Explore These Effective Zero-Waste Hacks for Minimalist Cooking

• 86 views
• 0 Comment

We all love cooking for our loved ones but it is equally important to focus on food waste that comes with it. It is indeed one of the biggest problems for an average household, resulting in environmental issues and loss of money of course.

Well, is that the reason for many people to switch to zero waste cooking?  With this mechanism of food preparation, you can reduce the harmful impact on the environment and cook healthy meals with limited sources.

If you are not familiar with what it is all about, here is a sneak peek into those cooking hacks that will let you make the most of a minimalist cooking style.

1. Compost the food scraps

Transform food waste into food scraps to augment the process of food waste reduction and also make the soil nutrient-rich. Fruit scraps and vegetables can be turned to compost more easily when compared with bones and meat pieces. With this idea, you can start implementing clever ways to cook within budget.

2. Reusing ingredients

If you truly want to eat zero waste food, try to reuse everything like the peels, spices, herbs, and oil. For instance, reuse the oil in which you fried potatoes for frying something else, especially if the leftovers are substantial. Besides, you can reuse lemon and orange zest to prepare cocktails.

3. Don’t discard any part of your vegetable

As most others do, don’t just throw away any part of the vegetables that you normally eat. Wondering what it is all about? Use the stalks and branches or other vegetables like radishes, broccoli, beetroot, and turnips, or use them when preparing salads. Even when they turn stale, you can create a stir-fry recipe using mixed vegetables.

4. Use the skins of fruits and vegetables

Well, there are so many vegetables that you can start cooking straightaway. So, unpeeling them is not needed. That way, you will not only create a zero waste kitchen but save yourself from the trouble of peeling. Carrots and cucumbers are two of them and when it comes to fruits, apples too don’t need peeling at all. However, try buying organic produce if you are planning to use the peels as they would be free from pesticides. You can also preserve organic vegetables for the winter season and here they are:

• Dehydrate the food ingredients or dry them out in the oven at the lowest temperature. If you purchase too many vegetables, you can bake them for consumption later.
• Make jam from overripe fruits; it is an excellent way of preserving fruits and preventing them from being wasted.
• Freezing is another way of optimizing fruits and vegetables to stop the ripening process in its tracks.

5. Preparing broth with vegetable scraps

Are you planning to throw away vegetable scraps?  How about using them for preparing a healthy broth? When the peels look dry, you can also turn them into a smoothie and use seasonings to improve the taste. It would be another of those zero waste recipes that you can share with others and make the idea of a minimalist style of cooking.

6. Plan the meals

Planning the meals for a month or at least a week ahead will help you check which ingredients you will need. That way, you can also alter the recipes that you prepare and stop wastage. Here are a few tips to implement:

• Plan ahead of the week and save and use all the ingredients satisfactorily
• Get creative with food leftovers; you might plan recipes that may be prepared with the ingredients of the previous day
• When you don’t have the ingredients for preparing a recipe, you can switch to one from the next day as a substitution
• You need to jot down the recipes or store them on your smartphone; it will come in handy when you forget what you are supposed to cook on that day.

If you are trying to reduce your carbon footprint and plastic waste, embrace these zero waste cooking techniques to change the way you eat and also to make an impact. However, if you are not too keen to cook on weekends, visit a zero waste restaurant for a change. It will also help you save time and money and allow you to stay sustainable in your everyday life.

Theresa Perez

Theresa Perez is a seasoned writer for the health industry dedicated to providing fact-based health information. She sources concise facts from authoritative sources to ensure maximum credibility and shares guidelines to lead a healthy lifestyle.