April? You mean Earth Month? 🌎 Here on The Good Read, we will be tackling 3 areas in your daily life that might benefit from a few easy sustainable swaps. But please remember, whether you implement one or all five of these, you are making a difference. Small changes can have a BIG impact.
1. Leaving food in the container you buy it in → Storing food properly to avoid food waste
Roughly one-third of the food produced that is intended for human consumption every year- that’s around 1.3 billion tons and valued at $1 trillion USD- is wasted or lost. That is a LOT. So what can we do in our own homes to prevent waste from happening? Here are just a few tips/tricks:
- Cut the bottom and place your celery in a jar full of water
- Place unwashed, uncut strawberries in a glass jar
- Always keep ripened fruits/veggies in the fridge
- Know your labels!
- Best if used by/before dates: This label signifies when a food product will be at its peak quality or have the best flavor. This date label does not say how “safe” something is to eat.
- Sell by date: This date is more for store managers, not consumers. It lets those taking inventory know how long they can display the food product in store for.
2. Pouring out the water you washed your veggies in → Saving that water and watering your plants with it
Wash your produce under running water but just remember to put a bowl underneath to catch the runoff! You can also use the water you steam/boil vegetables in, just be sure it is cooled completely.
3. Hand Washing Dishes → Using your dishwasher (you heard that right!)
We know, we know, it almost sounds too good to be true. But even for smaller loads, the dishwasher uses less water and is more efficient than hand washing. If you’re looking to get even more sustainable with this, you could let your dishes air dry in the washer rather than using the heat settings!
4. Sticking to the same meals → Opting for at least one plant-based meal a week
If you need some recipes to get you started:
- Kale Caesar Salad
- Kale Salad with Miso Ginger Dressing
- Chickpea Salad Pita Pockets
- Chickpea Salad Avocado Boats
- Turmeric Power Greens Salad
5. Filling up a pot completely when boiling noodles → Only boiling the amount of water you actually need