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Thanksgiving Dinner for One (or Two)

Posted on November 21, 2020November 21, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef

Stay home to reduce the spread of Covid-19 this Thanksgiving. Plan ahead to reduce food waste.

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5 Comments
  • Zero-Waste Basics

Plastic Free July: The Pandemic Year(s)

Posted on June 30, 2020June 30, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef

Like much else in 2020, Plastic Free July will look a bit different this year. Here are 17 ways to participate during the pandemic.

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15 Comments
  • Zero-Waste Basics

12 Ways to Fight the Pandemic Plastic Push

Posted on May 18, 2020May 18, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef
unpackaged produce from the farmers' market

Just when we had begun to make big strides against plastic pollution, some businesses have banned reusables. Here’s what we can do to cut plastic waste.

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9 Comments
  • Fermentation

Sourdough Discard Vegan Chocolate Cake

Posted on April 27, 2020April 2, 2021by The Zero-Waste Chef
sourdough discard vegan chocolate cake

Whether you’re new to sourdough or you’ve baked it for years, you can likely use another recipe for your discard, especially one for an easy chocolate cake.

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80 Comments
  • Uncategorized

Low-Waste Quarantine Activities for Toddlers and Young Kids

Posted on April 21, 2020April 24, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef

Looking for activities to keep the kids occupied and happy while staying at home during Covid-19? My Instagram audience has some ideas for you.

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4 Comments
  • Fermentation

Online Sauerkraut Workshop Lottery

Posted on April 13, 2020April 16, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef

Enter this lottery for a spot in my sauerkraut class and learn how to make this living, cultured food. Bring a cabbage to class or just watch.

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No comments yet
  • Fermentation

Online Sourdough Starter Workshop Lottery

Posted on April 1, 2020April 13, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef

Learn how to start a sourdough starter, how to feed it and what to do with it. Bring your tools, flour and water and we’ll make our starters together.

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No comments yet
  • Fermentation

Bake Sourdough Bread Without the Expensive Tools

Posted on March 29, 2020January 12, 2021by The Zero-Waste Chef

Don’t let a want of fancy tools squelch your dreams of baking delicious sourdough bread. You may have most of the gear you need.

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21 Comments
  • Uncategorized

How to Help with the N95 Mask Shortage

Posted on March 20, 2020March 21, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef

In the richest country in the world, health care workers have begun to run out of personal protective equipment. Some are asking volunteers to sew masks.

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9 Comments
  • Zero-Waste Basics

Lockdown Cooking: 7 Humble Dishes from Staples

Posted on March 17, 2020March 18, 2020by The Zero-Waste Chef
muesli in a large glass jar

During the coronavirus pandemic, the more dishes you can make with simple ingredients you have on hand, the fewer trips you’ll need to make to the store.

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5 Comments
  • Uncategorized

Hunkered Down During COVID-19? Make Something.

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

Millions of us will stay hunkered down at home during COVID-19, either out of necessity or precaution. Now seems like a great time to learn a new skill.

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10 Comments

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Sourdough Discard Pizza: How to Sourdough-ize a Recipe
Reusa-Bags Upcycled Produce Bag Project
Make-a-Dent-in-Your-Discard Sourdough Pita Bread
15 Creative Uses for Food Scraps
Ginger Bug
The Zero-Waste Chef Cookbook
Limoncello Mixed-Nut Biscotti
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When Life Hands You Lemon Peels, Make Limoncello
Is My Sourdough Starter Dead? Your Starter Dilemmas Addressed

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  • Limoncello Mixed-Nut Biscotti
  • The Zero-Waste Chef Book Is Here
  • Eat All the Food You Buy and Invest the Money You Save
  • Turmeric Bug for Naturally Carbonated Sodas
  • When Life Hands You Lemon Peels, Make Limoncello
  • 11 Sourdough Discard Recipes
  • No-Waste Irish-ish Soda Bread and Confusing “Best-Before” Dates
  • The Bonus Recipe Bundle Is Here!
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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.
You don’t have to do zero waste perfectly to mak You don’t have to do zero waste perfectly to make an impact.
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That line comes from my book—out next week! While I do believe it's possible for many people to reduce their waste drastically (especially food waste…sort of the low-hanging fruit of zero-waste living), it's much more important to have everyone on board, doing what they can. Each of us reducing our waste by, say, around 20 percent would make an enormous impact. But “the around-twenty-percent-less-waste movement” just doesn’t have same ring to it as “the zero-waste movement.”
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Please do not get hung up on the “zero” in “zero-waste.” It merely represents a goal. If you don’t like the name, call it something else. Or don’t call it anything and just go about your business 😉
Sourdoughized whole-wheat sandwich bread 🍞 This Sourdoughized whole-wheat sandwich bread
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This recipe comes from the six-recipe bundle I developed as a thank you for anyone who has preordered my book, out next week! 🙏🏻
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This whole-wheat sandwich bread combines sourdough flavor with the speed of active dry yeast, while using up a good amount of that discarded sourdough starter you’ve accumulated from feedings—one cup of discard per loaf. I included this in the bundle so you’d have a use for any discard left over from making the sourdough focaccia, another recipe in the bundle.
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A question I often hear about discard is: How long will it keep? First, be sure to store it in the refrigerator where it will continue to ferment—but very slowly. If you store it at room temperature, it will ferment quickly and break down to the point of being unusable—and also inundated with hooch, that gray layer of liquid on top. By the way, I’ve been accumulating hooch in the freezer to use later to kickstart a ferment…probably more nut cheese…I love these experiments…
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Back to the discard’s best-before date… As long as you keep turning over the discard—removing some to make this bread (or pancakes, or crackers or the tortillas in the book, for example), and then adding more to the jar from feedings—you can keep your discard jar in the refrigerator for many, many months. I will finally wash my discard jar when I reach the bottom of it—which happens rarely. And I get a little nervous when I reach the bottom! The discard is like an insurance policy should anything happen to Eleanor, my sourdough starter. You can revive a spoonful of discard and within a couple of feedings, it should be up to speed.
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Link in profile for more info on the other recipes in the bundle and how to download them. The bundle is available until the book release on April 13th.
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