Zero Waste Cooking
Published on
VFA Blog
ASA KAUR NARINDER
Food waste, the solution to the climate crisis. A global problem that has all the makings of a solution to another issue: global hunger. Where nearly a billion people go hungry worldwide, a third of our food is lost to waste.
To put this unnecessary waste into perspective the 1 billion hungry people in the world could be fed on less than a quarter of the food that is wasted in the US, UK and Europe. The best way for us to combat food waste on a consumer level is to adopt the practise of zero waste cooking.
Zero waste cooking starts with the correct mindset, you should be approaching food in a completely different manner. Start by planning- make shopping lists to help prevent over purchasing. Get organised- keeping an itemised list of what you have alongside it’s expiration dates will encourage you to make more use of what you already have. Be smart- start to meal prep, this will not only help you make use of everything you have it was also save you time and money. Be creative- with a little extra thought everything can be used. Educate yourself about the differences between the use-by date and best before date. Don’t let food go to waste, because we simply misinterpret what date labels mean.
When cooking with a zero-waste mindset, your aim is to make use of all parts of the ingredient. You shouldn’t have generated any rubbish during the cooking process. You don’t have to use everything straightaway, learn to store unused parts of ingredients by dehydrating them or by placing them in the freezer.
Use parts of ingredients in ways you haven’t before. With a little extra thought everything can used and don’t forget about the non-edible parts. All ingredients have secondary uses, you just have to find them.
To put this unnecessary waste into perspective the 1 billion hungry people in the world could be fed on less than a quarter of the food that is wasted in the US, UK and Europe. The best way for us to combat food waste on a consumer level is to adopt the practise of zero waste cooking.
Zero waste cooking starts with the correct mindset, you should be approaching food in a completely different manner. Start by planning- make shopping lists to help prevent over purchasing. Get organised- keeping an itemised list of what you have alongside it’s expiration dates will encourage you to make more use of what you already have. Be smart- start to meal prep, this will not only help you make use of everything you have it was also save you time and money. Be creative- with a little extra thought everything can be used. Educate yourself about the differences between the use-by date and best before date. Don’t let food go to waste, because we simply misinterpret what date labels mean.
When cooking with a zero-waste mindset, your aim is to make use of all parts of the ingredient. You shouldn’t have generated any rubbish during the cooking process. You don’t have to use everything straightaway, learn to store unused parts of ingredients by dehydrating them or by placing them in the freezer.
Use parts of ingredients in ways you haven’t before. With a little extra thought everything can used and don’t forget about the non-edible parts. All ingredients have secondary uses, you just have to find them.
