Like all things zero waste, this menu requires a bit of planning but not that much. During a recent Instagram Live, I discussed tips for preventing waste at Thanksgiving—not just food waste but packaging waste also (read 18 waste-busting tips here). A few people asked for Thanksgiving dinner menu ideas, specifically for vegan dishes. I […]
Zero-Waste Menus
Zero-Waste Menu No 7
I’ve come up with the seventh and last menu in my zero-waste menu series. When we first went plastic-free, menus would have helped us a lot. Figuring out what to eat presented the biggest challenge of our new lifestyle. I’ll write a roundup of all the menus soon. Until then, if you’d like to peek […]
Zero-Waste Menu No 6
One more menu to go after this and I’ll have a full week’s worth. As I’ve written in some of my other menu posts, I don’t actually cook a different dish every day. In fact, please don’t follow a entirely different menu every day. If you follow this menu today, cook another menu tomorrow and […]
Zero-Waste Menu No 5
When we first went plastic-free in 2011, it took us a while to figure out what to eat. One thing was clear, however—we would no longer eat processed foods, with all of their plastic packaging. We started eating more fresh vegetables from the farmers market and I also began fermenting like crazy. If you’ve caught […]
Zero-Waste Menu No 4: The Use-It-Up Menu
All of the recipes in my zero-waste menu series can be produced without generating trash—assuming you have access to farmer’s markets and bulk bins. This menu focuses on eliminating food waste in particular. It’s the use-it-all-up-now-before-it-goes-bad menu. The dishes featured here call for typical ingredients that need to be consumed quickly in order to avoid […]
Zero-Waste Menu No 3
If you have access to decent bulk bins and a good farmer’s market, with a little preparation and perhaps a substitution here and there, you can prepare almost any recipe without producing waste. Just follow the rules below. When we first went plastic free in 2011, it took at least a couple of months to […]
Zero-Waste Menu No 2
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that transitioning to my zero-waste shopping and cooking routine took many months of reprogramming and I continue to tweak and hone the drill as new challenges come up. I had always cooked but at some point, started shopping quite a bit at Trader Joe’s, basically a giant convenience store. (I’m sorry. […]
Zero-Waste Menu No 1
I remember our excitement over our first plastic-free meal (cooked by my daughter MK*): Mushroom-bean burgers Homemade burger buns Salad and veggies on the side We were thrilled. We felt a little deflated when we noticed a plastic cheese wrapper. Still. We had come a long way. However it did take two or three months […]
Key Ingredients for a Zero-Waste Kitchen
To reduce kitchen waste—and to save time and money—I improvise when I cook rather than strictly follow recipes. If you follow recipes for a different dish every night, in no time, ingredients you bought specifically for those dishes but didn’t use entirely—plus leftovers—will overrun your kitchen. You and your family can eat only so much! […]