We’ve recently written at HuffPost UK about why you might want to hang on to your strawberry leaves to max out the fruit’s health benefits.
And now, Dr. Karan Rajan who’s known for spreading his health knowledge on TikTok and in his book This Book May Save Your Life, has shared some other food scraps you should save, too.
“If you’re eating an orange, don’t discard the orange peel,” he began his video, sharing that the zest ― which he says you can use on ice creams or with cake or yoghurt ― contains “a soluble dietary fibre called pectin” and “as much, if not more” vitamin C than the orange segments.
The skin of oranges is also rich in anti-inflammatory carotenoids and polyphenols, the doctor says.
Here are two other scraps he says we should save:
Butternut squash seeds
I’ve long sworn by roasting these and using them as a soup topping, but I wasn’t aware until now that they were pretty good for me, too.
Dr. Rajan says that butternut squash seeds and pumpkin and other squash seeds “are a great source of plant-based protein” and are “rich in unsaturated fats like omega 6 and 9 fatty acids.”
They’re also fibre, magnesium, iron, and zinc-rich, he shared.
Onion and garlic peel
Frugal as I like to think I am, I’ve never used the skin of garlic or onions before, even though it’s probably my most common veggie scrap.
More fool me ― apparently, these offer “extra nutrition” when added to soups, stocks, and stews, Dr. Rajan revealed.
And “you can also dry and grind the onion or garlic skin into a powder to use as seasoning.”
“Both garlic and onion skin are rich in insoluble dietary fibres,” the doctor added. “They’re also packed with flavonoids and the chemical allicin, natural anti-inflammatories.”
Onion skin specifically contains plenty of vitamins C and A, the doctor added.
All those health benefits for £0.00? Count me in...