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Zero-Waste Chef

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Why I’m not Excited About Coca-Cola’s 100% Recycled Bottle

Posted on February 16, 2021April 3, 2021by The Zero-Waste Chef

Coca-Cola is rolling out its new 100% recycled PET plastic bottle along with its old push for consumers to clean up after the company.

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9 Comments
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    • Zero-Waste Basics

Needs Are Problems Looking for Solutions, not Products

Posted on July 22, 2019December 6, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef

The marketing industry has trained us well to buy products that will supposedly solve all of life’s problems. But you might already have what you need.

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13 Comments
  • Rants

Cope with Ecoanxiety Using These 12 Strategies

Posted on June 20, 2019January 7, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef

The American Psychological Association defines ecoanxiety as “A chronic fear of environmental doom.” If you have ecoanxiety, try these coping strategies.

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7 Comments
  • Rants

Want to Combat Climate Change? Pick Up Your Damn Socks

Posted on May 23, 2019June 1, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef
flower garden in our intentional community

To tackle the challenges brought on by climate change—and the grassroots, anti-consumer, zero-waste movement plays a role—we women could use some help.

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13 Comments
  • Rants

Make Making Great Again

Posted on March 27, 2019March 28, 2019by The Zero-Waste Chef

One of the many benefits of a zero-waste or low-waste lifestyle is the recovery of life skills. Let’s teach these in schools.

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18 Comments
  • Rants

You Make a Difference

Posted on March 12, 2019March 14, 2019by The Zero-Waste Chef

You may feel that your zero-waste changes don’t make an impact. But you do not work alone. Together we will change the world.

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12 Comments
  • Rants

It’s Not Just the Plastic

Posted on February 22, 2019April 5, 2019by The Zero-Waste Chef

Living plastic-free involves fundamental lifestyle changes that go well beyond merely rejecting straws or carrying a water bottle.

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15 Comments
  • Rants

How to Cope With Environmental Guilt Syndrome (EGS)

Posted on February 14, 2019February 19, 2019by The Zero-Waste Chef

We environmentalists have too much work to do to let perfection and guilt stand in the way of progress. Push those abstractions aside and do what you can.

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51 Comments
  • Rants

Discouraging the Scourge of Disposable To-Go Cups

Posted on December 27, 2018November 14, 2019by Mary Katherine Glen
Bring your own cup to the café

Municipal bylaws mandating discounts for customers who bring their own cup and fees for those who opt for a to-go cup would greatly reduce waste sent to landfill.

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14 Comments
  • Rants

I’m not Extreme, Consumerism Is

Posted on November 22, 2018January 3, 2019by The Zero-Waste Chef
single use plastic spoon

A woman rides her bike to the farmers’ market to buy locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables. After carefully selecting some apples, oranges, avocados, potatoes and kale, all grown on small farms without the use of synthetic pesticides, she places them in her homemade cloth produce bags. Before she hops back on her bike, she […]

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35 Comments
  • Rants

Take Action on Climate Change to Cope with Your Grief

Posted on October 17, 2018December 7, 2019by The Zero-Waste Chef

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” — William James To live without hope is to cease to live.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky You have to show them that there’s a better way. You need to inspire them like you inspired me! You need to give them hope.” — Barry, Sausage Party […]

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12 Comments
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    • Zero-Waste Basics

Kitchen Gadgets You Didn’t Know You Already Own

Posted on September 19, 2018September 20, 2018by The Zero-Waste Chef

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 […]

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17 Comments
  • Rants

Please Do not Turn Zero Waste into Another Consumer Lifestyle

Posted on July 21, 2018February 8, 2021by The Zero-Waste Chef

Every day, 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. But when I do […]

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67 Comments
  • Rants

A Brief History of Recycling

Posted on June 28, 2018November 15, 2019by The Zero-Waste Chef

“You must recycle everything.” That’s what I sometimes hear when people learn that I don’t generate any trash. In reality, I rarely recycle because I rarely buy anything in a package that I could put into a recycling bin. I bring my own packaging with me when I shop at the farmers’ market and bulk […]

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14 Comments
  • Rants

9 Items I Banned from My Kitchen and How I Replaced Them

Posted on March 14, 2018June 20, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef

In 2011, my daughter MK and I decided we would try to live without plastic. Because I’ve been at this for a while, I take for granted many of the early changes we made back then to wean ourselves off of the stuff. But with all the welcome press lately on the plastic pollution crisis […]

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58 Comments

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Earth Week Chat with Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, Founder Earth Week Chat with Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, Founder of @plasticfreejuly. Happy Earth Week! I was honored to chat with Rebecca about my new cookbook, the easiest steps to take to cut plastic and the best way to reduce food waste.
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#ZeroWasteChefCookbook #foodwaste #zerofoodwaste #lovefoodhatewaste #foodwastewarriors #plasticfreejuly #simpleliving #plasticfreeliving #planetorplastic #plasticpollutes #plasticocean #breakfreefromplastic #lessplastic #lesswaste #lowwaste #intentionalliving #slowliving #zerowastejourney #zerowasteliving #zerowastechef #thereisnoplanetb #climatechange #climatecrisis #slowfood #slowfoodmovement
I’m in @ElleCanada this morning! . The article i I’m in @ElleCanada this morning!
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The article includes an interview and a recipe excerpt from my cookbook for Eat-All-Your-Vegetables Pancakes. These are a delicious way to use up those last random bits of vegetables in your refrigerator.
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“Eliminating waste from our day-to-day isn’t without its challenges — especially when it comes to food. Between grocery shopping, meal prep and food storage, going zero waste can be a daunting task. So when Anne-Marie Bonneau started her food blog, the Zero-Waste Chef knew she would eventually turn her passion for a waste-free life into a book. Her goal? To find simple and manageable ways to cook and eat sustainably. Now, just in time for Earth Month, the Canadian-born [Bay Area] resident is celebrating the launch of The Zero-Waste Chef, a guide on transitioning to a plastic-free kitchen, packed with 75 tasty (and wallet-friendly) vegan and vegetarian recipes that are good for you — and the planet. Here, the author shares what she’s learned since going zero waste, tips on how to get started and the recipes you don’t want to miss out on.”
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Link in profile for the article.
Happy Earth Week! I have several free Earth Day an Happy Earth Week! I have several free Earth Day and book launch events going on this week. I still have a couple to finalize so this list will expand a bit. Here is what’s going on so far:
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Today, 8am PT/11am ET, Instagram Live with Ellie Besley-Gould of @_thegreenish. We will chat about strategies for going greenish without going insaneish.
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April 20, 5pm PT/8pm ET, It Doesn’t Cost the Earth: In Conversation with Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, the founder of Plastic Free July 🙌 Join @plasticfreejuly.
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April 21, 4pm PT/7pm ET, Instagram Live Author talk with @Indigo, Canada’s biggest bookseller! 🇨🇦 
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April 21, 7pm PT, Author Zoom Talk, San Mateo Country Lib#raries, @smclibraries. Link in profile for info on registering 📚
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April 22, 11am PT/2 pm ET, Instagram Live Chat with the awesome sharing app, @OLIO.app. #realsharingeconomy
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April 22, 1pm PT/4pm ET, Zoom with @the_zero_waste_teen and panel. Zoom link to come. I’ll update my events page when I have that.
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April 22, 5pm PT/8pm ET, “Zero Wasty, Very Tasty Cook-Along,” @cityofsunnyvale. We’ll make fried rice with leftovers. Attendees will receive a list of ingredients and equipment in advance of the Zoom class. Link in profile for info on registering.
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April 24, From 10am PT/1 pm ET, Restore Our Earth Speakers Series, @cityofcupertino. The speaker series will air on Facebook Live and YouTube Live. Link in profile for info on registering.
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I hope some of you can attend 💕😊
Plastic-free cotton thread on cardboard spools 🤯 Plastic-free thread has been almost impossible to find for, well, decades.
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I bought 10 large spools in the hopes that my sewing bee can get together soon and sew more cloth produce bags to give away at our farmers' market. We haven't been able to do that for a year.
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So far, we've given away over 3,000 bags, all made from donated, unwanted fabric and sheets. Thank you to everyone who has donated. I have a map on my blog with similar groups around the world. You can search for a group near you or start one of your own (swipe for the map).
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This cotton Coats thread costs more than the big spools of polyester serger thread on plastic cones but they do cost much less per yard than several standard small spools. People put money into our donation jar when we give the bags away, so I used some of that cash and didn't have to pay for all of these out of my own pocket.
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Last year, I also bought a secondhand Husqvarna serger with some of the jar money so we can crank out more bags. If you want to start sewing but don't have a machine, you can often find them secondhand on Craigslist, Nextdoor, Facebook Marketplace or your Buy Nothing Group. I see them listed regularly.
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Link in profile for more info on the Reuse-bags project.
Determination to use every last peel from a near 3 Determination to use every last peel from a near 30-pound haul of lemons culminated in this limoncello biscotti, a twice-baked lemony cookie for grownup dipping into steaming cups of coffee or tea.
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The bulk of my haul became preserved lemons. But to preserve lemons, in addition to the lemons you stuff into jars, you must juice yet more lemons to top off the jars. So I peeled several of those extra lemons to make limoncello, with the intention to (mostly) bake with it.
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I repeat this often on here but I’ll say it again: The constraints I have imposed on myself—to use everything and waste nothing—have both improved my dishes and made cooking a much more enjoyable experience. (I also save money.)
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Last night in my Stories, I asked you all to make a choice: drink limoncello or bake with limoncello. Late last night, the votes were 100% for drinking but this morning, they have changed to 62% drink, 38% bake. The votes are still coming in and, as I post this, it is Friday night in parts of the world… the numbers will likely change some more.
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Link in profile for the new recipe.
UPDATE FOR PEOPLE ASKING ABOUT THE NUMBERS. The UN UPDATE FOR PEOPLE ASKING ABOUT THE NUMBERS. The UN’s new Food Waste Index report came out in March. From the report: “This report estimates that around 931 million tonnes of food waste was generated in 2019, 61 per cent of which came from households, 26 per cent from food service and 13 per cent from retail.” These are worldwide numbers for food that makes it to market but goes to waste. According to Drawdown, food waste in developed countries occurs more at the end of the supply chain, the consumer level. In developing countries, it occurs at the beginning of the supply chain, closer to the farm. According to the NRDC, farms in the US account for 16 percent of food that goes uneaten. Households come in at 43 percent, the largest slice of the food waste pie. These are all excellent sources if you’d like to learn more about food waste and the numbers.
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An excerpt of my book is in the @latimes this morning. It includes tips for storing food and shopping for food, plus my recipe for vegetable broth made from scraps.
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Eating all of the food we buy may seem like a small thing given the environmental challenges we face. But it’s one of the most effective steps we can take as consumers in order to help mitigate the climate crisis. Food waste accounts for around 8 percent of carbon emissions. We can eat the food and cut those emissions.
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And there is zero downside to reducing food waste. Zero. You save money. You schlep to and from the store less often. Not only do you buy less food but you bring into your home fewer of the single-use packages that some of that food you’re not buying would have come in. You free up space in your refrigerator and cupboards by eating what you have on hand. And, you become a more creative cook, which results in tastier food.
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Link in profile for the LA Times article.
This Friday at 11am PT/ 2pm ET, @wildminimalist wi This Friday at 11am PT/ 2pm ET, @wildminimalist will host an IG Live with Lily Cameron, founder of Wild Minimalist and author of the new book, Simply Sustainable, and me. I think we will have a lot to talk about!
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Lily and I will chat about our respective books, we’ll share tips and we’ll answer your questions. Have a difficult dilemma you’d like us to address during the chat? Please let me know in the comments. I hope to see you on Friday!
The Zero-Waste Chef book is here! . I started down The Zero-Waste Chef book is here!
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I started down this road in 2011 because, after reading about plastic swirling around in our oceans and harming wildlife, I simply wanted off of the stuff. I had no idea that in my small attempt to tread a little lighter on the planet, I would also benefit! By replacing single-use items (like plastic wrap to cover a bowl of leftovers) with reusable items (like a plate to cover a bowl of leftovers), and eliminating food waste, I saved money. I stopped eating all highly processed food and began eating more whole foods, which improved my health. And just as importantly (I believe), thanks to this journey, my food tasted better. 
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But that journey had many bumps along the way. I hope that my book not only helps readers have a smoother trip on the road to more sustainable living but also sparks lots of ideas along the way. And zero-waste living is a journey, not a destination. You never actually reach that elusive zero and that’s just fine. A small number of people doing zero-waste perfectly will have a small impact—millions doing it imperfectly will transform the world.
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Because so many of you were emailing me at the last minute, late last night to get your bonus recipes—and because I’m so grateful to you all for making this book possible!—I’m extending access to my bonus recipe gift (with six recipes not in the book or on this blog) through Friday April 16th. Just email your order number or a pic of your order confirmation or whatever to zerowastechefbonus@gmail.com. Look in your spam folder If you don’t get the recipe bundle download quickly. 
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But wait there’s more! I have a bunch of events planned for the launch. I can’t fit them all here and I’m updating the list every day. Link in profile for those events and for ordering the book.
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Thank you all for your support! It means the world to me 📗😊💕
Tomorrow is the big day! My book baby comes into t Tomorrow is the big day! My book baby comes into the world after a two-year gestation period.
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If you preordered, thank you very much! My bonus bundle of six recipes is available until midnight tonight (Pacific Time) for anyone who preorders, whether you did so in October or you preorder today. The download comes from me, not the retailer. UPDATE: I’ve extended the free recipe bundle deadline to Friday, April 16th!
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These recipes are not on my blog or in my book. In the bundle:
😋 All-the-Celery and White Bean Soup
😋 Sweet Potato Gnocci with Quick Caramelized Onions and Sage
😋 Scrappy Sourdough Focaccia
😋 Sourdoughized Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
😋 Mary Katherine’s Guacamole
😋 Mixed-Nut Orange Biscotti
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If you preordered and haven't grabbed your bonus recipes, please go to the link in my profile to do that (very easy). I want to make sure everyone who preordered gets their bonus recipes!
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Thank you again for your support. It means the world to me 💕
Earth Day giveaway! Earth Day is now more like Ear Earth Day giveaway! Earth Day is now more like Earth Month thank goodness… we need all the days… Next expansion: Earth Year 😉
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Zero-waste store and small business @oneworldzerowaste diverts interior designer fabric sample books from landfill, and upcycles the material into lovely utensil rolls like this one. The winner will receive the one-of-a-kind utensil roll shown here, along with utensils, a reusable cup with silicone lid and cork band, and one of the store’s reusable cloth shopping bags.
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To enter, please:
1. Like and comment on this post with your favorite zero-waste swap
2. Follow @oneworldzerowaste and me
3. Tag a friend 
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Rules: Open to US residents. Giveaway is in no way administered, sponsored or endorsed by Instagram. Entries close on Thursday, April 15th at 11:59pm PT. I will randomly choose a winner and notify them by DM and @oneworldzerowaste will ship the prize.
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