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July 2020 | REDONLINE.CO.UKSustainability
Brigid Moss,
contributing editor
I have made my first bottle of cleaning spray.
The basic recipe is half white distilled vinegar
and half water. I have to say, I’m not overly
keen on the smell – Method Pink Grapefruit
(my favourite cleaning spray), it is not.
Next, I’m going to try adding essential oils.
I’m also saving up odds and ends of any
vegetables to make Bottoms Soup, a recipe
in Melissa Hemsley’s book, Eat Green. This is
a genius idea as it’s made from asparagus
and celery ends, any herb stalks, cauliflower
leaves and the tough bits of leeks. I’ve even
put in carrot tops and celeriac peelings (well
washed). You sauté a chopped onion and
garlic, add a few handfuls of veg and top up
with stock. After 20 minutes, you add two
handfuls of frozen peas, then blend with
a splash of milk. It is delicious and virtuous- and almost free. And it gives your
gut loads and loads of fibre.
I’ve now also started walking more than
ever before, for exercise and to the market
and local shops. If you think about it as a
workout – especially if you carry everything in
a backpack – then you have doubled up. And
if you take a child with a backpack along with
you, you’ve tripled! Even if you cut down on
one 10-minute car journey a week, that is
more than 500 car minutes a year saved.
I also try to buy my herbs and herbal teas
from ethical companies: any company that
has the B Corp logo, such as Pukka, is acting
in an ethical way. Other good certifications
are: Organic, Fair for Life and FairWild.
These show that the herbs are grown and
collected in a climate- and nature-friendly
way (organic) that supports the livelihood
of farmers (fair sourced).
Anna Bonet,
features writer
Pretty wrapping paper is one of my favourite things
about giving gifts, so I was sad to find out that it is
harming the planet. In the UK, we throw away the
equivalent of 108m rolls a year, and many can’t be
recycled – especially those that are metallic or glittery.
I have since switched to brown paper and string, which
is much more eco-friendly, and looks just as nice!
‘BY EATING
MORE
SUSTAINABLY,
WE CAN CUT
DOWN ON
FOOD WASTE’
Alison Walker,
Food director
Each year, UK households waste 4.5m
tonnes of food that could have been eaten,
which amounts to £700 for an average
family with children – that is 10bn edible
meals going into landfill. Bananas, bread,
potatoes, milk and salad are the top five
wasted foodstuffs, but I don’t let anything
go to waste in the kitchen. By eating more
sustainably, we can cut down on food
waste and single-use plastics, and help
the environment. I make smoothies from
frozen bananas, add Parmesan rinds to
soup for extra flavour, turn stale bread
into breadcrumbs to use as a coating for
home-made chicken goujons, and freeze
leftover wine in ice cube trays to add to
sauces. Most ingredients can be frozen, too.
Where possible,
I choose good-quality
produce from
a reputable butcher
or farm shop, and
buy exactly the
amount I need.
I make it go further
by making a stock or
soup from the Sunday
roast chicken carcass.
You could invest in
a mincer attachment
for your food mixer or
processor and mince up the roast lamb
leftovers for shepherd’s pie – update your
version by adding Middle Eastern spices,
or red lentils to stretch the dish further.
I try to visit independent shops and
take my own containers to cut down
on single-use plastics – butchers, delis,
farm shops and coffee suppliers are usually
very happy to fill them. My local farm shop
has set up a refill station of dry goods,
such as pasta, lentils and nuts, and aims
to stop selling any packaged versions.
Finally, don’t be embarrassed to ask for
a doggy bag the next time you eat out – in
New York, they ask if you want the leftovers
boxed up when you get your bill. Every year
more than 500,000 tonnes of food is wasted
in restaurants, pubs and hotels in the UK.
Either enjoy it for lunch the following day
or actually give it to your dog.