Kiddipedia

Kiddipedia

By Rachel Favilla

 

As promised, we’re back with more sustainable cues from the alphabet. To kick things off, let’s just appreciate the fact that we’re using our screen time to invest in the planet and not just giggle at cats playing pianos. Not that we can’t do that too. Planet first, prodigy pussies (the feline kind) second.

H – is for Hero. That’s you. The fact that you’ve got to the letter ‘H’ is a testament to your character, attention span and the fact that I decided to stagger the alphabet to keep sustainability simple. Give yourself a pat on the back – just like a proud kindergartener would (we are recapping our ABCs after all) – and keep reading.

I – is for Imagination. To help inspire the creative energy on date night, have yourself a brainstorm. Starting with a heading such as ‘fifty shades of peanut butter’, list the many ways in which this nutty paste can enlighten your produce. Cosying up with crispy roast pumpkin. Dancing with banana slices and cinnamon. Decorating date porridge. Pioneering a salad dressing with olive oil, miso and orange juice. Lions and tigers and peanuts oh my.

J – is for Jars. Re-using old jam, tahini, nut butter (you get the gist) jars is a secret to saving big. Tote your jars to bulk food stores where you forego advertising costs, boycott plastic packaging and only pay for the exact amount of food you want. Only need ½ cup buckwheat flour? Easy, bring along a measuring cup and buy just that. No questions asked.

K – is for Karma. You don’t have to be spiritual to believe in the idea of being rewarded for wholesome behaviour. Exhibit A? I eat the whole apple, buy all my fresh produce loose and shop at bulk food stores. I also find a lot of coins in the bike lane. Coincidence? I think not.

L – is for Leftovers. Use this one to your poo-pushing advantage by cooking potatoes, rice or pasta in advance and eating cold. Not only are all 3 starchy options easy to prepare in bulk, but the cooling process yields resistant starch, a substance that resists digestion in the small intestine and instead heads to the bowel to feed colon microbes. Never toss a packet of pasta or let your spuds grow ears again. Your poos will thank you for it.

M – is for Meat. Specifically, meat bones. Okay, so bones start with B, but when the two battled it out in a heated game of rock-paper-scissors, Broccoli Stalks won and Mr Marrow Bone became a pathetic excuse for the letter ‘M’. Marrow bones are dirt cheap and provide marrow (deliciously edible and nutritious when cooked), connective tissue (forget expensive collagen supplements – your butcher will provide you with pure collagen for a dollar or two) and leftover (see ‘L’) bones for making broth. For more on the benefits of using meaty offcuts, check out this book. Which, conveniently, you can buy with the money you aren’t spending on foods that you were never going to eat.

N – is for Nana. Your grandmother knew what was up. She lived through the depression. Cooked on a budget. Made stocks from the bones left on dinner plates. Used stale bread to crumb meat. Bulk cooked jam when a well-meaning neighbour gifted her half a kilo of apricots from their abundant tree. Be a cool human and channel your inner granny.

O – is for Optional. Where recipes specify ‘optional’ they mean to say; ‘if you have it, use it, if not, don’t buy it for one lone occasion’. That brings me to the other ‘I’ word that, like Bones, lost their rock-paper-scissor contest. Improvise. If a recipe says coriander but you have parsley, use parsley. If it says leek but you have onions, use the onions. If it says honey but you have rice malt syrup, take a guess at what to do. Rice malt syrup? You got it.

 

The final ten 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.

 

 

You may also like to read:

Sustainable Dining from A-Z Part 1

Buck The Trend