You can eat that

I once watched an episode of Morgan Spurlock's "30 Days", where his then girlfriend complained about how tight their food budget was, at the same time cutting up some broccoli florets, and throwing the stems away. I was horrified by the hypocrisy - broccoli stems are definitely quite edible, and in fact, perhaps more versatile than the florets themselves.

Which lead me to thinking about all those edible things that most Americans throw away. The wastefulness is appalling sometimes. I'm not even talking about the delicious animal parts like fish heads and beef tongue. For example: the rind on brie is quite edible. Some may even say it's an important part of the brie eating experience (as it is a part of the mold that is responsible for brie's distinctive flavor and character). Cauliflower leaves are quite edible, so just chop up the whole head, and cook away. At least potato skins have made their way into regular restaurant items (albeit loaded with sufficient fat to mask it's prior discard status :).

As we enter the season for the hard winter squashes - here's a tip I learned from Nigella Lawson - you don't have to peel butternut squash. I noticed that this seems to be the case for just about most winter squashes - acorn, butternut, kabocha - when baked, the peel can be eaten. Easier - and adds to your fiber.