes for a new dish:

10. Reuse leftover pickle juice before throwing it down the drain by adding it to salad dressing or marinade.