Sustainable Nutrition

For those of you who are looking to eat more sustainably, but don’t know where to start, here are a few of the principles that I try to follow in order to eat more sustainably without impacting on my nutritional health.

1. Eat more of the food we grow. By eating more of the edible food we grow, we are putting less food into the bin. This is better for the planet as it means we don’t need to grow more food than needed.
2. Throw away less food. Just like the point above, it is important to not put food grown for consumption in the bin.
3. Vary our protein intakes to include more plant-based proteins. This helps the environment as plant-based proteins such as beans and lentils are lower in CO₂ emissions which is better for the planet.
4. Cook once, eat twice. This is beneficial for both the planet, as well as you personally as it can save you time in the future by not having to cook a complete meal from scratch. It’s beneficial for the planet as you’re using less energy overall to make more meals, and using the microwave to reheat food can be extremely energy effective, so also help you save some money on bills too.
5. Diversify your diet. Eating different foods is good for sustainability as it helps to diversity what is grown. At present, the most common grains grown are wheat, rice and corn. But eating grains outside of these, you help increase demand for other types of grains, which helps to diversify the crops grown, which, just like our gut, helps to diversify the planet and make it more healthy.

Here are some of my favourite sustainable recipes

Roasted Harissa Cauliflower and Chickpea Traybake with Herbed Spelt uses all the above principles

No Waste Vegetable Fritters uses the principle of not wasting the food we grow by upcycling vegetable peelings and preventing them from going into the bin.

Carrot Top Pesto again using the principles of not wasting any of the food we grow, and using the green carrot tops to make a truly delicious pesto

Reduced Meat Bolognese for those who want to try to include some more plant-based proteins, but aren’t ready to completely give up meat

Lentil, Mushroom and Almond Ragu for those who are looking to go more plant-based and minimise the amount of animal products consumed

Try my Pumpkin and Sage Pearl Barley Risotto for a less traditionally grain to help diversify both your gut bacteria as well as the crops grown around the world

Smokey Chipotle Chilli Bean Stew makes a whopping 8 portions to keep feeding you throughout the week

Double up my Spinach Macaroni recipe to cook once and eat twice!