Eat the Whole Plant!!!

Part of living a more self reliant and sustainable lifestyle is about being resourceful and finding the versatility (my favorite characteristic) in everything. And this includes food. So many of us put parts of our food that are not only edible but perfectly delicious and nutritious into the compost or worse the garbage!!!

Here are a few of my favorite tips for Whole Plant Eating!

Beets:

Root - eat raw, roast, boil or juice

Greens- saute in avocado oil with garlic and onion

Stems - Pickle!!!! And do the same with your kale stems. Here’s the easy recipe I use:

Pickled Beet Stems

Fill a jar with:

Beet stems 

10 peppercorns

1 sprig rosemary

1 tsp. Dried oregano

1 tsp. Dried thyme

Boil:

1 ½ c. water

½ c. apple cider vinegar

2 tsp. Sea salt

1 TBSP. raw sugar

Pour:

Liquids over your plants in the jar. Cover the stems by about a ¼ inch and keep the liquid about a half inch from the top. 

Cover

Let Cool to Room Temp.

Refrigerate for 2 days

Enjoy Within a Week

* When you have left over juice from your pickling use it to blend with chickpeas and or white been to make a flavorful and colorful dip

Carrots:

Did you know the tops are edible as well? I use them as a tasty addition to my salads or to make some bangin’ Carrot Top Pesto.

Carrot Top Pesto

3 part Carrot : 1 part Basil

1-2 garlic cloves

Handful of walnuts (or sunflower seeds or pine nuts)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Plenty of Olive Oil to get it all moving (amount dependent on the amount of greens)

Put all ingredients in the food processor or blender and mix till smooth. 

Broccoli 

Stop throwing away the stalk!!!! Just peel away the skin and enjoy the inner portion of the stalk. It can be enjoyed raw or cooked the same way as the rest of the broccoli

What other Whole Plant Eating tips do you have?