Wellness Wednesday: Kitchen Hacks for Regrowing Vegetables
- by bonappetit
With everyone making less frequent trips to the grocery store, it is important now more than ever to find creative ways to get your five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. In addition to using parts of vegetables that might traditionally be overlooked, such as cauliflower leaves and beet greens, one kitchen hack we’re loving right now is using stems that are traditionally tossed to instead regrow new vegetables. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!
There are a surprising number of vegetables that can be regrown with the proper cut, a little water, some sunlight, and a lot of love. Lettuce, celery, romaine, leeks, and bok choy are just a few common ingredients that will regrow in water — and we promise you don’t need a green thumb to do it.
Lettuce: Leave approximately 2-3 inches of the base. Stand the lettuce on its base in a glass or mug with a water about halfway up, in the sun; change the water daily. You should see growth by the next day, and you may even have enough to cook with in one week. Bok choy can be regrown this way too. You can also transfer the plant into soil and water it regularly: when it reaches 6-8 inches tall, you will have a fresh supply of new leaves to harvest!
Basil and Mint: You know that basil plant you’re enjoying on the counter? Leave it there long enough and the roots will start sprouting! Once they’ve grown to about 2 inches, you can replant in soil.
Visit Goodful on Buzzfeed, Food52, RuralSprout, and many others for more tips on growing vegetables from kitchen scraps.
And remember, once you’ve gotten a few more growths out of your vegetable odds and ends and they’re done reproducing, make sure to throw whatever is left into the stock pot to make vegetable or chicken broth. Using ingredients fully, wholly, and creatively is one of the best ways to maximize your nutrient intake and make the days between grocery runs a little more delicious!