Healthy Foods On A Budget – Vegetable Stock With Kitchen Scraps
Eating healthy foods can become costly. I believe that investing in healthy foods is one of the smartest moves you can make to increase your well being and longevity. However, cooking with organic food can be expensive. Mr. Lunch and I are both good eaters and we eat mostly home-cooked meals. In order to eat smarter, I constantly work on shopping smart without sacrificing the quality of the ingredients I purchase. Also, I strive to keep improving on stretching precious ingredients as far as possible.
This simple vegetable stock is one of my kitchen techniques to save money, time, and space.
As much as I love living close to the ocean, there is price to pay. Every square inch is precious. My kitchen and living space are small and there is not much extra room to save extra stock in the refrigerator. So, I make my vegetable broth as the need for it arises.
This quick broth takes 25 minutes to make. Generally, I prepare this whilst I am prepping the other ingredients for the dish. Most of all, I like that I can utilize the precious organic, locally grown vegetable scraps, extracting as much nutrition as possible from them. Yeah, they are especially precious during this historical drought that we are experiencing in Southern California. It’s good for you, your wallet, and the environment.
So try this flavorful stock next time with your vegetable scraps. Turn your scraps into liquid gold =)
Eat Real, Be Real
Yields: about 1 cup of stock
Prep 3 minutes Total 25 minutes
DISHES TO MAKE WITH THIS STOCK: Korean Tofu Stew or Kimchi Stew
- 2 cups vegetable scraps (onion peels, celery leaves, herb stems, mushroom stems, green onion roots, beet tops, ginger skins, carrot bottoms… any vegetable scraps that are not too bitter)
*Keep the vegetable scraps in a paper bag or in a plastic bag with a piece of paper towel without pre-washing vegetables. This will help to keep the vegetable scraps fresher, longer.
- 3 cups water (preferably R/O filtered water)
Directions
- Wash the vegetable scraps thoroughly because we are using all the parts, including the roots and skins.
- Add all the ingredients to a medium pot. Bring it to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce to medium heat and cook with the lid on for 20 minutes.
- Strain it through a sieve, carefully because it’s hot.
- Make your favorite stews or soups.
