Did you know that food waste makes up over 30% of all human waste? This Earth Month, Texas Farmers’ Market is making strides towards our goal of creating a zero waste market and community. One way you can cut down your food waste is by composting it through our FREE community composting program (currently available at Lakeline, but we are fundraising to bring it back to Mueller this summer!). There are also lots of great ways to use parts of your produce in your meals that you may not normally think of! Read on for some of our favorite zero waste food tips.

Celery Leaves can be used in a variety of different dishes, or as a substitute for parsley! We love using them to make this easy Celery Leaf Chimichurri that makes a delicious topping for soups, pastas, or your protein of choice. You can also juice them!

Carrot tops are another ingredient that can be used to make chimichurri, and they also make an amazingly fresh Carrot Top Pesto! We love making this pesto and dipping the carrots in it, it is also delicious on sandwiches, with pasta, or as a salad dressing.

Beet greens are not only beautiful but they are one of the healthiest greens you can eat! They contain even more nutrients and antioxidants than the beets themselves, so instead of tossing them out, try using them in your next stir fry or salad, like this Zero Waste Beet Greens Salad packed with other spring produce. You can also cook with radish and turnip greens!

Green Onions can be found all over the market this time of year! Stick the bottoms in a jar with a little bit of water, place them on a windowsill, and watch as they continue to grow!

Did you know that you can dehydrate mushrooms and grind them into a powder that makes an amazing topping on salads, pasta, stir fries, and more? Our Operations Manager made us some and it adds an amazing umami flavor to almost any dish! A great way to use your excess mushrooms that have been sitting in the fridge all week and give them new life.

This tip came from Ryan at f-stop farm – Cilantro Root can be used to flavor soups and stocks, and is commonly used in Thai cuisine! Ryan brought whole cilantro plants to the market recently and we grabbed one to give it a try – it adds such a delicious flavor to soups like Tom Yum.

Last but not least, one of our favorite ways to use veggie scraps is to make a stock! Just toss any scraps that you want to use – things like onions, greens, carrots, garlic are perfect – into a container in your freezer. To make a stock you can follow a recipe like this one for vegetable stock. If you aren’t vegan, lots of people also like to use bones in their stock!

Ingredients:

Tops from 2-3 bunches of carrots, depending on size; enough to fill a small bowl (Fruitful Hill Farm, Emadi Acres Farm)

2 lemons

2-3 garlic cloves (Fruitful Hill Farm)

2 cups green onion (Bernhardt’s Farm)

¼ cup pine nuts

2 tbsp olive oil (TX Hill Country Olive Co)

Salt & pepper to taste

Optional: Handful of fresh basil leaves or spinach (we didn’t have either on hand and it was still delicious!)

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor. Add additional lemon juice or olive oil if needed to reach desired consistency. Delicious as a dip for veggies or crackers, on sandwiches, or as a sauce!

Zero Waste Spring Salad with Beet Greens & Carrot Top Pesto Dressing

Ingredients:

1 bunch beet tops (Emadi Acres Farm)

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced (Emadi Acres Farm)

1-2 turnips, thinly sliced (Fruitful Hill Farm)

1-2 radishes, thinly sliced (Fruitful Hill Farm)

Add-ins: Whatever else you have on hand! We used leftover pine nuts from the carrot top pesto we made, green onion, and pecan parm.

Directions:

Don’t toss out those beet greens! They’re one of the most beneficial greens you can eat, and are packed with even more nutrients and antioxidants than the beets themselves.  Wash them well and toss together with the remaining ingredients. For the dressing, we used our carrot top pesto and it was delicious!

Soup Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil (TX Hill Country Olive Oil)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
6-8 tomatoes, depending on size, diced (B5 Farm)
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup water
1 tbs salt
Add ons of choosing: fresh basil, thyme, oregano, crushed red pepper

Sandwich Ingredients:

1 tbs butter
2 slices sourdough bread (Easy Tiger)
Cheese of choosing (Lira Rossa, Pure Luck, or Nut Monkey)

Directions:

Add olive oil, onion, and garlic to sauce pan on medium heat. Cook down until onions are soft/translucent. Add tomatoes, vegetable stock, and water and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. Add salt and additional herbs/seasonings to taste.

While soup is cooking, spread butter on outsides of sourdough bread and fill with cheese of choosing. Place in pan and flip so each side is nice and toasted.

Blend soup to a creamy consistency, and serve in a bowl or mug. Dip the grilled cheese in the soup and enjoy!

Market Recipe: Vegan Chickpea Noodle Soup

A cozy, healthy, and easy recipe for Winter months that can be easily modified to use whatever you have on hand. Makes four servings. This recipe was adapted from this one on Food52.

Ingredients:

Extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 sprigs of thyme
1 yellow onion, sliced thinly
4 garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons white miso or liquid aminos
2 carrots, diced 
3 celery stalks, diced
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lemon, juice & zest
Handful of parsley, finely chopped (sub with your celery leaves to make this zero waste!)
4 oz noodles (fettuccini or pappardelle work well)

*We also like to add a handful of seasonal greens like chard or kale, and whatever additional veggies we have on hand (broccoli, cauliflower, squash, sweet potato all work well)

Directions:

Add a couple tbsps of olive oil to a soup pot on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, thyme, and pinch of salt. Heat until soft, stirring occasionally. Add white wine and continue to stir until reduced by half.

Mix miso or liquid aminos with 8 cups of water; add mixture to pot along with vegetables and chickpeas. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and let simmer until veggies and chickpeas are fully cooked.

In a separate bowl, combine ½ cup olive oil, lemon juice & zest, parsley or celery leaves, pinch of salt, and red pepper flakes.

Once vegetables are fully cooked, add noodles and let simmer for additional 6-8 minutes until tender. Serve in a bowl and top with parsley mixture.