We work hard to ensure that our practises are the least impactful on the environment. Here are some really easy things that we’ve picked up along the way to help you cook with conscience at home.
Food Waste
This is a biggie. Quite literally - did you know that over a third of the food produced is wasted, globally? In the East, this is down to the imperfect veg not being deemed good enough for customers like us and, in the West, the biggest mass comes from after we have bought or prepared the food but failed to eat it. Ways to help combat this:
Be creative with your leftovers and food waste. For example, we use the whole of the veg and transform the tops and tails into delicious crust dippers or turn it into a veg stock that can be used for braising more veg at a later date.
Compost any food waste created from your prep or leftover from dinner and use this in your garden to grow veg creating your own private circular economy. Growing your own veg is not only deeply satisfying but it’ll save you money whilst soaking up the CO2 and releasing much needed oxygen back into the environment.
Remember the freezer is your friend - freeze anything you don’t eat for another day and not only will you save any wastage, you’ll also save any effort needed to cook dinner later on in the week.
Olio is a food waste sharing platform for your local neighbourhood. Forget borrowing a cup of sugar - think about rescuing those slightly brown bananas instead - from a safe distance of course.
Ingredients
Preserve the life of veggies by pickling and fermenting them (this is particularly a great thing to do for any ‘wonky’ veg you might have). People have been preserving for centuries and not only can you create some really strong flavours, it’s also really good for restoring the balance of friendly bacteria in your gut and may help to alleviate some digestive problems.
We like to ferment cherry tomatoes in a garlic brine as well as make kimchi - a fermented spicy cabbage that we use to top some of our pizzas.
Eat locally and seasonal but make sure you don’t do one without the other. For example, if you are buying British strawberries in January, they’ve probably been cultivated in an artificially heated environment therefore creating a greater carbon footprint than if you shipped some over.
Eat organic where possible. We appreciate that this can sometimes be more expensive so if you’d rather not stretch to this then familiarise yourself with the Clean 15™ and Dirty Dozen™ - these lists define the crops that farmers typically use the least and most pesticides on, respectively, so can educate your choices.
House Keeping
Think of the oceans when you’re cleaning the dishes - use eco friendly washing up liquid made from plant based formulas and get the empties refilled when you’re finished to avoid anymore plastic. Ecover is a leader of this.
Use 100% certified renewable energy in your kitchens and use equipment sparingly, for example, only turn on your oven when you need them - don’t do it too far in advance.
Buy tupperware (ideally stainless steel so to avoid any new plastics) and resist the urge to buy any more clingfilm. Our kitchen at Flat Earth is clingfilm-free and it has been a surprisingly easy adjustment.
The Good Stuff
Select your wine carefully and drink vegan and natural wines that have been made with minimal intervention and no chemicals. Biodynamic wines have been created with a holistic, ecological, and ethical approach without the use of pesticides.
Use sustainable coffee pods - Mr Clooney changed the face of coffee pods, now it’s our responsibility to make sure that we choose the correct brand. Lost Sheep Coffee are plastic-free and 100% compostable which means they’ll eventually break down to become a pile of nutrient-rich soil. This coffee is roasted Kent and they ensure that farmers are paid a fair price.
Enjoy chocolate but do so consciously - Tony’s Chocolonely is Dutch chocolate company intent on eradicating slave labour from the cocoa industry and they have the best chocolate mould so not only is the sweet stuff more ethical than other brands, it looks different too when unwrapped to be devoured.
Have you got any tips? Leave a comment below or get in touch. We’d love to hear.