Audio By Carbonatix
On this the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Short Order asked four locals for tips on eating greener. And no, it doesn’t involve remodeling your kitchen to make it eco-friendly, though that would be nice. Here’s what they had to say.
Rebecca Carter of greenerMiami.com
says: “Eat local and organic whenever possible. Miami’s growing season
is just about over, so eating locally is tough for the next few months.
However, there are more ways to get organic food than just going to
your local grocery store. Try joining an organic produce buying club
like Annie’s Organic Buying Club or Organic Produce Buying Club of South Florida to get tons of organic food at wholesale prices.
If you are a seafood lover, download the Seafood Watch iPhone app to find out if what you are about to buy is fresh, toxic, endangered or shipped from countries violating the fishing laws.”
“Eat
as much local food as possible, visit farmer’s markets and support
local farmers – better yet even, grow your own food,” suggests John
Schott, chef at Lifefood Gourmet.
“Share with others the value of bringing back the value of a
home-prepared, fresh meal made from scratch with real food ingredients.
Begin to phase out processed fake/ lab ‘food.’ As a byproduct by
becoming healthier you become more active and willing to clean up our
environment and vote with more sustainable choices.”
“Waste less food,” offered Trina Sargalski of miamidish.net.
“I’ve been working on this one myself. It’s easy for me to
overestimate how much food I’ll be able to cook in a week, especially
when I’m excited about all of the recipes I want to try. So, I’m trying
to be more realistic about it. Also, if you learn some basic recipes
that allow for several varied ingredients (like a chili or curry), you
can make use of all those last little scraps before they wither away in
the fridge.” Sargalski pointed us to this graphic to give us an idea of how much food is wasted in U.S. households.
And last but not least, Margie Pikarsky of Bee Heaven Farm gave Short Order these useful tips.
“Reduce
energy use by not cooking one or two things you eat each day. How? Make
simple ferments (brined veggies, kefir), sprouts, fresh salads,
shredded raw veggies, sushi, rollups, sandwiches. Cook once and eat
many times – stock, beans, stew, rice or grains – freeze
some, eat
some, save some to eat in a cold dish. For example, cook a larger
amount of pasta than normal. Eat a pasta meal and chill the remainder
to make a cold pasta salad – no additional cooking required to create a
second meal. Use your oven to make multiple dishes at one time – a main
casserole or roast meat dish, roasted veggies and a dessert, for
example.”
Check out this website for more ways to help mother earth. And Happy Earth Day!
