We can read many articles about how many kinds of reusable things end up in the garbage. Apple peels are no exception: they can be used for so many purposes; they should never be thrown away!
To protect against cancer
The antioxidant substances in apples can be found in the most concentrated amounts just underneath the skin of apples. We should thoroughly wash apples and eat them in their skin, thus enriching our body with many important nutrients and antioxidants. So-called phenols, compounds found in the skin of apples have cancer preventive properties.
To thicken canned fruit
Don’t throw away the seed pods and peels of apples. Instead, boil them up and strain them. Because of the high pectin content of apples, the strained liquid can be used as boiling water for other fruits, and to make jams thicker in a shorter time.
Homemade facial scrub
Fruity facial scrubs are well known in the cosmetics industry. You can use apple peels for a home skin treatment: clean your skin, and then rub the outside of the apple peels onto your face. The acids will gently cleanse the skin, remove impurities and dead skin cells, and enhance circulation. After the treatment, wash your face with cold water, and then use a tonic and a hydrating cream.
Soft cookies
Gingerbread cookies and other cookie or biscuit type sweets are notorious for staying hard even in plastic bags. Next time when you bake cookies, put them in a sealable bag along with some apple peels. By the next day, the cookies will become soft and fragrant.
Apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar comes handy in making salads and in cleaning as well. You can make it very easily: put a 4-5 cm thick layer of apple peels into a jar and fill the jar with water, adding a tablespoon of sugar to every 10 tablespoons of water. Cover the jar with gauze and store it in a warm place for 8-10 days. Strain the liquid and your vinegar is ready to be used!
Apple chips
If you dry out the apple peels, you will obtain some tasty apple chips that can enrich your muesli or bran flakes, and you can eat them even of you are on a weight loss diet. For a lovely snack, you can dip dried apple peels into melted chocolate – but don’t forget about the calories added this way!
Shiny pots
Has your aluminum pot turned black? No problem! Throw some fresh apple peels into the pot, pour in some water, and boil it. If the outside wall of the pot has turned black, dip a sponge into the boiled water and scrub the wall of the pot. The black stains will disappear without a trace.
Apple peel tea
You can make a tasty and healthy tea out of dried apple peels. Apple peel tea used to be given to sick people to soothe coughing. Mix apple peels with other kinds of dried fruit and some cinnamon to obtain a delicious tea base. Pour hot water over the mixture, let it soak for about 8 minutes and then strain it. You can drink this tea if you have the flu, or you simply want to pamper yourself.
To enhance calorie burn
A recent research performed at the University of Iowa demonstrated that ursolic acid naturally found in apple peels increases the amount of muscle and brown fat tissues, both responsible for burning calories. Thus, eating apple peels can prevent obesity and abnormalities related to obesity.