Eco-friendly cooking is not only good for the environment but can also support a healthy gut when done mindfully. Using food scraps in gut-friendly recipes is a great way to maximize nutrition while minimizing waste. Here are some tips for turning scraps into nutritious meals that benefit your gut.
Use Vegetable Scraps for Broth
Vegetable peels, stems, and cores can be boiled down to make a gut-friendly broth. This broth is rich in flavor and contains essential minerals and vitamins. It can serve as a base for soups or stews, offering a healthier alternative to store-bought broths, which often contain high levels of salt and artificial ingredients that may disrupt gut balance.
Ferment Your Vegetables and Fruits
Fermenting your leftover vegetables not only extends their shelf life but also increases their nutritional value. During the fermentation process, beneficial compounds like short-chain fatty acids are produced, which support gut health and aid in digestion. This method also promotes the growth of probiotics, enhancing your immune system and digestive function. Instead of discarding vegetable and fruit scraps like cabbage cores, fermenting them is an eco-friendly way to reduce waste while boosting the nutritional content of your meals.
Make Pulp Crackers from Juicing Leftovers
If you juice regularly, the leftover pulp is a valuable source of fiber. Instead of throwing it away, turn it into homemade crackers by mixing it with seeds and seasoning. These crackers are high in prebiotics, which feeds your gut’s good bacteria.
R’s KOSO as a Cooking Add-In
R’s KOSO, with its rich blend of fermented fruits and vegetables, can be added to sauces, dressings, or marinades. By adding R’s KOSO-infused dressings or sauces to ingredients you’re tired of or have small amounts left, you can reduce food waste by repurposing items that might otherwise be discarded. Since R’s KOSO is made from fermented fruits and vegetables, it enhances flavor while also delivering gut health benefits like prebiotics, postbiotics, polyphenols, and probiotics.
Try these recipes if you haven’t!
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【Immune supporting recipe】Crunchy postbiotics Carrot Salad
【Healthy gut recipe】Japanese style coleslaw
By incorporating food scraps into your cooking and focusing on fermentation and fiber, you can create eco-friendly meals that support both the planet and your gut. Small, sustainable choices like these can make a big difference in your overall health and well-being.
Let’s get started!
Photo by @studioarna
Written by Eriko Shintani
Certified holistic nutritionist/Holistic nutrition advisor
Instagram: @vegefuldays