Strawberry Tops, Broccoli Stalks & Chard Stems

Why is it that we automatically throw the greens on the top of a strawberry, the stalks of broccoli or the sweet, tender stems of Swiss Chard away?

Well, I used to do that, to be completely honest.

I have no idea who I saw just eat the red of the strawberry or the ‘tree’ bit of the broccoli, but I did the same for years and years and then one day, it occurred to me that I couldn’t really think of a good reason to not eat those bits, too.

Maybe it was the nose-to-tail concept of eating my proteins that triggered the thought, but suddenly it seemed to make no sense to only eat part of a vegetable or fruit and not another (referring to those parts that are not only edible, but taste good, of course; I’m not going to eat a banana peel…).

Even if you’re not keen to eat the bits with the rest of what you’re used to eating, at the very least you can save them and throw them into the crock pot for a stew at week’s end and make a lovely broth.

Give them a try- you’ll open up a whole new produce world you may never would have blinked twice at in the past!