Food glorious food...
...we're anxious to try it, three banquets a day, our favourite diet...
Mmmhhh yes, about that...
One of the trickiest switches when wanting to live a more sustainable life is the one from gorging indiscriminately on what we want, to thinking about it with our environmentally friendly head on.
Ideally the change should be instant, but, let's face it, things happens differently for everyone, depending on so many circumstances so it is important to start with realistic goals.
A good start would be to stop pointing the finger and recognise that: "We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly, we need millions (possibly billions?) of people doing it imperfectly" and the change that would bring to the globe would be unbelievable.
Just like dieting starts in the supermarket, so does zero waste.
Shop with meals in mind to avoid having to throw food away. Planning ahead and writing lists is a great help in this. There are many phone apps that can assist with the task. I like Mealime as it allows you to work around recipes, but there are hundreds out there.
Always bring your own bags. Loose fruits and veg are best but if they are difficult to find around where you are look for recyclable symbols on the packaging and dispose of it efficiently.
Shop seasonal - shop local. Price labels or product tags now have to display food provenance, so track that down, if it's had to travel from the other side of the world to get to where you are it comes with a huge carbon footprint - baaaad food.
Beware of expiry date panic - these have been introduced relatively recently and, because of them, we seem to be losing the ability to recognise if our food is edible or off. Smell, taste, look at it, you know what you can eat and what should be heading for the bin. I always feel mega guilty whenever I throw something away so I am extra alert afterwards and search my fridge for food that is about to go off and make the most absurd concoctions - getting creative is part of the fun :D
Make in bulk and store away or swap with others. Cooking big batches and freezing is cheaper and more time economical, but eating the same food over and over again can be boring; exchanging dishes with friends and family can provide variety and show love at the same time and, especially if like me you are not the best cook, you could end up gaining from the swap hehe.
I do not like beating my chest and most importantly I do not want to be judging what others do, so this post is not about making people feel bad if they cannot do things, it is just about giving ideas to those who might be interested in starting.
Starving now, so I am going to bury my head in the fridge and see what bonkers dish I can come up with.
Buon appetito <3