Today, 22nd April, is Earth Day so perhaps , "it’s a perfect time to increase our sustainability quotients. What does that mean? First and foremost, it means taking steps to protect the planet—reducing your carbon footprint, contributing as little as possible to the landfills, and not polluting the environment in and around your home. A sustainable lifestyle is also one that you can afford and which you find enjoyable.
Today, and over the next few days, why not start to be more sustainable in the kitchen. You certainly don’t have to make all these changes overnight. Start with the one that seems the most manageable or that will address your biggest area of concern. Small changes really can make a big difference, and they often cost little to nothing to implement. In fact, being eco-conscious often saves money in the long run.
Six Ways to Avoid Food Waste
Reducing food waste should be a top priority for anyone interesting in protecting the planet. Not only is it bad for the wallet, it also squanders the resources used to produce, package, ship, and sell that food.
Here are six ways you can reduce food waste:
1. Shop more often. Fewer trips to the store may save time and a little bit of gas, but it’s not worth it if you’re letting food spoil before you get a chance to eat it.
2. Get the most out of your freezer. Freeze leftovers to eat later. Keep a bag in your freezer for vegetable scraps and bones that you can use to make stock. Place minced fresh herbs in an ice cube tray, cover them with water or olive oil, and freeze. Use these herby cubes in soups, stews, stir-fries, and sautés.
3. Learn how to store produce properly so it doesn’t spoil before you get a chance to use it.
4. Eat the whole plant. Greens from beets, radishes, celery, and even broccoli are edible and delicious. Use the trimmings from almost any vegetable in your next batch of chicken or vegetable broth.
5. Start a compost pile. In addition to vegetable waste and eggshells, you can also throw in coffee grounds and tea leaves, yard/garden waste etc. If you haven't a yard/garden why not consider under-sink worm composting, also known as vermicomposting
6. Eat nose-to-tail. Use as much of the animal as possible. Learn to embrace organs both for their excellent nutritional value and so they don’t go to waste during processing."
1. Shop more often. Fewer trips to the store may save time and a little bit of gas, but it’s not worth it if you’re letting food spoil before you get a chance to eat it.
2. Get the most out of your freezer. Freeze leftovers to eat later. Keep a bag in your freezer for vegetable scraps and bones that you can use to make stock. Place minced fresh herbs in an ice cube tray, cover them with water or olive oil, and freeze. Use these herby cubes in soups, stews, stir-fries, and sautés.
3. Learn how to store produce properly so it doesn’t spoil before you get a chance to use it.
4. Eat the whole plant. Greens from beets, radishes, celery, and even broccoli are edible and delicious. Use the trimmings from almost any vegetable in your next batch of chicken or vegetable broth.
5. Start a compost pile. In addition to vegetable waste and eggshells, you can also throw in coffee grounds and tea leaves, yard/garden waste etc. If you haven't a yard/garden why not consider under-sink worm composting, also known as vermicomposting
6. Eat nose-to-tail. Use as much of the animal as possible. Learn to embrace organs both for their excellent nutritional value and so they don’t go to waste during processing."
words above and more from article here
Enjoy your day.
All the best Jan
45 comments:
i really need to be more aware of what i waste. when mike was gone helping our son i would buy things that i found out later i would never finish a certain thing before it went out of date especially bananas of which i'm real picky about how ripe they are or aren't..there is a fine line when I can catch them at their best. helpful article.
Good tips!
Good thoughts about making the most of our resources. We try very hard not to waste food. Happy Earth Day!
All good ideas, I look forward to your plastic tips too...U recently found some reusable zip lock storage bags for food, saves a lot of waste.
Happy Earth Day
...we compost everything from the kitchen, but meat in my worm farm.
Love the tips, thank you
Happy Earth Day!
Great post Jan! Food waste is a huge pet peeve of mine. I make sure to use up every little bit of anything and everything one way or another!
👍🏼
Buenos consejos por lo lo general trato de nos desperdiciar comida. Te mando un beso
Jan - thanks for these terrific suggestions - we only have one planet!
I like to do a compost pile sometime.
Coffee is on and stay safe
I never waste food (other it got really bad), but I will never eat liver or such, brrrrr.. the smell alone makes me gag.
I really don't like food waste, so I shop carefully and use a list to get exactly what I need. I'm looking forward to your tips on reducing plastic, as I seem to accumulate it no matter how hard I try. X
our waste has reduced by about 40% since our oldest son moved out a fortnight ago (down on takeaway packaging and beer cans!)
You have given us some good ideas, Jan. However, the first one is hard for those of us who are still in lockdown and rely on others to shop for us. I throw everything in my compost pile. In fact, I have three of them going all the time. Since I'm a vegetarian, I don't have to worry about animal waste going in the compost. I often spread egg shells around my herbs. I place coffee grounds around my roses. My biggest problem is when veggies go bad. I must learn better ways to store my produce. I've allowed bananas to get so ripe, I had to use them in baking (which I hate). Thanks for this wonderful post. Earth Day means more to me than probably most people who read your blog.
I forgot to mention, I look forward to seeing how YOU recycle plastic waste versus how we in the states recycle it.
Some good tips there.
Good advice. I always buy small amounts, that way there's no waste! Valerie
A fabulous post, that definitely resonates with me.
I have always felt very strongly about food wastage, especially meat and fish. As the lives of these animals are daily slaughtered for us, I feel it is heartbreakingly sad when so much of their flesh ends up in a bin.😢
I realise it may sound strange, but whenever I eat meat or fish, I always thank the animal for it's enormous sacrifice.
Thank you so much for posting this extremely important post. I hope it will make people think...
Hope you are having a great day...we are so lucky with the weather at the moment, aren't we?😊😊
Hugs xxx
Hello,
Happy Earth Day! Great advice, some of these things we are doing now.
Take care, enjoy your day!
We try to do a couple of shops per week to keep us out of the shops, but the salad leaves are really struggling now, so we will have to shop more often. I'll have to get the bike out again now the weather is turning nicer though we did have to defrost the car again this morning before we could go for our swim! Take care xx
These are all excellent ideas, many of which I do. Two more -- 1) if leftovers aren't your thing, consider exploring small-batch recipes -- some things just don't hold up well after the first day. Also, depending on the animal, try making your own healthy pet food with leftover chicken. (But beware of things like onion and garlic -- not so good for your animals!)
Happy Earth day dear Jan
food waste makes me sad always specially when i know so many people can't have food at same time ,i wonder for what are world organizations that they cannot arrange even food for hungry people but arrange abundance of weapons for selfish aims
thank you for insightful post as always my friend!
All good suggestions for not wasting. I have for years and years frozen leftovers or fresh vegetables that might spoil before I can use them. Freezing some herbs is a big plus. Others do best if dried. And composting is something that can be done on a large or small basis. It just undoes me to see the waste that goes on in our 'enlightened' society.
i forgot about earth day, i'm glad you reminded me!! this was a great read, lot's of good tips. i feel my meal kits are awesome for not wasting food. i get exactly what i need and the portions are perfect = no waste!!
Ahhh really a great post.
ohh nice post!i think there is alot of money involved..they tell us buy 3 get one for free but h..who eat so much??
Looking for ward to your next post about plastic.
Have a happy day over there :))
Lots of good ideas. We don't waste food, but I can't stomach eating organ meat. I have a bag or container in my freezer and add chicken bones and vegetable scraps for making broth. It always tastes good.
Helpful suggestions. Happy Earth Day!
Lots of good ideas. Everyone can do something!!
Fantastic ideas.
Excellent tips. I'd add that if you're going to shop more often, you don't use a car, if you can, obviously. Use a bicycle or walk. :-)
Greetings from London.
All good tips.
These are very good! Thanks so much!
These are good tips...I need to be more careful.
Excellent tips that are easy to accomplish. We compost all our scraps. It creates such amazing soil for our plantings. Recently we head a head of cauliflower. We have always removed the green leaves in the past but this time I Googled and found that people also roast those in the oven with the rest of the veggie. They were delicious and nutritious! We started cooking the tough part of asparagus ends too (cute small). It is amazing how much gets discarded that is complete edible.
Many thanks to everyone who has commented so far.
It has been very interesting to receive, read and share your thoughts, ideas and comments.
If you haven't already done so please feel free to leave your comment.
Also do make sure to visit the post Earth Day 2 - taking steps to protect the planet!
Find it here:-
http://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.com/2021/04/earth-day-2-taking-steps-to-protect.html
Thank you for visiting this blog.
All the best Jan
My wife and I don't own or drive a vehicle, we usually do a lot of walking instead.
It saddens me how much garbage I see lying around, I won't even throw a candy wrapper on the ground.
Great post for Earth Day ~ XX
Living moment by moment,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Feliz fin de semana.
Item 6 above - eat less meat!
we have a compost pile and it has been great to add to our garden
Excellent! Thank you! Big Hugs!
Great tips on how to take care of our common planet. Everyone should read this post, because it is really good.
Post a Comment