Why you should eat a kiwi with the skin

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: 5x fruit and vegetable peels you shouldn't throw away.

Some people might call you lazy if you don't peel your vegetables and fruit, but you know better: there are just fibers and vitamins in there, you think while taking a bite of an unpeeled kiwi. What? Yes, and just look at which other surprising peels you really shouldn't just throw away.

Fortunately, we have all come so far that we grate citrus peel over everything without any doubt with our trusty Microplane. And look, we're not saying you'll live years longer because of it, but if you don't want to throw away those extra nutrients and generally cause less food waste , then it's handy to know that these peels can simply be eaten or prepared.

Watermelon
We don't recommend consuming the hard green outer layer (you can remove that with a peeler), but that firm white inner part of the peel is really a shame to throw away. It contains vitamin C and vitamin B6, and a substance called citrulline; a healthy amino acid. It's of course not as sweet as the red inside of the melon, but it's nice to make things like pickles from it or to stir-fry it, or blend it into a smoothie.

Kiwi
I admit I was also astonished when I first saw someone take a bite out of an unpeeled green kiwi, but since then I've also been eating kiwis without peeling them. When you wash a kiwi under running water, you rub off quite a few hairs, and if you eat it with the skin, you get a lot more fibers and minerals.

Green bean
We understand that you might want to first run a peeler over a knobby rough winter carrot. But other little carrots: just scrub them under the tap and don't let any of the antioxidants go to waste.

Apple
If you're not two anymore, you should just be able to eat your apples with the skin, we think. There are fibers and vitamins in it, and although according to the Nutrition Center, the skin of that one apple won't make the difference between being healthy or unhealthy, it's still a good way to throw away less food. Except when you apple pie make it, then we'll overlook it.

Mango
Yes, it goes a bit far to bite into an unpeeled mango, but a small piece of the skin, cut small and blended in, gives your smoothie a special, slightly ‘green’ aroma. Personally, I always find the piece of flesh right near where the stem was the tastiest: you get that flavor when you puree a bit of skin with it.