If you’ve been tossing out the woody, chunky broccoli stem in favour of the florets then you’ve been missing out on one of the best parts of the vegetable.

When you’re done scraping the seeds and pith out of a pumpkin slice, go ahead and wash off the seeds. When they’re dry they can be oiled, salted, seasoned and baked into delicious crunchy (and healthy) snacks.

Though in most places potato skins don’t make a huge difference to the recipe we understand that there are places you just can’t include them. In those cases, consider washing off your skins, and turning them into super flavourful potato chips by frying, baking.

The entire beet plan is very much edible and they can be eaten raw or cooked. Roast off the stems and saute the greens like spinach to bring out their natural earthy flavour. Or keep the crunch intact in a fresh salad or slaw.

More like herbs than greens, carrot tops are actually in the same family as parsley. Treat them right by turning them into a tangy chimichurri sauce or a homemade pesto to let the natural flavours shine.

One of the most versatile vegetables, it can be cut up into steaks and enjoyed as a meat substitute in virtually every dish. The hard stem of a cauliflower which usually gets tossed can easily be blended up to create a healthy rice substitute.