World Wisdom: Sustainable Cooking Habits for 2021

Food is something everyone must procure to keep their body p[roperly fueled and ready to go, but food is often much more than just biological fuel. The food industry is centered around making different types of food as tasty as possible to appeal to global pallets. As much fun as it is to cook up wild new dishes and explore without limits, the food industry is not the most environmentally friendly industry in the world. How we make our food and where ingredients come from has an impact on the environment, no matter how small your participation might feel. No one person or household will fix the sustainability issues in the food industry, but you can eat in a way that limits your personal impact. You can still eat delicious and exciting food while keeping your meals sustainable and eco-friendly in 2021. With a combination of thoughtful planning, local resources, and good research, you can make your diet healthy and green so you can enjoy the benefits while being friendlier to the planet. Below are just a few ways to make your eating habits more sustainable, along with the benefits of following the green and healthy living wave.

Avoid Food Waste

One of the best ways to eat sustainably is not to waste any food. There are some parts of food you can't eat no matter what, like artichoke hearts or bones from meat, but try your best to use all edible parts of food rather than throwing it out. Learn to embrace the art of leftovers and using large meals over multiple days. More determined cooks can even use food scraps or waste to make stocks and broths, which turns into even more tasty food later, so nothing goes to waste. It is worth investing in some glass food containers so you can store leftovers in safe and sustainable containers that will be with you for years.

Meal Planning And Or Prep

One of the best ways to eat sustainably is to plan your meals to ensure you always have what you need, but never too much so that you create waste. Some people go a step further and prep meals in advance, sometimes a whole week ahead of time, so you do not need to cook or shop for food during the week. General meal planning can help you make the most out of leftovers without being stuck with bland dishes. If you cook lamb one night, save the leftover meat to make curry the next day so you can enjoy the meat in a new way instead of throwing away the parts you did not eat.
The more you plan, the better you can shop for food as well. If you know what you plan to cook for the week, even if you don't prep and cook it all ahead of time, you know what you need to buy all at once instead of needing multiple trips for ingredients. You can even get creative with your planning by color-coding reusable shopping bags with basic dyes so you can keep track of the week and what you need to buy.

Support Local Foods

When it comes to finding sustainable produce, there is no better place than your local farmers' market. Local growers are the most likely to use all-natural farming methods with no preservatives or toxic pesticides, which makes you can buy local produce with confidence. Shopping from your neighbors also helps keep the community alive and profitable, so you can keep buying healthy and green foods from local markets. Since farmers' markets are typically only once a week, you can also limit overshopping and train yourself to make sure you buy everything you need in one trip rather than coming back for forgotten items throughout the week.

Limit How Much You Shop

One of the best ways to eat sustainably is to only shop for food once a week and limit how often you eat out at restaurants. If you buy too much food from stores, you increase your risk of food expiring before you can use it, which is a waste of time and money. Eating at restaurants may not put waste in your personal trash can, but the restaurant's dumpster will be full as professional kitchens tend only to serve the best food and throw away the scrap or messed up dishes.
Sustainable eating is a central part of a green lifestyle, and there are many ways you can improve your personal diet. Try to avoid wasting food by planning out your meals to make the best use of the ingredients on hand. Limit how often and how much you buy at the store and buy from local markets when possible. Going green and sustainable doesn't need to be hard or complicated as it only takes a few changes to make your diet more sustainable.