Here’s How You Can Become a Sustainable Cook in the Kitchen

Millions of people around the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition, and yet millions of tonnes of food go to waste every year. As consumers, we tend to take for granted food accessibility. We stock up our freezers and pantries to end up with spoiled and expired food, we buy from groceries that contribute to high food mileage, we throw out ingredients we think are useless, and the list goes on. All these issues can’t be resolved overnight, but we can do our part starting now.

Going sustainable in the kitchen doesn’t require big steps. No matter how small, every little thing you do will help the planet. To get started, you can follow the steps we’ve listed below!

Embrace Imperfection

Don’t judge a book by its cover. In this case, the produce we see on the market. Not all fruits and vegetables are made equal, but we’re so used to seeing their typical shapes that we tend to shy away from those that look weird and deformed. If you’re not going to pick them up, nobody else will. When that happens, imperfect produce will end up in bins instead of somebody’s stomach. The same goes for produce with slight bruises. If you’re planning to cook them within the day, you can just cut those bruised parts off. They’re still as good as the rest if you learn to accept their flaws.

Shop Directly from Farmers

Buying directly from farmers helps cut food miles and the need for a middleman, which means you get your produce fresh at a lower price and the farmers will get their profit in full without cuts from distributors and wholesalers. You’ll also be able to meet the people who grow your food, and if you’re lucky, they might welcome you to look around their farm and tell stories about their agricultural practices. If they use chemicals that don’t sit well with you, take it as a sign to look somewhere else.

Or Better Yet, Start Planting in Your Backyard

Tomatoes, beans, lettuce, spinach, bell peppers, eggplants, okra, onions — there’s a lot of vegetables you can plant in pots and containers. Even with a small backyard, you won’t find it difficult to plant them as long as they get enough care and sunlight. Don’t have a backyard? Plant herbs instead. Basil, chives, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and thyme are only some of the herbs you can plant all year round indoors.

Use Every Part of Your Produce

There’s no useless part in vegetables. You simply don’t know what to do with them, so you throw them away.

Let’s take broccoli as an example. There’s a bunch of recipes for its florets, but what about the stem? You don’t have to throw it away. You can peel its fibrous parts and remove the end, so you can chop and cook it along with the florets. For the peeled skin, you can use it to make broth along with other vegetable peels. If the broccoli you bought still has its leaves attached, you can season and roast them until they’re crispy enough to serve as a snack.

Label Everything and Check the Expiration Dates

Put a label on every food container in your fridge and pantry, so you won’t forget their expiration dates. If possible, transfer their contents into a clear container, so you’ll know how much is left. This is to avoid cooking everything in one go, which can turn into waste if you’re too full to finish them, once you’ve realised you have food near its expiration. There are no set rules when it comes to consuming food beyond their best-by, sell-by, and use-by dates, so don’t be quick to throw away those that expired yesterday or last week. Be cautious and use your senses to check them.