If you’ve arrived at this blog, you’re probably aware of the plastic pollution problem so I won’t spend time discussing it. You can read recent news on that here, here and here. Instead, I’ll discuss changes we can make in our own lives. Individual choices may not seem like much in the face of this disaster but […]
Kitchen Gadgets You Didn’t Know You Already Own
A flimsy plastic kitchen gadget that should not exist inspired this post: the Evriholder Avo Saver Avocado Holder. Shaped like one half of an avocado, with a round indentation for the seed and an adjustable rubber strap, this gadget buckles in the half avocado you didn’t eat so you can store it in the refrigerator and […]
A Use-It-Up Challenge (or What We Ate Last Week)
Forgetting to bring your money before you head out shopping can provide a great opportunity to re-examine your shopping list—and in the case of grocery shopping, prevent food waste. The Sunday before last, I arrived at the farmers’ market late. Once there, before even opening my purse, I realized I had neither money nor my […]
Refried Beans
Homemade refried beans taste delicious, fill you up, cost little money to make and contain only a handful of ingredients. The taste of canned refried beans pales in comparison and I prefer that my food not come into contact with plastic. The epoxy that lines cans contains either BPA or a just-as-bad-if-not-worse replacement, such as […]
But When You Do Shop, Shop Small
Shop small could mean shop less. And I do suggest we all do that. But in this post, by shop small, I mean shop at small independent businesses—the local bookstore, bike shop and bakery. Why? 1. Less packaging waste Which came first, our addiction to convenience or the convenience of online shopping? Either way, this […]
Why Cook Two Things at Once When You Can Cook Six?
I strive to run my kitchen as efficiently as possible—I use up absolutely every bit of food, do my best to dirty only one bowl instead of two or three or four and on an ideal day, cram as much as possible into my oven and cook a pile of food all at once. After working […]
Use-It-Up Vegan Apple Crumble
Writing this blog has forced me to figure out how to use up everything. In the old days, had I spied ugly apples at the grocery store—I rarely shopped at the farmers’ market—I likely wouldn’t have bought them. “Ewww, they have blemishes!” Not that the store would have provided the option. Only within the last […]
Herbal Remedies
I just returned from a visit with my family in Canada, where my daughter MK attends the University of Guelph in Ontario. While I was at MK’s, she showed me a list of herbal remedies she keeps affixed to the inside of one of her kitchen cupboard doors. She refers to this list when she […]
Drop that Bleach! The Wasteful Side Effects of the War on Bacteria
War cannot be won. I’m not advocating anything dangerous here, just old-fashioned common sense—and practices. We are too clean and so are our homes. And that germaphobia has created a market—or the market has created germaphobia—for all sorts of wasteful products. I’m not advocating you never bathe. However, this MIT chemical engineer hasn’t showered since 2003 […]
Waste Nothing Beet Pickles
How can I possibly be so excited about something as lowly as beet pickles, besides the fact that they taste delicious? My daughter MK has loved these since she was little. I ate most of the pickles I made for this post though…I had to do quality control…sorry MK… Nothing goes to waste To make […]
Zero-Waste Living Is Front-Page News!
I was in the Mercury News this past Friday, a Bay Area paper that covers Silicon Valley. I had read the article online Friday morning and thought to myself, “I should buy a copy and see if the article also appeared in the print edition.” So late in the afternoon, I moseyed over to the store […]
Please Do not Turn Zero Waste into Another Consumer Lifestyle
Every week, at least a few companies contact me about a “fantastic opportunity to collaborate” and peddle their wares for them on here, wares that apparently no zero waster can live without. I can’t possibly respond to all the messages I get, so I generally ignore these pitches—even for products and services I might like. […]