Have you heard the term “foodprint?” (As I typed that, my autocorrect kept trying to change it to “footprint,” which makes sense, because they’re related: it’s the carbon footprint associated with your food choices!
April is Earth Month, which is really the extension of Earth Day (April 22nd each year). I mean, if I can extend my birthday celebrations into a week or more, I think Mother Earth has a right to celebrate as long as she wants!
In fact, one of the best ways to celebrate her is by examining your food choices and understanding how your diet can impact the climate. This isn’t a plea for going vegan for lowering greenhouse gas (methane) emissions, but to understand how food waste and strains on production and labor to get your food from where it’s grown and made to your plate all add up!
For example, food waste is not just the leftovers you forgot about and started growing fur in the fridge, or the fruit that went mushy before you got a chance to eat it – although sadly, we waste about a pound of food per person per day in the U.S. But overall, food waste also happens when crops are too small or misshapen and can’t be bought by the markets for resale to you, and 25% of our entire food supply – 80 billion pounds of food – in the U.S. goes to waste each year. Pretty awful, if you ask me.
Luckily, there are great companies like Imperfect Foods that buy misshapen produce (and now, oversold or close-to-sell-by-date packaged items that are completely safe to eat but for legal reasons, major markets can’t sell) to sell directly to consumers for a lower price. This also helps local farms, which might otherwise not see a profit from their harvest of say, knobby-looking carrots or too-small lemons. I was a subscriber for years in LA (and probably will sign up again when I move back!) because I also love the fun surprise and challenge of figuring out what to make with new-to-me fruits and vegetables (celeriac, kohlrabi, pomelos!), and it helps me eat what’s freshest and most in-season.
And if that wasn’t cool enough, have you heard of upcycling your food? It’s the more extreme sports version of salvaging excess food to prevent food waste. Vegan banana skin bacon, avocado pits to dye fabric, and even taking spent grains, nuts, or seeds (like the almond pulp leftover from making almond milk) to use like flour in baking! But before you think that’s too out-there, lemme tell ya: most commercial salsas and even baby carrots are made from upcycled, salvaged produce!
Say you just want some easy ways to lower your carbon footprint in the kitchen, though. Start by taking a look in your fridge and pantry and see what you can use up before it goes bad (and then make sure to recycle or reuse your containers, of course!):
Savory:
One of my favorite things to do is make quick pickles, which is basically just mixing whatever kinds of vinegar you might have on hand (ahem…my Pantry-Building Booklet has suggestions!) in a jar with spices and seasonings, and filling it with leftover raw vegetables like red onion, sliced cucumber, or even cauliflower! The pickles make a tart accompaniment to spicy or rich dishes, and they last up to 2 weeks – that is, if you don’t eat them right out of the jar like me!
Some other ideas: make a big tray of roasted mixed veggies (a great way to hide anything that was starting to go soft)
Toss root vegetables into a big pot or slow cooker, cover with water, and make veggie stock (peels left on but washed well first are fine) – or add bones or shellfish shells for a meat/seafood stock
Use up any kinds of green veggies (arugula, kale, broccoli, parsley, cilantro) to make a blender pesto with olive oil, a handful of toasted nuts, a bit of cheese, and lemon juice (and freeze any extras)
Sweet:
Use avocado to make chocolate pudding (really!) with cocoa powder, maple syrup, and vanilla extract
Freeze spotty/brown bananas for smoothies (peeled first, duh!) – their sweet, creamy frozen texture doesn’t water down your smoothie like ice can….or make dairy-free “nice cream” or save for baking
Boil strips of citrus peels in a sugar syrup, then dip in chocolate for a pretty, elegant dessert
Turn mushy apples into applesauce (or any mushy fruit, really!). Serve with a savory meat dish or stir into muffin batter, plain yogurt (Pantry Staple Alert!), or spoon some over some cheese for a fancy charcuterie board (>>> this one is really fun to play around with by adding savory herbs or spices to contrast!)
Around the house:
Save citrus peels and add them to a spray bottle of half white vinegar, half water for a natural cleaning product enhanced with essential citrus oils
Try limiting single-use plastic, including plastic wrap or sandwich bags, and invest in washable and reusable food storage containers and shopping bags and beeswax food wraps
And of course, if you have peels, eggshells, coffee grounds, etc…compost them for your garden!
If you need any more ideas on how to make the most of your food for the least carbon footprint, give me a shout! I’m always down to brainstorm and help you find new cooking inspiration.
