Do you throw away onion skins? Here's how you can use them

Cotton balls and disposable razors aren't the only things that fill up our trash cans at home, a lot of food waste also goes in there. While there is some debate as to whether cucumbers and apples are better with or without their skin, most people would agree that onion skins have got to go. Next time you peel an onion, however, don't be so quick to throw the skins away. Find out why in the following six tips:

Easter egg dye

Okay, so Easter is still a while away, but it's never too early to starting collecting onion skins. Onion skin dye will make your eggs radiate in beautiful brown, violet, and tan tones. All you need to do is cook the eggs and skins together in boiling water. Alternatively, you could put the skins directly on the egg shell and wrap both with aluminum foil before cooking.

Soup flavoring

Onion skins not only add quite a bit of flavor to soups, but also give the broth a beautiful natural brown color. You can also save them if you ever decide to make your own broth or bouillon.

Protection for plants

Onion skins work well at protecting plants from certain fungi and insects. Mix 3.5 oz of onion skins with four cups of water and let it sit for seven days in an airtight container. Before using the concentrated onion sludge, make sure you dilute it with 10 parts water.

Prevent calf cramps

Onion skin broth is a natural way to prevent calf cramps. Cook two handfuls of onion skins in water for 10-20 minutes at a low temperature. Strain the onion skins out of the liquid and drink one cup every day before going to sleep. Waking up from painful cramps will soon be a thing of the past.

Hair color

Onion skins also make a wonderful natural hair color in a beautiful copper tone. Bring a handful of onion skins to boil in water. Let them cook for five minutes with the lid on. Afterwards, let the liquid cool and strain out the skin remnants. To dye your hair, rinse it with the liquid after a normal wash. The mixture should sit for a few minutes and then be rinsed out. If you want a stronger color, you can repeat the rinse a second time.

Baking bread

Onion skins add a delicious aroma to freshly baked bread. Depending on the intensity of flavor you desire, try replacing 1-5% of the flour called for with dried and ground onion skins.

These tricks will help keep some of those onion skins out of the landfill. Nice that you can really use the whole onion next time you cook!