Zero Waste Kitchen: What You Need To Know

The road to a zero-waste kitchen is not easy to attain. But if you push yourself to exert the effort to do so, it will become simple along the way.

Based on the statistics in the USA, people of all ages spend time in the kitchen for meal preparation or clean every day. 

Though some would opt to buy a packed meal to save time, this is not advisable for your goal towards a sustainable lifestyle.

And so, just think about the countless benefits you and the planet will reap. Be guided accordingly through the following list that could help you start to be an advocate of a greener environment.

How to Generate a Zero Waste Kitchen

Here, you are about to discover different ways to contribute substantially to an eco-friendly environment.

Simple Recipes

Aim to be healthy while helping Mother Nature out. Even if you think that you are not a great cook, you can still nail it with these easy recipes.

An additional trick? Buy fewer ingredients.

Vegetable Broth

You can use some of your vegetable food scraps into a healthy vegetable broth full of minerals. You can try this every day or use it as a soup-base.

Of course, you have to make sure that you still clean your vegetables. 

Sauté sturdier ingredients together with a little of garlic and ginger. When it is soft and tender, you can add water, salt, pepper, and herbs to taste.

Here are some veggies you can mix.

• Carrot peels
• Broccoli stems
• Green Onion/Leek Ends
• Onions and Shallot skins
• Celery

Squash Seeds Snack

When you cook something with squash, do not throw the seeds out. Instead, wash them thoroughly and pat dry before you can make a yummy and healthy protein snack.

All you need is to drizzle olive oil and a little bit of salt to taste. Afterward, you can use the 275 degrees F preheated oven.

You can use a reusable baking mat as well and do not forget to check your seeds from time to time as it can burn fast.

You can enjoy this as your salad topping, too.

Salad Dressing

Make your salad dressing. The main components are 3 parts of oil, 1 part of acid, and herbs of your choice.

Here are your ingredients options.

• Extra Virgin Olive oil (Other High-Quality Oil)
• Lemon, Lime, or Balsamic Vinegar
• Dried and Fresh Herbs like Basil, Cilantro, or Parsley

You can add honey to add sweetness. You can also add minced garlic and grated ginger for more flavor.

To finish, add salt and pepper to taste. You can adjust the portion of ingredients depending on your taste.

Kitchen Tools/Essentials

Air Fryer

This equipment signifies versatility. As you know, you can’t just fry using this. You can also roast, broil, or steam.

The electricity consumption through this is lesser compared to most electric ovens. Furthermore, you can save oil usage as well as it promotes a healthier version of your food.

Silicone Food Bag

This reusable food storage could be an alternative for ziplock.

This kind of food storage is a smart choice when you prepare school snacks for your kids. You can also use this when you go prepare for a picnic.

Cotton Swab

Cotton swabs in the kitchen might be unusual but some people keep a stash of single-use cotton swabs in the kitchen.

You can use the swab cleaning the small gaps and corners in your hotcake maker or waffle iron.

Another use is to remove anything stuck in your food processor blades. If you love baking, clean the corners/edges of your sheet pans through a cotton swab.

Instead of keeping a lot of Q-tips in your kitchen, prefer to use a made to last cotton swab by Last Object zero waste shop. It is easy to clean, too.

Helpful Tips to a Zero-Waste Kitchen

• Use your ice cream tub as pots for your seedlings. You can use natural paints to design your pots to  be creative.
• Your indoor vase decoration could be the empty glass jars/containers.
• Wine bottles can be reused into water containers. With this, you do not have to buy individual plastic water bottles.
• Prefer to use washable cloth when cleaning sinks or counters to cover large areas instead of paper towels.
• Use an alternative for single-use tissue. Consider a reusable tissue that could be used for more than a thousand times. For example, use this to wipe minimal spills or clean excess crumbs.
• Do away with disposables. These should not have a space in your kitchen particularly when you throw parties. 
• Buy from a bulk store. In this case, prepare jars or glass containers. This goes not only for ingredients/food but for your liquid hand soap or cleaning agents.
• As for the multipurpose cleaning agent, you can go natural through mixing vinegar, water, and essential oils.
• Bring your linen bread bags if you go to pastry shops and buy bread to go.
• Consume your food before it spoils so check your fridge from time to time. 
• If you wish to eat out, you can bring containers with you to bring leftovers home.
• Set a compost pit in your yard.

Indeed, a zero-waste kitchen is just a start to achieve a greener environment. By doing so, you are providing a safer planet to the future. 

To live sustainably, go ahead and use some of the reusable products available in the market.