Earth Day is a fabulous opportunity (or excuse) to take your lifestyle to a greener level, and one of the best places you can start with is your diet. However, changing anything is tough, especially when it comes to food. There are so many different ways to make your diet more eco-friendly and you're probably aware of these top tips:
- Reduce consumption of meat and dairy
- Eat organic
- Buy locally
- Seek out fair-trade items
But one thing that doesn't seem to get a lot of media attention is food packaging. Most food is highly packaged, and usually in plastic. Plastic takes quite the toll on the environment and even our health, so it makes sense to avoid it, and it takes some practice. The key to reducing the amount of food waste you end up with is:
- Shop in the produce and bulk sections of a market
- Plan your meals ahead
The latter may seem most daunting, but many package-free recipes can be made quickly, you just need to make sure you have the ingredients first. When you make your trip to the market, bring a reusable shopping bag and small bulk bags, plus glass containers for things like nut butters and oils (if your market has those in bulk). Collect all the ingredients in your bags and try to avoid anything premade - the goal is to take simple ingredients and create a delicious recipe out of them. The exciting part is coming home and creating a meal. If you want, you can begin with food shopping and buy items that sound good, then find a recipe based on what you have. Either way, the goal is to do it all with little or no packaging, and it is totally possible.
If you want to be an eco kitchen warrior, consider to buy food that meets all of the above standards and incorporate it into your package-free meals - if you can find foods that are un-packaged, organic, local to your area, and fair-trade, you'll be super green! But keep in mind, every little bit helps and it's OK to take baby steps. Always do the best you can and continue learning how to reach the next level - that's what being environmentally-friendly is really about.
Whitney Lauritsen is a filmmaker, environmentalist, and vegan who promotes healthy living on her site www.ecovegangal.com. She shares tips on how to be kind to your body and the earth via video, photography, and writing. You can find her talking about being healthy and green on Twitter and Facebook
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