Recently a concerned mom asked me if I had any ideas to reduce waste in school cafeterias. When my email back to her grew longer and longer, I realized I had better just write a blog post on the topic. The school year may have ended (or will end soon) here in the US but […]
Zero-Waste Basics
Start Here
Last week, Andrew Bondarenko, a photographer, told me about a 6-month road trip he’ll embark upon at the end of June in order to raise awareness about plastic pollution. An avid hiker and backpacker, Andrew hopes to travel to the most popular trails, forests, lakes, national parks, national monuments, mountains and beaches in the US—and take pics […]
7 Steps to Reduce Food Waste at Home
For Earth Day this year, I visited Hamlin School in San Francisco and discussed waste with students from Kindergarten to grade eight. Considering my audience, I wanted to keep things straightforward and to the point so I came up with a list of steps to reduce food waste at home. I figured most adults might find […]
How to Store Produce Without Plastic
Read aloud in a Brad Pitt drawl: The first rule of food waste is: you do not buy too much food. The second rule of food waste is: you do not buy too much food. In an ideal world—one in which you have time to shop a few times a week at a local farmer’s […]
6 Resolutions to Waste Less in 2017
That was quite a year… Let’s start over. 1. Drink more (tap) water Don’t get me wrong, I love to brew fermented drinks like kombucha, ginger beer and mead but I don’t guzzle them all day long (especially the mead—it packs a boozy punch). I don’t even drink them every day, especially now in winter […]
A Reorganized Recipe Index
The recipe index on this blog gets constant, steady traffic. I had originally organized the index into an alphabetical list but as I added more recipes, it became a bit unruly. I’ve reorganized the index with categories like “Ferments, beverages,” “Bread and sourdough” and “You can make that?” so you can more easily find what you’re […]
4-Step Meal Planning
Several years ago, I walked into my therapist’s office, sat down and said “If C goes away to college at age 18, I have 4,372 more dinners to cook.” If you feel overwhelmed by the thought of cooking dinner every night, I suggest you avoid making a similar calculation. Instead, I urge you give meal […]
Make Memories, Not Waste
Studies show that experiences bring more happiness to people than stuff. Anticipating an experience—a trip, an upcoming concert, dinner with friends—makes us happy before the actual event. In other words, we benefit from the experience before we actually experience the experience. Afterward, we have fond memories. And even if the experience goes badly, we still have […]
7 Starter Steps to Zero Waste
Adjusting to a new shopping/cooking/living routine took us a few months. We had to figure out which stores had the best bulk options—and which would allow us to fill up using our own containers. We had to plan ahead more. Gone were the days of running to the store for a plastic tub of sour […]