The slogan of “new year, new me” has come back into play as people from around the world are putting their best foot forward to live up to their new year resolutions. The most common resolution that I have heard and tried to maintain is go to the gym and follow an extremely healthy diet. but is cooking healthy meals that easy? Let’s come back to reality though and accept the fact that this specific resolution doesn’t tend to last more than a week or maybe month, tops. However, with this specific resolution also comes the urge to buy fancy ingredients and cooking equipment to be able to maintain the physique we have aimed for. Moreover, even though the planet has finally evolved out of the COVID phase, a lot of companies still opt for work from home which in return leads to an increase in food waste at home and the number of takeaways that are ordered due to crunch in time. To your surprise, the kitchen is one of the main places that contributes to the carbon footprint of the environment from home.
It came by surprise to me too when I learnt about eco-friendly cooking and eating habits. I assure you some of these tips and tricks are the easiest ones to adapt that won’t only benefit the climate but also fall perfectly in your budget and have excellent health benefits when cooking healthy meals.
- Vegetables for the win
There is a very useful strategy called “The Healthy Eating Plate” which suggests that half your plate should be full of vegetables and fruits instead of meat. Not only does this help prevent freshwater withdrawals and deforestation but also prevents cattle abuse and is way healthier.
- Select your protein carefully!
Meat production contributes a lot to greenhouse gas emissions and burdens the environment extremely as population increases along with a change in diet preferences, especially for the gym freaks who choose proteins over other food ingredients. Carrying forward from the previous point, there are several meat-protein alternatives that would reduce labour, animal abuse, and energy consumption during production like pulses, legumes, and other vegan options. Moreover, seafood is another insanely healthy protein choice, but choosing the correct seafood can be tricky too. Pick the species of fish that isn’t already facing the threat of being overfished.
- Go Local
Instead of running down to the biggest supermarket around you to be able to pick groceries from a variety of options, trying shopping at a local produce market. Not only would these be chemical free and healthier, but in a way, you would also be able to help the farmers directly that work in the farms and ensure that they get paid worth their effort. Additionally, buying from a smaller store near you would help reduce the amount of oil and fuel that would otherwise be needed to transport the products.
- Save the leftovers
A lot of us, including me, are responsible for throwing away leftover food into the waste without thinking twice. I think the most common would-be bread. Be smart about this. Use your creativity to ensure that excess food isn’t wasted. At the same time, be a bit more self-conscious about the amount of food you purchase.
No one is saying do not resort to having a healthy diet as your new resolution but at the same time be smart about it. Do not only think about yourself, but also the environment. Think about alternative methods around cooking healthy meals that would help reduce global warming. These small steps even when it comes to cooking and how long you may leave the gas on, could have drastic effects on your surroundings. How about this year, your new resolution be eating in a eco-friendly manner and cooking healthy meals?