THE ECO-KITCHEN COMMANDMENTS

Plan, plan, plan

Thinking about what you’d like to cook before you go shopping can help you avoid food waste. It can also stop you from making those ill-advised hungry spur-of-the-moment decisions in the supermarket.

Meat Mondays

How about flipping meat-free Mondays on its head to change your mindset? Instead, try having meat only on a Monday (or you can choose a different day) and eating plant-based during the rest of the week.

Mix it up

So much of our food is the same. So add greater diversity to your diet. Instead of chicken and potatoes, give foods like polenta, couscous, parsnips, barley and asparagus a go.

Say no to plastic

Simple adjustments, like grabbing loose fruit and veg in the supermarket instead of pre-packed stuff, can make a difference to your impact on the environment. There is also the benefit of purchasing exactly the quantity you need, avoiding waste.

Recycle

Get in the habit of rinsing out and separating tins, jars and cartons as soon as you’re done with them so you can put them straight in the recycling. If you have any packaging that can’t be picked up in your recycling collection, check at your local recycling bank before throwing them in general waste.

Avoid food waste

Check the fridge before you go shopping to see what you have left, and get creative with waste – for example, you can make pakoras from vegetable peelings.

Eat seasonally

Eating seasonally is how food is supposed to be consumed – we should be celebrating foods when they are in season, not flying them halfway around the globe.