Fruits are the most nutritious part of our meals. They also happen to be one of the most commercially viable part of our meals. Unfortunately, this fresh produce is the first to go bad in our refrigerators as well. We end up wasting quite a bit of our money when that happens. According to a nationally conducted survey, a family of four is likely to waste around $1,600 every year on unused supplies. This actually comes up to a huge number economically when we take into consideration the whole population of the USA. Fortunately, we can reduce this number by making use of all the rotting fruits that we generally like to throw away. Six innovative ways of using rotting fruits have been listed below.
1. Microwave The Pulp
A garbage can isn’t the only fate that awaits a rotting fruit. With a little bit of creativity, we can change their fate and add some variety to our palates all at the same time. The easiest and simplest way to use up rotting fruits is by microwaving them. Cut out all the pulp and put it in a bowl. Add some cinnamon powder and nuke them for 3-4 minutes. The end result will taste like a delectable pie-filling. You can do this with rotting apples as well to enjoy some cinnamon-flavored baked apples.
2. Ice ‘em Good
Another way of using discarded fruits is by freezing them. This method increases the shelf-life of the fruits. This hack allows you to store them and eat them for a longer period. You can peel all the fruits and cut out the pulp. You can put all the pieces in a blender and blend it into a smooth paste. You can pour this paste into ice cube trays and freeze them. You can munch on these healthy cubes whenever you want.
3. Fruity Breads
Instead of discarding your old fruits, you can use your grandma’s banana bread recipe to bake delicious fruity breads with your rotting fruits. It is a common knowledge that we use ripe bananas with brown peels to make delicious banana breads. Similarly, you can use other fruits as well for making fruity breads. You can blend mushy mangoes, kiwis, peaches and many other fruits to make a messy pulp to prepare tasty breads. This will give your tasty bread a wonderful health kick and a fruity taste.
4. Give Your Brownie A Fruity Kick
Brownies and muffins are recipes that have oils in them. Fortunately, fruits can preserve its texture and flavor even in oils and at a high temperature. Thus, adding fruity pulps to your brownie batter will increase both its density and flavor. Fruits contain natural fructose. Thus, adding fruits will add sweetness to your recipe and will help you in cutting down the required amount of refined sugar. According to the celebrated nutritionist Amanda L. Dale, this will add an extra bit of health to your brownie and muffins recipes.
5. Soften Up The Meat
If you have a bunch of old kiwi fruits in the back of your refrigerator, you don’t have to throw them out anymore. You can use them to marinate your meat. It will help in softening up your meat in addition to giving a tangy flavor to it. According to Rebecca Scritchfield, the author of Body Kindness, kiwis contain an enzyme known as actinidin. This natural enzyme can reduce the marination time to half and it also helps in breaking down proteins. Hence, now you can use your old kiwis to prepare delectable meat recipes.
6. Fruity Pancakes
You can add old fruits like berries and bananas to your pancake batter to add some natural sugar as well as a fruity kick to it. This can help you in cutting down the amount of refined sugar you generally add to your pancakes.
Get creative with your old fruits and follow these innovative recipes to say ‘good riddance’ to unnecessary wastage of fruits.
