Don't Throw Away These Food Peels and Skins!

When you cook vegetables, meat, and other foods that lose nutritional value during cooking alongside garlic and onion skins, the nutrient-retaining properties of those skins will become your greatest ally in making more nourishing meals. 

Steeping a tea made from dried apple peels is one of the most sensible and elegant things you can do on an autumn day — and it can also help you clean stains from aluminum pots and pans. Apple peels have also earned their place in the world of skin care, as rubbing them around the eye area can help reduce dark circles.

If you garden, you can crush eggshells and mix them into your compost to increase your soil's calcium content. Adding them to your pet's food is also an effective way to boost their calcium intake. And if you grind the shells into a powder and place it in your coffee filter, you'll find it significantly reduces the bitterness of cheaper coffees.


Especially if you bake bread at home, you'll find that adding leftover carrot pulp from grating directly into the dough produces a much more flavorful loaf. You can also stir it into a soup you're cooking, so the insoluble fiber from fruits and vegetables doesn't go to waste.


Rubbing the inside of a banana peel with a little sugar and applying it to your skin creates a natural exfoliating effect. You'll also find it helpful for relieving itching caused by insect bites and allergies — and rubbing the outside of the peel on your shoes works as a natural shoe polish.

Orange and citrus peels in general are incredibly effective at eliminating bad odors, creating a refreshing sensation on the skin thanks to their acidic properties, and keeping mosquitoes away since insects hate the smell of citrus. If you live in a damp home or have trouble with moths in your clothing, you can easily solve the problem by using bagged orange peels instead of mothballs.

Many of us aren't big fans of grapefruit. But when you zest the peel and mix it with spices, you can use it as a seasoning or apply it to your skin for a toning effect.


Potato peel is effective at reducing under-eye puffiness, and after washing the peels thoroughly and tossing them with a little oil and lemon juice before baking, you'll find you can make super easy potato chips.


Whatever you use to brew your coffee or tea, scrubbing it with lemon peel is a very effective solution for removing stains. And lemon zest mixed with freshly ground pepper makes a delicious seasoning that can be added to all kinds of dishes.

Watermelon rind is good for treating acne on the skin, and it can also be pickled.


If you boil pomegranate peels and let them steep, you can use the liquid to dye a t-shirt burgundy — pomegranate peels create a natural dye effect.