Kiddipedia
By Rachel Favilla
Sustainable dining doesn’t start at the dinner table.
It starts with your shopping list and the way you plan to eat.
Avoiding plastic packaging. Questioning whether you’re actually going to use that whole bunch of celery before chucking it in the trolley. Checking what you have left over from last week’s shop before you plan to buy more. Asking what’s still in the freezer – and pantry for that matter? Holy Guacamole! You barely need to shop this week. Welcome to the art of minimising food wastage – a skill that will revolutionize your relationship with food and cooking (or lack thereof). Let’s go back to kindy; A, B, C
A – is for Apples. You can indeed eat the whole apple, bar the stalk. Skin? Yep. Flesh? Duh. Core? Indeed. Seeds? Yeppidy-doo-dah.
B – is for Broccoli Stalks. Chop them up really fine and cook in the exact same way you are the florets. Never ever chuck a broccoli stalk … ever! It’s a crime against dietary fibre.
C – is for Creativity. According to Oz Harvest, 5 million tonnes of food goes to landfill each year. Mostly because we’re lacking creativity. We don’t see banana bread, we see brown bananas that are too sickly to eat as is. We don’t see creamy cauliflower mash. We see an odorous white veggie that’s lost its crunch. We don’t see pesto, we eyeball a pile of limp greens that have seen better days. Flip the view and turn daggy into delightful.
D – is for Date Night. I’m not excluding singles here. Give yourself your own date night or invite a friend around for dinner. The challenge? No new items. See ‘C’ is for Creativity. Fashion a meal from what you already have on hand. Roasted tinned chickpeas with rice, frozen peas and an olive oil dressing perhaps? A veggie porridge-meets-risotto (use oats, not rice) that give bendy tubers a second chance? Go forth and create my friend.
E – is for Electricity. Ask yourself; could you cook less this week? Making meals of fresh fruit with nut butter or a humble green smoothie? When you do cook, could you prepare several items in one go, whilst the oven is on anyway? Resourcefulness is a real turn-on (see; D is for Date Night). Kiss goodbye the days of baking one sweet spud at a time. I don’t care if you’re single. Bulk-cook baby, bulk cook!
F – is for Financial Incentive. The less you waste, the more you save. I’m serious. Getting into the habit of only buying what you’ll actually use and cooking what you’ll actually eat will shave dollars off every grocery bill. It’s also good for the planet.
G – is for Ginger. The whole root. Unpeeled. Yes, you can eat chunks of ginger whole. This spicy root lends its numerous benefits to more than simple teas and cleansing juices. Try a slice of ginger stuffed inside a pitted Medjool date with a spoonful of peanut butter. Gingernut biscuit vibes in your mouth. Without the hassle of turning on the oven. Winning!
Alrighty, that’s A-G covered.
The next eight members of the sustainability alphabet will be with your shortly. In the meantime, pick several ideas from this post and get saving. If you do, why not take a snap and tag me @rachelfavilla on Instagram or @realsoupfortherealsoul on Facebook so I can see your sustainable changes. Sharing is caring kiddlets.
To view on YouTube:
You may also like to read:
Don’t frighten your kids into eating
The value of family dinner-time
