ZERO WASTE & SUSTAINABLE Cooking Tips

Summary

In this video, the speaker shares practical tips on how to live a more sustainable, zero-waste lifestyle. Key suggestions include bringing your own shopping bags, buying local and organic produce, cooking from scratch, and using reusable items like silicone baking mats. The speaker also emphasizes reducing food waste by using vegetable scraps to make broths or compost, growing herbs at home, and storing leftovers sustainably. Additionally, reducing animal product consumption is encouraged to lessen environmental impact. Overall, the video provides simple yet effective strategies to help viewers adopt a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

Takeaways

• 😀 Bring your own shopping bags and produce bags to avoid plastic waste during grocery shopping.
• 🌱 Buy local and organic food to reduce transportation emissions and avoid harmful pesticides.
• 🍞 Baking from scratch, like making your own bread, is a sustainable cooking choice.
• 🔥 Use a reusable silicone baking mat instead of disposable baking sheets for a more eco-friendly kitchen.
• 🥣 Making your own hummus from bulk chickpeas is a great way to avoid plastic packaging.
• 🥕 Use all parts of vegetables, like skins and stems, to reduce food waste, or compost them.
• 🍲 Freeze vegetable scraps to make homemade broth, a sustainable way to use leftovers.
• 🌿 Grow your own herbs at home to reduce packaging and save on store-bought products.
• 🧅 Regrow vegetables like spring onions and leeks in water to save money and resources.
• 💧 Reduce animal product consumption to save water and resources, and live more sustainably.

Q & A

What is the hardest part about living zero waste in the kitchen?

The hardest part for the speaker is managing to cook completely sustainably. Despite trying, they find it difficult to avoid all waste in the kitchen, especially when it comes to packaging and available products.

Why is it important to bring your own shopping bags and produce bags?

Bringing your own shopping and produce bags helps avoid using plastic bags, which contribute to waste. It's a simple but effective way to reduce plastic consumption during grocery shopping.

What are the benefits of buying local and organic food?

Local food requires less transportation, reducing carbon emissions. Organic food ensures that no harmful pesticides are used, which helps protect the environment, including pollinators like bees.

What are the advantages of cooking from scratch?

Cooking from scratch is generally more sustainable as it allows you to control ingredients, avoid unnecessary packaging, and reduce food waste. It also often leads to healthier meals.

Why is using a silicone baking mat better than disposable baking sheets?

A silicone baking mat is reusable, meaning you can use it for many years, unlike disposable baking sheets that are single-use and difficult to recycle. This reduces waste and is more eco-friendly.

How can making your own hummus contribute to sustainability?

Making hummus from scratch allows you to avoid plastic packaging that comes with store-bought hummus. Using bulk chickpeas and other ingredients in glass jars helps reduce waste and unnecessary packaging.

What can be done with vegetable scraps to reduce waste?

Vegetable scraps, such as potato skins or broccoli stems, can be composted or used to make vegetable broth. Freezing scraps until you have enough is a great way to reduce food waste and create a nutritious broth.

How can growing your own herbs contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle?

Growing your own herbs saves packaging and provides fresh ingredients. It’s also easy to do, whether you have a garden, a balcony, or even space in your kitchen, reducing the need for store-bought, packaged herbs.

What vegetables can be regrown easily, and how does this help sustainability?

Spring onions and leeks can be regrown by placing part of the vegetable in water. This method reduces waste and helps save money, as you can regrow the vegetables multiple times, minimizing resource usage.

How does reducing animal products contribute to sustainability?

Animal products require significant resources, such as water and feed. Reducing or eliminating animal products can save these resources and decrease the environmental impact of food production. Even small reductions can have a positive effect.