Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip: Peel-to-Stem

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

Peel-to-Stem

In the UK, it is estimated that we waste 6.6million tonnes of food each year, with 4.5million tonnes of that being edible food. “Peel-to-Stem” or “Root-to-Stem” is a growing food trend that focuses on using the parts of fruits and vegetables that we wouldn’t typically eat, such as the leaves, skins, seeds, and stalks.

Quite often, we may throw away and waste parts of fruits and vegetables such as the skins, but quite often, these parts can actually be the most nutritious.

For example, vegetables and potatoes consumed with their skins on can contain more fibre than without the skins, and a lot of nutrients found within fruits are contained in or just under the skin. Increasing your fibre intake can help to reduce your risk of heart disease.

Here are some quick and easy ways that you can use the edible trimmings from fruits and vegetables:

• Make your own vegetable stock by simmering peelings from spring onions, carrots, and parsnips; and add celery leaves/tips to add flavour to soups, stews, and ramens

• Make cauliflower crisps by baking slices of cauliflower at 200 degrees Celsius for 20-25minutes until they have crisped up.

• Cut broccoli and cauliflower stems into batons and add to a stir fry to bulk out the vegetables; adding one of your five-a-day.

• Don’t throw the seeds away from your pumpkins; remove any stringy bits from the seeds, wash, and bake at 180 degree Celsius for 10minutes for a tasty snack.

• Make potato wedges with the skins on to add fibre to your homemade wedges, just give the potatoes a good wash first.

• If you have any citrus fruit peelings left over from oranges, lemons, or limes; use these to make a favourable citrus marmalade; or add to water with ice cubes or crushed ice to make a refreshing glass of flavoured water.