As the cost of living continues to rise in Australia some people are resorting to sneaky (and very clever) methods to bring their food bills down.
Melbourne woman Jenn Shaw visited a Coles supermarket recently.
She filmed the aftermath of what was once a pile of broccoli, showing a bunch of leftover stalks that had been discarded on the display table.
In the now-viral TikTok video, Shaw suggested that the dumped stalks may have been left behind due to Australia's rising food prices.
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"$11.90/kg broccoli in Melbourne. Shoppers are leaving stalks on shelves," she said in the video.
The video has amassed nearly 400,000 views in three days, with many taking to the comments section to discuss the bonkers supermarket prices currently experienced Down Under.
One user said: "I always break mine off as it weighs less and costs less."
A second added: "No disrespect but for that price I would do the same."
Another person revealed that it wasn't just Shaw's local supermarket that was experiencing the same stalk-dumping phenomenon.
They said: "Our local veggie shop has a sign stating if you remove them you pay double the price."
Yikes. And at a whopping $11.90 per kilogram at Coles at time of writing, that would have to hurt the hip pocket.
Others argued that the stalks are the best bit of the vegetable.
One person said: "The stalks shouldn’t be discarded, [it is] well worth eating."
A second added: "I actually can’t believe how many people don’t know that the stem has way more nutritional value than the flowers."
A Coles spokesperson said the supermarket chain finds it 'disappointing' that some have been abandoning their broccoli stalks.
"It’s disappointing to hear a small number of customers have removed the stalks from broccoli in our stores as the entire vegetable is edible and full of nutritional value," they told news.com.au.
"As part of our Together to Zero strategy, we will continue to work on ways to minimise food waste by educating customers about how to get the most out of their fresh produce."
Dietitian Susie Burrell told the Daily Mail that there are currently cheaper alternatives to broccoli that Aussies can explore that have great nutritional value.
"Broccoli is a superfood, rich in anti cancer molecules, Vitamin C and fibre but so is cauliflower at half the price," she said.
She also suggested swapping kale for lettuce, which are largely out of stock at the moment in Aussie supermarkets.
Burrell added that carrots are only $1 to $2 per kilo and are a versatile vegetable to use in all sorts of meals.
Rachel Lang