! – before making these recipes please be aware of allergens and cater to your specific needs and dietary requirements – even though these recipes are majority vegan and dairy free make sure to check all ingredients first, similarly with other allergens or preferences.
Low waste recipes
Nigella Lawson inspired banana peel curry
Trust us on this, it is way nicer than it might sound! Give it a whirl and you’ll see...
prep time 40 mins | cook time approx. 20 mins | serves 2
Ingredients…
- Desired cauliflower florets
- 3 banana peels
- 2 tsp powdered turmeric
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Fresh ginger – 1cm peeled and thinly sliced (or 2tbsp of ground ginger)
- Handful of coriander leaves
- ½ of a chilli finely chopped
- 2 tsp of cinnamon
- 1 tbsp of tomato paste
- 350ml of coconut milk
Method…
1. Put the banana peels in a bowl with enough water to cover, and a pinch of turmeric.
2. Let the peels soak for around 20-30 minutes
3. In a different bowl add the garlic, ginger, coriander, chilli, cinnamon and turmeric and mix. Then add the tomato paste to make a curry paste
4. In a pan add a drizzle of oil and add the curry paste made in the bowl, frying it for around 5 minutes.
5. Add in the coconut milk and mix with the curry paste
6. Let this bubble for around 10 minutes.
7. Whilst this is bubbling drain the banana skins, ridding of excess liquid, and chop them into bite-size pieces of your choosing.
8. Add the skins to the pan and let this simmer for another 10 minutes until the bananas are soft.
9. Add in the cauliflower florets if wanted, and let them heat all the way through before serving with any spare coriander leaves and the sprinkle of salt.
Potato peel crisps
Probably the easiest recipe ever, because why waste your potato peel when you can make them into your own homemade crisps in well under an hour?
prep time 5 mins | cook time 30-35 mins | serves 1-4 (dependent on peel amount)
Ingredients…
- Potato peelings
- Oil
- And herbs or spices of your choice
- Sprinkle of salt
Method…
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- Ensure potatoes have been washed before peeling.
- Add the peelings to a bowl, and drizzle them with some oil and mix.
- Add any herbs and spices, for example – paprika, garlic, rosemary etc.
- Mix all together
- Put the skins on a baking tray and cook for around 30-35 minutes, until the peelings become crispy.
Broccoli stem pesto
This recipe is proof that you can make amazing things from foods that you would normally throw away!
Disclaimer - will need blender/food processor for this recipe
| prep time 30 mins |
Ingredients…
- Broccoli stems from about 2 brocolli heads
- A handful of basil leaves
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 100ml of olive oil
- 60g of parmesan (or dairy free cheese version if vegan)
- Sprinkle of salt and pepper
- Squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
Method…
1. Prepare the broccoli stems – firstly remove the hard bottom of the stems by removing about 1 inch from the bottom of the stem.
Then chop the broccoli stem into small pieces or throw the stems into a blender to quickly grind them to smaller pieces.
2. Add the basil and garlic cloves to the stems and blend together in a blender/food processor, adding in the oil gradually until the mixture is well combined.
3. Add in the cheese (or vegan alternative) plus some salt and pepper.
Bread and butter pudding
A great recipe for using up leftover bread, as this can even be made using stale bread!
prep time 25 mins | cook time 30-35 mins | serves 4
Ingredients…
- 15 Bread slices (cut how you like, either slices or triangles)
- 120g margarine
- 2 tsp sprinkle of cinnamon
- 50g apricots
- 50g raisins
- 5 tablespoons of marmalade
- Vegan custard
OR make your own custard…
- Teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 700 ml of dairy-free milk
- 4 tablespoons of cornflour
- 5 tablespoons of caster sugar
Method…
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. In a bowl mix together the marmalade, cinnamon and margarine, also keeping aside a small amount of margarine to put onto the bread slices.
3. Slice the bread how you want and then using a baking tray, place the bread diagonally in layers on the tray, spreading the mixture of marmalade, cinnamon and margarine on each slice along with a sprinkle of apricots and raisins.
4. If making your own custard – add all the custard ingredients into a pan, put on a medium heat and stir until smooth and appropriately thick, and reaching a boiling point.
5. Pour the custard over the bread and scatter any extra apricots or raisins on top.
6. Leave this to soak for 10 minutes.
7. Put in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until it seems the bread and butter pudding is setting.
8. Then tuck in to your easy low waste pudding!
! - Vegetarian recipe but can be made vegan by using dairy free margarine and checking the labels of the bread and marmalade.
Tips
Don’t be put off by fruit or veg that looks different to what you might expect, for example it is an unexpected shape, it is still likely fine and tastes great!
Don’t over buy, meal planning can be a great way to avoid buying too much or too little food – you can do this by making a chart for each week or even a list of meals you want to make at some point in the week.
Check use by dates as you’re buying so you aren’t getting too much that you won’t be able to use up in time.
Freeze things that are going out of date you can even freeze fruit and veg and bread!
Use leftover citrus skins, cucumber or apples in your water for some extra flavour.
Use coffee grounds as plant fertiliser when at home
Leftover avocado can even make a nourishing face mask!
We hope you enjoy making some of these recipes, if you do then please tag us in a post with your creations or send us any other ideas you have on our socials..
@planitchange_uol - instagram
@planitchangeuol - twitter
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Post by Bethany Webster for Go Green Week, and to support the plan-it change caddy campaign for sustainable waste management.