So I’ve been having some health issues. I won’t bore you with the details, I’ll just say that I can’t eat and drink the way I used to and get away with it anymore. Boo. Getting old stinks.
Part of my new health regimen involves reducing my sodium intake and eating (& drinking) a whole lot more fruits & vegetables. I love my new eating habits but I’ve found a few problems I wasn’t expecting.
Problem #1 – eating this many vegetables can be boring. Our grocery store only sells the most popular (and sellable) produce and a person can only eat so many baby carrots & gala apples before they get bored and want something different.
To help ease this burden I signed up for a produce delivery service. Yeah, it’s a want and it’s not as cheap as buying from the store but I love the variety I get. I can pick produce that isn’t sold at my store, like blood oranges (YUM!!) and heirloom tomatoes, and they BRING IT RIGHT TO MY DOOR! I end up spending about $5 more than I would buying the equivalent at the store and I don’t have to put pants on. WIN!
Problem #2 – What happens when you start eating more vegetables? You start getting a lot of discards. Potato peels, carrot tops, beet bottoms, outer cabbage leaves. You get the idea. It’s such a shame to waste so much when you can make a glorious veggie broth from the discards! Making broth of any kind is really, really easy and if you have a slow cooker it’s even easier. Homemade broth is also a lot better for you because you can control the amount of salt that is added. These days I go salt-free but feel free to add a few dashes to yours.
TIP: For more flavor and health benefits toss in a head of garlic, peel and all!
Why should you make broth from your vegetable scraps?
1. Veggie broth makes a yummy addition to many recipes
2. Your rice will sing (not literally) when you steam it in broth
3. You can use veggie broth instead of meat broth in any recipe
4. Broth is a fabulous light meal when you’re not feeling well
5. It’s frugal! Waste not, want not.
You can use ANY vegetable scraps for your broth as long as they are clean. You can see in my picture that I even used beet scraps. I was afraid that they would turn the broth red, and it did at first, but by the end the redness had cooked out. So, before you peel your carrot or potato give it a good scrub.
TIP: Save your scraps in a freezer bag and make broth when it’s full!
You probably won’t need to print this recipe, but if you want to just click the green print button at the bottom of this post and follow the directions on the pop-up screen.
Easy Veggie Broth Recipe
You need:
vegetable scraps
water
slow cooker
Directions:
Put the veggie scraps in the slow cooker.
Cover the vegetables with water.
Turn the slow cooker to low and cook for 12-24 hours. (I usually let mine cook overnight and most of the next day)
Turn the slow cooker off and allow it to cool enough to handle. Pour the slow cooker contents through a colander into a large bowl, allow the broth to cool completely before pouring into smaller containers for storage.
This is exactly how we made stock when I was a cook in a restaurant! Onion peels, carrot peels, the leftover celery scraps, everything. I think we used egg shells to clarify it, too. :)
Looks good!! Do you save the broth and can? I never thought of that. I will have to try it.