Have you ever bought a bunch of veggies with dreams of eating healthier and preparing your own meals, only to find you were perhaps a bit too ambitious?

Food waste is never fun — and while we can take steps to prevent it — if we do find ourselves with leftover food scraps one way we can reduce its harmful impact is by converting it into something new.

Food Scraps to Grow Your Own Food

You probably know that food scraps can be turned into compost, but did you know that some food scraps can be used to grow more food? The next time you find yourself with scraps from carrots, green onions, beets and more, you can use them to grow new food. No prior experience or exceptional effort required!

Unlike when shopping at the grocery store, when you grow your own food, you avoid unnecessary packaging and food that can contain harmful pesticides and preservatives. Your food does not have to travel anywhere to get to you, and the satisfaction of having grown your own food makes it taste even better.

Even if you live in a small apartment in the city, you can try your hand at easy windowsill gardening. There’s no need to visit the grocery store the next time you need mint leaves for tea, or cilantro for your tacos — you can use cuttings from store bought herbs to grow your favorite herbs.

Even if you don’t plan on growing all of your food, it can be fun and rewarding to not only reduce your food scraps, but turn them into something new and edible!