Always save your veggie scraps
You’re probably chopping up carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms, and herbs almost daily. And you’re also probably tossing those little odds and ends straight into the trash.
What if you saved all your veggie scraps instead?
Those carrot tips are full of B12, and the ends of celery are full of flavor. All of your veggie scraps are packed with extra nutrition, minerals, and goodness just waiting to be turned into something nourishing.
Keep a large silicone or zip-top freezer bag in your freezer, and every time you’re prepping veggies, toss the clean scraps in. You want to save things like onion and garlic skins, garlic ends, carrot peels, carrot and celery tops, herb stems, and mushroom bits. Just make sure they’re free of dirt or rot. Keep adding to your bag over the week or even longer. Use this to make veggie broth for any use.
This practice is such a beautiful way to reduce food waste and create a little stash of flavor magic you can pull from whenever you want to make a quick broth.
One of my favorite ways is to use them as the base for miso soup instead of just hot water. This gives miso even more of a full flavor and adds even more nutrition.
Frozen Veggie Scrap Miso Soup
This zero-waste miso soup takes all the veggie scraps you’ve saved and transforms them into a rich, comforting broth, paired with mineral-packed wakame seaweed and your favorite miso paste. It’s the kind of breakfast that warms your belly, feeds your gut, and sets the tone for a mindful, grounded day.
Nourishing ingredients for veggie scrap miso
- Frozen veggie scraps (think: carrot peels, onion ends, celery tops, mushroom stems or whatever you’ve been saving) for full-bodied flavor and nutrients
- Dried wakame seaweed supports thyroid health and is a great source of magnesium and calcium
- Organic miso paste (white or red, depending on your mood) for probiotics and digestive health
Recipe
Veggie Scrap Miso Soup
Ingredients
- About 2 cups frozen veggie scraps
- 1 teaspoon dried wakame seaweed
- 1 heaping tablespoon organic miso paste (white or red, depending on your mood)
- 4 cups boiling water
- 1-2 sliced green onions (optional)
Instructions
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot.
- Add in your frozen veggie scraps and let them simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. This is when all the beautiful flavor and minerals infuse into the broth.
- While the veggie broth simmers, soak the wakame seaweed in a small bowl of room temperature water for about 10 minutes.
- Once softened, drain and set aside.
- When the broth is ready, turn off the heat, strain out the veggie scraps and return the golden liquid to the warm pot.
- Ladle about ½ cup of the hot broth into a small bowl and stir in the miso paste until fully dissolved. Add the miso mixture and soaked wakame back into the pot, stirring gently. Be sure not to bring it back to a boil, this helps preserve all the probiotic goodness from the miso.
- Add sliced green onions as a refreshing finish (also known as a cooling vegetable) – optional
- Let everything sit for a couple of minutes to warm through, and you’re ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions
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Drink this miso soup first thing in the morning, before coffee or breakfast. It’s a lovely, warming, grounding ritual full of gentle minerals and probiotics to wake up your system. I like to pour mine into a big mug, wrap my hands around it, and sip slowly while I plan out my day or just sit quietly for a moment.
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This recipe makes about two servings, so you can share or save the extra for later. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a day or two — just gently reheat (don’t boil) when you’re ready.
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If you’ve been collecting lots of scraps, you can double or triple the broth recipe and freeze extra broth in jars or silicone trays. That way, you’ve got a zero-waste, nourishing base ready anytime you need it.
DISCLAIMER: This post was created for informational purposes only.
Always seek the advice of a medical physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the ER, or call 911 immediately.
Reliance on any information provided is solely at your own risk.
