Category: Food

Make a difference by becoming a Reducetarian: Eat less meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy

4/7/2023

Reducetarianism, as defined by the Reducetarian Foundation website, “is the practice of eating less meat - red meat, poultry, and seafood - as well as less dairy and fewer eggs, regardless of the degree or motivation. This concept is appealing because not everyone is willing to follow an "all-or-nothing" diet. However, reducetarianism is still inclusive of vegans, vegetarians, and anyone else who reduces the amount of animal products in their diet” Livestock contribute to greenhouse gases directly by emitting methane as a product of their digestion as well as indirectly due to land use practices for raising livestock. Just by cutting back on the amount of meat that you normally eat reduces your carbon footprint. The Reducetarian Foundation suggests several strategies for gradually reducing your meat consumption:

Weekday vegetarian (just eat meat on the weekends)
Vegetarian Before Six (strict vegetarian before 6PM)
Meatless Monday (or day of your choosing)
Veganuary (vegan for January )

Waxed cotton food wraps are a reusable alternative to plastic cling film wrap

3/31/2023

Waxed cotton food wraps are made from fabric that is infused with a mixture of beeswax, tree resin, and jojoba oil. Using the warmth of your hand, it can be molded around food or a container, and its tackiness creates a seal comparable to plastic cling wrap. It can be used to cover containers or to wrap foods such as sandwiches or breads directly. Unlike cling wrap, waxed wraps are reusable: just rinse in cold water with a mild soap and air dry. They are commercially available at stores such as Trader Joe’s, HOM in Swarthmore, and the Swarthmore Farmers market, and they come in a variety of sizes. You can also make them yourself at home.

Read more about them at naturallivingideas.com:
https://www.naturallivingideas.com/plastic-wrap-alternatives/

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Buy in bulk

2/24/2023

Buying spices, grains, pasta, and other foods in bulk allows you to buy just the quantities you want in reusable bags, reducing food waste, plastic bag use, and cost.

You may already be reducing your use of single use plastic bags by bringing your reusable shopping bags to the grocery store. You can further reduce the amount of plastic packaging that you purchase by buying from the bulk aisle. Bring your own bags and bottles to stock up on spices, pasta, dried beans, nuts, granola, oatmeal, rice, and other grains. Reuse the bags each time you make a bulk purchase or invest in cloth or mesh bags for this purpose. Another advantage of buying in bulk is that you can buy just the quantity that you need, so it allows you to reduce food waste. Spices in particular are less expensive bought in bulk, particularly because you can just get the quantity that you need. They may also be fresher, as they can sit in the bottles for a long time before being sold. A number of stores in our area offer a selection of bulk foods including the Swarthmore Food Co-op, Martindale’s in Springfield, and the Giant Food on Sproul Rd. in Springfield. Eliminate the packaging for spices at the Swarthmore Food Co-op by bringing your own bottle or container and ask the cashier to get a tare weight.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Finish cooking with the heat off to save energy

2/17/2023

You can reduce your energy use when cooking foods in boiling water. The residual heat will finish cooking your food without additional input of energy. Take advantage of this by turning off the burner or oven several minutes before the end of the cooking time and let it sit with lid on or in the closed oven to finish. This technique works for foods such as pasta, grains, steamed vegetables, and baked casseroles. See this article for more ideas on how to take advantage of residual heat while cooking.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Grind up avocado pits to take advantage of their nutrients

11/17/2022

Grind up your avocado pits in smoothies or tasty red mole sauce to take advantage of their calcium, magnesium, potassium, and other nutrients.

Avocado pits can be blended, baked, or put in a food processor. The resulting nutritious powder can be used in baked goods, protein shakes, grain dishes, red mole sauce, and more.

Read more here:

-- https://www.treehugger.com/ways-to-use-an-avocado-pit-4868814

Compost your jack-o-lantern to keep food out of the waste stream

10/20/2022

Each year, 1.9 billion pounds of pumpkin is grown in the United States. Most of these pumpkins end up in landfills. Composting your jack-o-lanterns keeps them out of the waste stream and adds nutrients in your soil. While most of a jack-o-lantern is used for decoration, the seeds are very tasty when roasted. Another option, recommended by The National Wildlife Federation is to leave the raw seeds and pieces of your jack-o-lantern out in your yard to feed the wildlife after the holiday is over.

Look for new plant-based dog treats that smell and taste like real meat

7/20/2022

Reducing the amount of meat in your diet contributes to reducing your carbon footprint. But can you convince your pets to make this switch? Mary Jo DiLonardo on Treehugger.com reported on dog treats created by Bright Planet Pet that are made with vegan ingredients but taste like meat. Owner Katherine Ellson points out that production of "plant-based products create fewer carbon emissions and use less water than meat-based pet treats."* She points out that we can make more sustainable choices for our pets. "What food our pets eat has a global impact and if we can reduce how much meat they eat, we can help reduce climate change and make the earth healthier."* As an additional contribution to their sustainable practices, "the company also plants a tree for each bag sold."*

*https://www.treehugger.com/plant-based-dog-treats-smell-taste-like-meat-5441603?utm_campaign=treehugger&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cn_nl&utm_content=28133403&utm_term=

Photos by Siobhan O'Donnell

Plastic teabags release microplastic and nanoplastic particles into the water. Most paper teabags also contain plastic, so consider switching to loose tea

6/25/2022

Some tea manufacturers are starting to use plastic tea bags instead of the usual paper packet. A study published in Environmental Science and Technology determined that these plastic tea bags release microplastics during steeping. They "show that steeping a single plastic teabag at brewing temperature (95 °C) releases approximately 11.6 billion microplastics and 3.1 billion nanoplastics into a single cup of the beverage."* They go on to demonstrate that these plastics are toxic to aquatic invertebrates. Avoid these new-style tea bags and stick with the traditional paper version or dispense with the bag altogether and enjoy loose tea.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

* https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b02540

Prevent food waste while saving money: use the Flashfood app to get discounted food at local supermarkets

1/20/2022

Grocery stores throw out a huge amount of perfectly good food that is not sold as it approaches its “sell by“ date. Flashfood is an app that allows shoppers to buy this food at a discount and pick it up in store. Both Giant grocery stores in Springfield (on Baltimore Pike and Sproul Road) participate in this program. Once you download the app and choose your location, it shows you participating stores and a list of discounted food items. You make the purchase through the app and pick it up in the store. Because you pre-pay, the visit at the store is brief. You can also bring along your own bags to take it home. According to their website (Flashfood.com):

“The problem

When food ends up in the landfill, it gets covered by other garbage and rots in an anaerobic state - meaning it doesn’t get any oxygen while it decomposes. This creates methane gas, which is a leading cause of greenhouse gases that are making a noticeable gaping hole in the ozone layer and significantly contributing to climate change.
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Grocery stores are left with a surplus of food items that are reaching their best before date on a daily basis. The timing of when food is deemed unsellable is based on store policy; it typically ranges from a few days to 1-2 weeks.

Diversion efforts
Grocery retailers have taken steps to divert potential food waste through improving procurement and operating procedures as well as shortening supply chains to keep food fresher, longer. Retailers also partner with food banks, food recovery and rescue agencies.
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With all their efforts, grocery retailers are still left with a significant amount of food which typically gets sent to the landfill.

The solution
By selling this food at 50% off the retail price through Flashfood, grocers are able to recover costs (i.e.: reduce shrink), and significantly reduce their carbon footprint.

Consumers are able to take advantage of healthier food items like produce, meat and prepared meals that they would ordinarily deem too expensive. It's a #winwinwin for all!”

Photo credit: Sharon Hahn Darlin, Flickr

Reduce food waste during the holidays: plan post-holiday menus to use up leftover meals and ingredients

11/16/2021

It can be hard to estimate how much food to prepare for your holiday gathering. Earth911.com estimates that 30-40% of the food grown in the U.S. is wasted. That means that you might end up with leftover dishes and unused ingredients. After the evening of the big dinner, plan catch-up meals to use up that extra food. Serve turkey salad on dinner roles for lunch. Make dishes that use the ingredients you have on hand; for example, cooked meats and vegetables can be mixed into a casserole. Lightly steam leftover fresh vegetables and toss with pesto over pasta. Don’t forget to put reusable containers on your holiday shopping list so you can send some of the leftovers home with your guests.

Photo by AVID Vines, Flickr

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