One of the keys to making our kitchen more eco-friendly is to reduce our waste. Food waste itself it something we want to minimize, but the materials used to package, ship, serve, store, and deliver food are all major offenders of pollution. One of the key components in my work with clients and groups is to help guide them towards more sustainable choices. This means shopping with a plan, gardening, and composting so that food waste is either avoided or the scraps are at least put to good use. And this also means making sneaky, simple swaps in the products we employ in our kitchen or at our meals. Single-use plastics like ziploc bags, saran wrap, and plastic straws/utensils are all avoidable pollutants. Thankfully, there are wonderful products available now that help us avoid this waste–and they also happen to be extremely useful and tend to keep food even fresher! Below is a list of key products that help us reduce waste in the kitchen, and make our food patterns a little more green.
Bee’s Wrap // Bee’s Wrap is an amazing alternative to standard plastic wrap. Plastic food wrap is a terrible waste because it is not reusable or recyclable. It’s a sheet of plastic that won’t degrade for hundreds of years, if ever, and contributes to the contamination of precious ecosystems, like the ocean. Fortunately, Bee’s Wrap is the perfect alternative to plastic wrap! It’s totally reusable, keeps food fresh, and is made of biodegradable materials. I personally have found bee’s wrap to actually keep food fresher than plastic wrap. We wrapped brownies in Bee’s Wrap here at home and they tasted like they were fresh out of the oven on day three of storage. It was really impressive.
Cotton Produce Bags // These cotton bags completely eliminate the need for all the small plastic bags that we package produce in at the store or farmer’s market. Use these when shopping or transporting food and it will dramatically reduce your plastic use each week.
Stasher Bags // These Stasher bags are by far one of the most used items in my kitchen. They replace plastic Ziploc bags for food storage, transportation, or meal prep. Single-use plastic, like Ziploc, are a major pollution issue. These reusable silicone bags completely replace them, and are so easy to clean, transport, and reuse. They also lock so tightly that they tend to keep things even fresher than traditional alternatives.
Weck Jars // I love these gorgeous Weck tulip glass jars. They are perfect for housing drinks and smoothies and are also great in the fridge or pantry for food storage.
Weck Jar Set // This set of Weck jars is essential for environmentally friendly food storage. I keep homemade dressings, broth, mayo, pesto, and other meal prep items in these for the week ahead. They’ve completely replaced plastic storage containers in my kitchen.
Wide-Mouth Mason Jars // I love sets of wide-mouth mason jars for serving, storing, and meal prep. I serve drinks, store snacks, or keep fresh-cut veggies and herbs in water in these mason jars. That way, they’re in the fridge and ready to-go all week.
Compost Bin // Composting is a wonderful way to greatly reduce your kitchen waste! Keep a compost bin in your garden to collect food scraps and yard clippings. And then in your kitchen, keep a counter-top compost container to collect all the waste throughout the day. The charcoal insert prevents any odors from escaping the bin. Then, at the end of the day, just bring your bin outside and add your scraps to the compost pile.
Reusable straws // Single-use plastics are one of the biggest offenders of severe ocean pollution, and straws are at the top of the list. Thankfully, there’s a super easy replacement! Keep these metal reusable straws in your kitchen, car, or lunch box, and say goodbye to single-use plastics for good.
Reusable utensils // Just like straws, single-use utensils are not recyclable, not reusable, and end up in oceans around the globe. It’s an unnecessary waste. Swap them out for these awesome reusable utensils! Keep a pack in your car, lunch box, office desk, and kitchen. Your waste will dramatically decline, and if each of us takes this step, we can work to rid the ocean of this constant pollution.
Glass Storage Containers // There’s nothing more essential for meal prep and food storage than good class containers. This 24-piece set has a variety of sizes, snap-on lids and is BPA free. I also feel comfortable reheating food in a glass container rather than in plastic.
Bento Boxes // Often, taking lunch to work consists of plastic bags, plastic utensils, and plastic Tupperware. But these metal bento boxes help reframe lunch into a more sustainable meal. I love that they have little compartments for different food items, and the metal material is far more eco-friendly than plastic alternatives. Pair this with the bamboo utensils, stasher bags, and reusable straws, and your carbon footprint at lunch just shrunk.
Glass Water Bottles // Glass water bottles are an awesome alternative to classic plastic bottles. Use these on-the-go and refill it a few times a day. Switching to one of these dramatically reduces your plastic consumption to make hydrating a more eco-friendly activity.
Swell Water Bottles // If a glass water bottle isn’t ideal for you, the S’well water bottle is a perfect alternative. The metal, insulated design keeps cold drinks cold or hot drinks hot, and helps avoid plastic entirely.
Keep Cup // I love using the Keep Cup for coffee on-the-go. You can bring a clean Keep Cup into coffee shops for a tall, grande, or venti fill, depending upon which size Keep Cup you purchase. This completely eliminates single-use plastics from coffee shop visits. And if we go once a day, that’s about 365 less plastic cups and lids per year that we just saved!
Ceramic Mugs with Silicone Sleeve // If a warm, cozy mug is more your preference, this ceramic set is perfect. The silicone sleeve insulates the thermos to keep your drinks at a consistent temperature. These also can be used not only at home or for bringing coffee to work, but also at coffee shops if you’re purchasing a drink. Another huge save on materials for eco-friendly drinking.