Written by: Danielle Christy, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle the 3 R’s we all learned in school. These 'R' words are an important part of sustainable living, as they help cut down on the amount of waste we have to throw away. An additional thing that is very beneficial to our health and environment is composting. It helps create nutrient-rich soil and reduce the carbon emissions in landfills. Here are some fantastic ways to reduce, reuse and compost your way to health.
Reducing waste, especially in the kitchen, can at times feel overwhelming. The trick is to start small but with one of the biggest culprits, plastic. Only 9 percent of plastic produced has ever been recycled, and 91% end up in landfills. The easiest way to help flip these percentages is to prevent them from entering your home in the first place.
Here are a few key ways to reduce waste in the kitchen.
Pantry: Buy dry goods in bulk using cloth bags, then transfer them into jars at home. Keep pantry essentials visible open shelving, glass jars, and label everything. You don't want to use baking powder, thinking it is flour accidentally. Finally, keep your staples on hand to make easy cooking and snack time a breeze.
Fridge: Practice the first-in, first-out method. Place older vegetables and perishable items at eye level in the fridge. That way, it is used up first. Store your greens in cotton storage bags. These keep your greens crisp while keeping out excess moisture. Organize your foods by theme. Dedicate the top shelf to breakfast items, the middle shelf to leftovers and meal prep foods, and the bottom shelf for whole produce and meats. Finally, use beeswax wrap and silicone bags instead of Plastic wrap and bags.
After you work on reducing your waste, it’s time to reuse what you already have. There are some amazing items and foods to reuse. Here are a few favorites. Feta cheese, sauerkraut, and caper brine make amazing marinades and can be used instead of vinegar in dishes. Regrow your vegetable scraps like scallions, celery, and lettuce. All you have to do is take a small section of the base of a bulb or stem, with the roots attached, and place it in a shallow dish of water. Is your pantry stuffed with cereal bags, reuse them and wrap your sandwiches and leftovers. Rinse your eggshells and crush them up into the soil of your plants. Use citrus peels to flavor up your water and even use them as a freshener in your fridge. There are so many ways to reduce waste. Get creative, and remember no matter how small you start, every little step counts!
Now it’s time to compost all of your scraps from cooking in the kitchen. There are two fantastic reasons to repurpose food scraps: The first is that our ever-growing amounts of food waste have a hugely detrimental impact on our environment. As massive amounts of food rot in landfills, this releases powerful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere – like methane, a major contributor to global warming. The second reason is that food waste is an important component of compost, an organic material that helps to renew and rejuvenate depleted soils.
Compost comprises decomposed organic materials, rich in nutrients and beneficial as a fertilizer, soil conditioner, and natural pesticide. A few ways to compost in your kitchen are to get a compost pail that sits right on the counter, blend it up or freeze and dispose of it later. Check with your local city. They may have a company that comes and picks up your compost, and in return, you can get nutrient-dense soil.
Things you can put in your compost are :
Coffee grounds and filters
All vegetable and fruit waste, even moldy pieces – cores, peels, pits, rinds, and skins
Loose-leaf tea and tea bags
Corn husks
Eggshells, rinsed and crushed
Expired spices
Flowers from bouquets
Juicer pulp
Shredded, ink-free paper and cardboard
Healthy household plant clippings and leaves
Get those pails ready and begin your composting journey today!
Reduce, Reuse and compost for mother earth and your home's health. Small tiny changes make huge impacts that will help this generation and future generations to come!
Danielle Christy, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Danielle Christy is a holistic health coach and self-taught personal chef dedicated to helping families and people around the world stop feeling overwhelmed with healthy cooking by showing and coaching them on how to stock their kitchens with healthy ingredients, meal plans, and get back to having family meals again. Danielle holds a BA in Hospitality from Northern Arizona University and Certified Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She has helped families of all shapes and sizes create and establish a concrete strategy to ultimate health by learning what individually works for them and using whole real food as a life medicine.
