Zero Waste Essentials - Your Zero Waste Starter Kit
Your Zero Waste Starter Kit
So - if you've already read our blog on composting, you'll know how passionate we are here at GardenWild, about food waste. That's why we have put together this zero waste starter kit for your kitchen. It has all the zero waste essentials for you to start your journey towards an environmentally friendly lifestyle. Remember - the aim is to reduce your food waste - not to create more general waste, so please only buy zero waste products you really think you will use. They aren't zero waste products if you end up throwing them away!
Taken as a whole, global food waste is the third largest greenhouse gas contributor after China and America. The decomposition of food waste in landfill sites worldwide produces vast amounts of methane, a gas far more potent than CO2.
Not only that, it's a huge waste of the fertile land and water resources that are needed to grow the food we so happily throw in the bin everyday. Just remember the food you eat has been grown on land that has at some point been deforested and cleared for growing crops. This destruction of the natural environment for our global food supply comes at a great cost. So be grateful …… and don't throw it in the bin!!!
Following a recent talk I did about food waste, a group of us got together and came up with some ideas for halting the flow of food towards the bin. Everyone agreed that we throw food away everyday, without really thinking about it. We wanted to find a way to stop the waste at every stage in the food preparation process, giving ourselves time to stop and think if what we were throwing away could be used in another way. The group came up with some really fantastic ideas and recommended some really great gadgets for making life easier. I’m really excited to share these with you. Here's what we came up with …
The Zero Waste Starter Kit!
We organised this into 6 Steps and came up with some Zero Waste Essentials for each Step along the food waste path.
Step 1 - Get organised.
First thing to do is get organised. Organise your cupboards and your fridge so you can see exactly what food you have and when its going out of date. That way you wont always be reaching for the newest thing in the cupboard and letting things at the back go out of date. If you know what you’ve got you won't fall victim to duplicate shopping and buying things you don’t really need.
I love these cupboard organisers. I'm notorious in my family for being messy. I just find it hard to keep thing tidy. My Mum introduced me to these little shelves as a way to tame my insane mug cupboard … but now I use them in my food cupboards as well with great results. They are great for utilising all the space in your cupboard and for organising your food in a way that you can actually see what you have. No more 10 year old bottles of spice lurking at the back for me!!
And fridge organisers! I so need these! Claire talked about getting her fridge organised so it was easier to find and use things that were reaching their use by dates. No more whiffy cheese or slimy lettuce leaves! It also makes it easier to keep your fridge clean as you can just lift the baskets out and wipe the shelves, or clean out each basket individually. Mum would be so proud! Am I turning into Marie Kondo?!!!
The group talked at length about their shopping lists. And a lot about how various partners seem to be unable to understand their shopping list and come home with completely random things that bare no correlation to what the list said … so there is that … But if you still go to the shops for your food shopping then take a list. Plan what you need, check your cupboards and make a list. And do not deviate!
Making a shopping list is so important, not only for reducing your food waste but for saving your pennies too. How often have you nipped to the supermarket to get a couple of things and come out with a trolley full? Supermarkets are experts at getting us to impulse buy and a shopping list is your armor against this.
As for me - I cut out the whole supermarket mission years ago. Dragging two boys under the age of 2 around a supermarket when you are totally sleep deprived is no fun at all - full stop. Not fun. So I stopped going and ordered online at Ocado. Everything you need is delivered to your door and you can build your shopping list online - check out and compare prices easily, and have a look at what you bought in previous weeks. Super smart organised food shopping!
Step 2 - Store things properly
Storing your food correctly can increase its shelf life dramatically. The NHS suggests that you keep your fridge at 5 degrees Celsius. Built in fridge thermometers aren't always that accurate so it's worth using an internal fridge magnet to make sure your food is kept fresh.
The group was in some disagreement about sell by and use by dates and whether they followed them or not. I suggest you follow the NHS guidelines on food labelling. In short, the important ones to be aware of are the use by and best before dates.
Use by dates indicate that a food may no longer be safe to eat and best before dates are an indication of food quality rather than safety.
Using appropriate food storage containers can help to prolong shelf life. I've never looked back since my mum gave me a potato storage bag. Potatoes last so much longer in these. There are bread ones too but bread never lasts that long in our house so no need to worry!!
Oh - and don't forget to store bananas away from other fruit unless you are trying to ripen them! As bananas ripen they give off a chemical that causes other fruit to ripen too - OK if you want to hurry along that avocado ….
But not good for keeping that nice juicy orange fresh ….
You can store bananas in their own bag which will help them stay fresh for longer.
We also have a range of food storage containers for the fridge and freezer, that we use for leftovers and bits of vegetable trimmings that we save for soups. Lakeland does some amazing ones that are reusable. And we like reusable remember!!
Step 3 - Don't over serve yourself
Of course you can use good old fashioned scales and weigh your food. Sometimes its good to do this every now and again to check your portion sizes are right. It's good for your waistline too. Added bonus! These scales are not so old fashioned, and are actually pretty amazing. They tell you the nutritional value of the food they are weighing. So you can get super healthy whilst you save the planet!
When I lived in Japan I ate everything out of a Bento box. Which was great for portion control and for packed lunches. Be eco-friendly and go for a bamboo one like this. Granted you probably aren't going to use these for your wedding dinner - but they are great for regular meals at home and the kids love them!!
If you are feeling adventurous, or lazy (I’m not sure which description fits you best!), you could order your food in 100% organic, perfectly proportioned recipe boxes from a box delivery scheme like Abel and Cole. They change the recipes each week and you can choose what you want from the menu. All the food is delivered to your door with everything you need, even measured out spices and herbs, and a step by step guide to preparing it. Show of your cooking skills at a dinner party ( and don't tell you cheated!!). Then feel good about yourself by returning or recycling all the packaging! Win Win!!
Step 4 - Use Leftovers
In our house any veg that's past its best or leftover gets made into soup at the end of the week. I love soup and make it all the time on the hob. I always have an issue blending it though, as I find a hand blender never quite gets it smooth enough, but I don't want to wait for it to cool to put in a blender and then reheat. Who has time for that?
I have my eye on a soup maker and I'm hoping that Santa will get me one of these this year!! Nudge nudge!!
Similarly if we have fruit that looks past its best, particularly brown bananas, we bung them in the fridge and then use them to make smoothies for the kids. They love strawberry and banana smoothies and sometimes I sneak the dreaded vegetables in there and they don't notice …. Mwa ha haaaa!! We have an old nutribullet for this and I've never seen anything better. Its sooooo easy to use … we also use it for making cocktails - shhhhhhhh!
I've heard good things about the Ninja version too, although I've never tried it. It's more powerful and it's more expensive. So have a look. But I'm very happy with my Nutribullet thank you very much!!
If you really want to get creative with your leftovers you could invest in a leftovers cookbook.
There are a few available on Amazon but a couple really stand out for me. The first being More Plants Less Waste : Plant Based recipes and Zero Waste Life Hacks With Purpose by Max La Manna - the zero waste chef and sustainability guru. Full of zero waste recipes and ways to use what you already have this is a great guide to reducing your waste. The book also has a 21 zero waste challenge which I'm keen to do. Watch this space - I'll
Don't worry - you don't have to be Vegan to go zero waste!! River Cottage has a great leftovers cookbook that includes meat dishes and lots of tips on meal planning and saving money. All good carnivores!!
Step 5 - Ferment, Ferment, Ferment!
I feel I have to add this to the list. It's such a good way to use up leftover vegetables. Last year I got big into fermenting. I was fermenting every last scrap of veg in the fridge. I love fermented vegetables - they just make you feel super good!! I use mason jars - pop all my leftover vegetables in and make a brine. There are loads of brine recipes on the internet and the whole thing gets quite absorbing once you get into it! I won't get into that here though. The brine is poured into the mason jars to cover the vegetables and you bob a weight on top to stop the vegetables floating to the top and going off. Then pop the lid on and wait. I like to leave it a couple of weeks at least, but you can leave them fermenting as long as you like. It depends on your taste.
Be warned that you need to keep releasing the air from your ferments. I just unscrewed all the lids every morning - but you can buy kits with special lids which do the job for you and you really can just forget about them until you are ready to eat them! If you are interested in fermenting - and you should be - Invest in a fermenting kit. You won't be sorry!
I recommend a set of fermenting stones too - if I run out of stones I sometimes I use a cabbage leaf stuffed into the top of the jar - which keeps the veg pressed down but can get a bit icky after a while. These fermenting stones are a neat little addition to your fermenting kit.
Step 6 - Compost anything you really can't find a use for
We keep a Kitchen Compost Caddy on the counter at all times. Everything I really cant use or has gone mouldy gets chucked in there and emptied into the garden compost when it fills up. There are loads of different types of kitchen compost caddy you can buy - we have an Oxo one.
I love it. It's really simple and looks good. The lid comes off so it's easy to empty and we don’t bother with the compostable bags as it's so easy to clean. There are other great designs though. I really like the look of this copper caddy.
If you don't have a garden or a compost bin - don't be disheartened.
Find a neighbour with an allotment and give them all your kitchen waste. You never know, they may reward you with some courgettes or beans if you're lucky!
If you decide to get into the wonderful world of composting - and I recommend you do if you have a garden and the space - check out our article on Composting here. We look a little deeper into food waste and why it matters, and give you tips for starting a composting system and the different ways you can compost.
So - I hope our Zero Waste Starter Kit has been useful to you and that you have lots of ideas on how you can reduce your food waste. And remember, we don't expect you to do everything on this list! If you do then a big cheer to you for helping the planet! But for most of us just doing one of these things is an important step towards a happier and healthier planet - and hopefully a happier and healthier you!
Peace, love and stinky cheese
Liz
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