Have you ever wondered how to eat more sustainably at home? If you’re interested in learning how you can reduce food waste in your own home and discovering ways of lowering your personal carbon footprint then this is the post for you! I’m sharing 14 practical and easy tips that will help you make greener choices when it comes to food in your home.
What does it mean to eat sustainably?
Eating sustainably refers to the choices you make regarding your eating habits and doing what you can do minimise their impact on the environment.
Whilst I completely agree that governments and large food and drinks organisations should be taking responsibility for the industry’s impact on the planet and contribution to climate change, I also believe that we as individuals have to take responsibility for our own actions.
There are countless ways that we can evaluate and minimise our personal carbon footprint. But, in this post I want to focus only on our sustainable eating habits at home and how to make them greener.
By that, I mean things that all of us can do every week or every day that help to reduce food waste, reduce plastic consumption, champion sustainable brands and even save you money too – all without much effort but a huge impact locally and globally.
Does that sound great or what? Let’s get stuck in to my top tips on how to eat sustainably at home!
How to create sustainable eating habits at home
1. Buy seasonal produce
Fruit and vegetables tend to grow at a certain time of the year and in a certain climate; this is when they are at their freshest, most delicious and most nutritious.
By knowing what’s in season in your country and consciously choosing seasonal produce when you do your grocery shopping, you’re helping to reduce the carbon footprint associated with your food. Fruit and veg that has been grown in your own country travels less far to reach you and is fresher on arrival!
Furthermore, a large amount of food waste occurs in the supply chain before it even reaches supermarket shelves, so by supporting your local farmers and buying produce from your country you’re helping to reduce food waste that occurs in transit.
Usually produce that is in season grows in abundance. When there is a lot of something the prices come down in order to make sure it sells, so you’re likely to save money too buy choosing seasonal produce.
2. Visit your local farmers markets
Farmers markets are a great way to connect with your local farmers and buy the freshest produce out there!
Not only will you be eating delicious, fresh produce that has been grown on your doorstep but you’re also supporting your local community – which is something very special in this digital age!
The produce on farmers markets is also often sold loose, meaning you’re also significantly reducing the amount of plastic waste associated with packaging. Remember to bring your reusable bags with you!
3. Buy organic [if you can]
Organic produce is more sustainable and environmentally friendly because the fruit and veg has been grown without the use of toxic chemicals. This is not only better for the soil and earth, but also for your health!
I know it’s not possible for everyone to buy all organic produce as it’s generally more expensive that non-organic produce, but if you’re able to choose a couple of organic items a week (perhaps the items you eat on a regular basis, for me that would be lemons for example) that’s already a great step.
4. Plan your meals
Meal planning is an excellent way to reduce food waste and will definitely help you eat more sustainably at home.
By deciding in advance what you’re going to eat for the week, you’re more likely to only buy what you need and therefore will end up throwing far less food into the bin.
Before I started meal planning I’d walk around the supermarket and pick up things because of an offer rather than because I had ideas of what I’d do with all the ingredients. Then what happened? I didn’t know what to make with what I bought and would end up having to buy additional ingredients and binning a lot of food that didn’t get used or went off! This is also a huge waste of money and no-one likes throwing money in the bin…
With meal planning, you know exactly which ingredients you need and how much of each item. You cook your meals and use up everything you buy and nothing (or very little) gets wasted or spoils. Winning!
5. Save your leftovers for another day
Another common source of food waste at home is leftovers – often we cook too much food for one meal and throw the leftovers away.
Instead, save any leftovers throughout the week and store them in containers in the fridge.
By the end of the week you’ll have enough small portions for another entire meal and is yet another way to reduce food waste. Most cooked foods will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days, but if you’re unsure give it a sniff before reheating it – if it smells bad, don’t eat it!
6. Switch to loose leaf tea
Many teabags contain plastic and don’t decompose, which is a long-term problem for the environment. Plastic waste never fully biodegrades and will therefore simply build up on the planet, which is why we need to stop using it for unnecessary purposes (like teabags).
Instead opt for loose leaf tea and invest in a strainer to stop the leaves from falling into your cup.
Alternatively, choose brands like Tea Pigs and Good Earth whose teabags are eco-friendly and biodegradable – plus their cardboard packaging is also fully recyclable.
7. Eat less meat and dairy
The meat and dairy industry has a huge impact on the environment since vast areas of nature are destroyed and deforested to make room to grow feed for livestock, killing wildlife and threatening many plant and animal species.
Together, deforestation and animal agriculture account for a quarter of all greenhouse gases, contributing significantly to global warming and climate change.
By eating less meat and dairy you can help to reduce the demand on this industry, which in turn will mean less deforestation and less emissions. Cultivating plants requires far less physical space and water and doesn’t involve cruel and inhumane treatment of animals.
Research is also showing that reducing consumption of animal products and eating more plants is also beneficial for your health – we can actually get all the nutrients we need from plants if we educate ourselves how to eat them properly! Books like How Not to Die by Michael Greger are good for learning about the health benefits of a plant based diet if you’re interested in reading more.
Read this blog post for some practical tips on how you can start incorporating more plants into your everyday life.
I also have a bunch of vegetarian and plant-based recipes archived if you’re in need of some cooking inspiration!
8. Start a home compost [if you can]
Home composting is a great way to reduce food waste as you can use it to slowly decompose things like fruit and vegetable peels and offcuts, bruised fruit, eggshells, herb stalks and more.
In the UK many areas provide homes with a compost caddy which you can fill with your food waste and then leave outside on bin day for the garbage truck to collect, which I think is awesome! I appreciate not everyone has this luxury and if you don’t have an outside space I can also understand that composting is not for you.
However, if you have a garden you could go one step further and build your own compost heap. The compost can then be used as a natural fertiliser in your garden!
9. Grow your own greens
Why not try growing your own vegetables at home? You don’t need a big garden space for produce like onions and garlic but if you have a larger patch you could have a go at courgettes, beans or berries. Some vegetables are easier to grow than others, so do a little bit of research about your climate and see which veggies would be happier in your area.
Nowadays you can also get grow-bags for things like tomatoes which will happily grow on a balcony (I actually tried this one when I lived in central London several years ago and it worked!).
If you don’t have a garden or balcony you could try growing things like herbs and hot chillis on your windowsill! My father (who lives in the UK) rents a vegetable patch from the local council on a community allotment, so it’s also worth looking into these kinds of options if you don’t have a space on your property.
It’s very satisfying to eat anything you’ve grown yourself and I genuinely think it tastes better too!
10. Recycle or reuse food packaging
Whilst it’s best if you can choose items with little to no packaging, it’s almost impossible to buy food with zero packaging.
Where possible, choose packaging that is recyclable or biodegradable, such as paper bags for produce or cardboard, cartons and glass for other products.
Also think about whether you could reuse the packaging when you’re finished with the food! Glass jars and bottles are handy for storing dry ingredients, herbs and spices or homemade juices and salad dressings.
Plastic fruit tubs can be used for planting herbs as they often have holes in the bottom, which is ideal for water drainage. Cardboard boxes can make a great crafting activity for kids too!
This is definitely an area where I feel I can do better, especially in Europe where I shop in supermarkets and it’s easy to forget to look for greener options when shopping.
11. Shop at bulk stores
Bulk stores are a great place to stock up on dry ingredients, such as grains, pulses, cereals and nuts and seeds.
You can bring paper bags or glass jars and refill them with what you need, eliminating plastic and other unnecessary packing altogether.
It can also be cheaper to shop at these stores too since you’re not paying for the packaging costs companies would normally charge for in their product price!
12. Use apps to help reduce food waste
Nowadays there are some excellent apps that can help you reduce food waste with minimal effort on your part!
Too Good To Go teams up with restaurants, cafes and hotels and collects food that hasn’t been sold that day. Then, you can buy (at a discounted price) and collect that food at the end of the day, so that it still gets eaten rather than thrown away! Amazing idea right?!
OddBox rescues surplus and wonky fruit and vegetables directly from farmers in the UK and Europe and delivers them directly to your door at least once a week. This produce is rejected by supermarkets and would otherwise be thrown away despite being perfectly fine – at the time of writing this article the OddBox has rescued over 25,000 tonnes of produce from being wasted!
Olio allows neighbours to share more and waste less – from food to household items.
13. Support sustainable brands
There are lots of sustainable food and drinks brands popping up every single week, making it easier for us to make greener choices all the time.
Sustainable brands will incorporate initiatives such as using recyclable or biodegradable packaging, organic and natural ingredients, responsibly sourced ingredients, green energy in the manufacturing and supply chain, and more.
Many sustainable food and drinks brands are now available in large supermarkets and high street stores (at least in the UK), but of course you can buy pretty much anything online too!
Just make sure you thoroughly research new brands to check that what they’re saying about their sustainable practices are true. Here’s a handy article to help you spot if a business is trying to “greenwash” you!
14. Check for palm oil
Palm oil is the most consumed vegetable oil in the world and is an ingredient in a surprisingly large number of products, from food to cosmetics and cleaning products.
The problem with it is the way it’s produced: palm oil plantations are hugely destructive and are the cause of mass deforestation, wildlife and biodiversity loss in South East Asia.
Whilst I know that’s it’s exceptionally difficult to eliminate palm oil from our daily life, we can check food labels to see whether it contains certified sustainable palm oil, which is operated by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Look for this logo and, if you have the option to do so, choose these products to support a more sustainable production of palm oil:
What will you try first?
I hope these 14 ideas on how to eat sustainably at home have inspired you to try something new today!
What will you try first? Or do you already do some of these things regularly? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
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