I don’t have a clue about your plans for this year, but the kitchen of big, small and super pink disasters in the wider world has set itself to become a little greener in 2022! That’s why we have a new series, entitled – how else? – the green kitchen, with six beautiful horses episodes, which will appear together with the #cookingbookclub episodes to stimulate us to a little self-reflection and change of behaviors, where appropriate.
If you’ve been reading me for a longer time, you probably know that I believe that everyone can do more and better and that we learn something new every day. In our world, as imperfect as it is, there is still room for improvement in knowledge and behavior, and the kitchen is the right place for experiments. 🙂 If you don’t take my word for it, take a look at the older disasters. 😀
Well, the first thing I would like all of us to put into practice this year is to learn to throw away as little food as possible. I admit, I also throw away spoiled food, because sometimes I don’t get to eat it and it spoils, but I try to minimize the percentage. In today’s consumer world, where you are bombarded daily with advertisements, and offers, and tens of thousands of assortments, it is quite difficult to remain rational.
What strategies can we use to throw away as little food as possible?
I BUY
I make a shopping list
I only buy as much as I need
I check the expiration date
I check ingredients and calories
mix of fresh/ frozen/ canned
I COOK
I generally plan what I cook
I cook as much as I need
I cook what expires the fastest
I try not to burn/ destroy food
I cook healthy, paying attention to calories
I ORDER
I order as much as I need
I order smaller portions if they are too large
I order with the chosen ingredients, if possible
I order healthy, pay attention to calories
What do we throw in the trash?
First of all, perishable food, fresh meat that has not been cooked, vegetables and fruits, dairy products, bread, etc. because we kept them too long or stored them in the wrong conditions. Planning will help us here – to buy what we know we will cook or to order only things that we will consume, so that we can use the ingredients and not generate too much leftovers.
Then we throw away food because it is out of date – it’s a whole story on this topic, but as a general idea, if something has expired at home, if not many days have passed and it looks, smells and tastes ok, then it can probably still be consumed, at everyone’s responsibility. But try to consume it before it expires.
Third, we throw away cooked food, which is either not cooked properly – is raw or burnt, or we don’t need it, or it’s too much. The strategies are very easy: we learn to cook, alone or with the help of friends/ family/ disasters like me. 😀 We learn to cook smaller quantities. We learn to freeze if we make too much. And we learn to prepare ingredients separately (eg sauces or garnishes) so that what we have left can be recombined.
And if you’re used to ordering food, I recommend that this year you look for restaurants that have a food-waste liability policy and ask questions about ingredients, portions, and calories.
Well, what do you say we’re trying to throw away less food this year? 🙂
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#letsgetgreen! because this year our kitchen is turning green. Read all the episodes here. And if you’re a beginner disaster, here is a crash class in cooking.