Prepackaged lunches are a good example of not just “over-packaging” but also a testimony to the quality (stale) of the food inside. Remember, you are what you eat. Take the time to prepare something nice. Your children’s health is far more important than the 10 minutes you save in buying pre-packaged food.
Buy organic
Organic not just ensures pesticide-free it’s also a statement of sustainable development. Respect the soil, the air and the people involved with these products. Organic food is now available in most supermarkets and even used in restaurants and cafeterias.
Switch to vegetarianism
You probably know that meat requires more “energy” to make it to your plate, requiring more square footage and resources. Ok, going 100% “no meat” is probably hard if you are used to having meat at every meal. But try reducing it to one meal a day. See how your family adapts, and then try to decrease the quantity of meat you buy every week. And if nothing works, just reduce the portions served on the dining table.
Beans
You may laugh, but you can actually substitute beans for meat. At least with respect to nutrition, if not taste. Beans (of all kind) are loaded with protein. Put them in salads, slow cook them in soup in the winter, there are thousands of recipes on the internet. You are sure to find a few that your family might like. As with other tips, try to do a bean meal once a week (if not more) and try it with a different recipe every time for surprise and variety! (All children love surprises!).
Fish is always better
Fish does not contain saturated fat that meat does, so it’s better for health. However be careful with what type of fish you buy. In an ideal world, we would all eat wild fish, but thanks to our wanton exploitation of this natural sea resource, these too have become endangered. The best choice is to buy cultivated organic fish. By doing so you do not contribute to declining fish population and you support a sustainable way of producing fish.
Organic meat
Don’t do a double-take. If you’ve done all that you could to turn vegetarian and miserably failed, buy organic meat. It will cost a little more as raising animals organic style is less “productive” as anything mass produced, but it you already have replaced some of your meat meal with vegetables, you’ve already begun to save because vegetables cost far less than meat, so one off sets the other.
Buy concentrated frozen juice instead of fresh
Both products offer similar nutritive value. Frozen juice takes less space therefore needing less fuel to move from point A to point B. You may not know it but today, the beverage industry is the biggest fuel and water consumer.
Coffee machine filter
Make sure your coffee machine has a metal or plastic filter. This will save from using paper filters every time the coffee machine needs to be started.
Organic beer
Again, you may not have thought about it, but the beer industry consumes huge amounts of both water and energy, besides grains such as cereals. And in order to produce the best quality of beer, big multinational companies grow humongous fields of cereal with the use of chemical pesticides.
Therefore, the next time you have this urge for reaching out for a beer can, look for the certified organic mark. By buying organic beer, you support a farm system that uses fewer or no pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, which in turn enhances soil fertility, increases species diversity, conserves water and produces fewer greenhouse gases.
Convinced?
Second, as with any food product, local brews reduce fossil-fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in shipping the barrels. Microbreweries have become popular over the last few decades so support them, even if the local brewery may not yet be selling organic beer.
Third, draught beer is greener than bottled beer. Each keg under the bar counter saves hundreds of cans and bottles. In fact, if you do a life cycle assessment, draught beer leaves over than 60 percent lower impact than bottled beer.
Finally, make sure you recycle your bottles and if you can buy brands with no paper on the bottle as every cycle the bottle goes through, the paper is removed and wasted, it’s all the better.
Organic wine
We now have organic wines that are certified by the National Organic Program (NOP). These products contain 95% organic ingredients and no added sulfates. To be certified as a 100% organic wine, it must contain 100 percent organically produced ingredients and organically produced processing aids, not counting added water and salt. The permissible limit is a maximum five percent non-organically produced agricultural ingredients.
Shade grown coffee
We’ve heard about fair-trade coffee, but this is different. In traditional coffee plantations, everything is taken down in order to plant the coffee trees in the soil. What this does is create a monoculture that attracts insects and diseases that are then countered with pesticides and fertilizers. By keeping original trees in the plantation intact and interspersing those with fruit trees, the soil and coffees trees become healthier. Besides, bigger trees can host birds that can feed off insects, thus reducing the need for chemicals.
Substitute milk from animal for milk from plants
You have the choice, soy, rice, or almond, you name it. By choosing those milks, you bypass the transformation phase that is the animal, which produces lost of methane and requires more energy to transform. Their protein content is similar to traditional milk and the missing nutriments can be added so you have comparable benefits when you drink it. Take your time trying them out for although they may not taste as good as cow milk, they have other benefits.
Beware of big portions
Go for portion plates, dinnerware that gives you a visual idea of what constitutes a square, balanced meal. If you get lured by big bargains, make sure you assess your family’s capacity to consume it before the food goes stale.
Lug your own bags
When you go shopping for grocery, carry your own bag. Plastic bags end up at landfills and take forever to disappear. It also causes damage to the wildlife, for example, in the ocean; sea turtles die because they mistake these bags for jelly fish.
Shut your lid
When cooking food or simply boiling water, close the lid of your pan. Not only will this help in reducing the heat loss and save fuel (only if stove is gas type; in lots of cases it’s electric) but the food will cook faster.
Do a list
If you need to go shopping, make a list beforehand and most important, stick to that list. This will prevent impulsive and unplanned purchases.
Do your own baby food
What did people do when we didn’t have packaged baby food? They made their own. It is not that time consuming and you are sure of what you are feeding your baby. When doing it, make a few portions extra and deep freeze it in ice cube molds. Depending upon your baby’s age, you would only need one or two cubes at every serve.
Doggy bag
It is very common to go to a restaurant and if not able to eat all the meal. The restaurant usually offers to pack your left over in a doggy bag. The problem with restaurant bags is that they are typically made with Styrofoam, which is a cheap material. Therefore, next time you visit your favorite restaurant, knowing that you are likely to bring back what you haven’t eaten, why don’t you carry your own plastic or glass container? It’s at least re-usable.
Food waste
When you waste food remember that there are people on this planet, who don’t have any food to eat and they starve to death. Cook and eat only what you need and not wasting the rest.
Meal planning
How many times have you caught your teen standing in front of an open refrigerator wondering what to eat? Try this now, open the door and do a quick scan of the inside and then shut the door. Once you know what you want, go for it! Don’t prolong the agony.
Microwave
If you microwave often, make sure the inside stays clean. The cleaner it is, the less energy it will consume.
Oven management
If you are using the oven, make sure you are not frequently opening the door and letting the heat out. If you really need to monitor what is inside, use a thermometer and make sure that your oven window is always clean. Also, if you have something really small to cook, use your mini-oven or microwave instead.
