7 Food Creators on How to be Sustainable in the Kitchen

As professional food bloggers and recipe producers, SideChef’s culinary partners spend a lot of time conceptualizing, preparing, and sharing food with their audiences. With food production accounting for 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions (source) and unchecked consumption threatening global food supply, our partners know better than anyone else the importance of reducing food waste and practicing sustainability.

In this roundup, seven professional food bloggers and SideChef partners share their practical tips on how to be more mindful and sustainable in your kitchen.

“Of the billions of pounds of food wasted annually, it's estimated that half of the food waste happens in our homes. For all of the energy, water, and land consumed, and greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions our food takes to be produced, we must make the most of it. Simply planning my weekly meals ahead of time makes a tremendous difference when it comes to food waste in my own home. I am thorough in calculating what I will need hugely and am careful to not buy any more than that. I also take stock of what is in my pantry and refrigerator often, ensuring I use what I have before it goes bad, and cook and bake in small batches to avoid too many leftovers that will go uneaten.” - Marley Goldin, Marley’s Menu

Read more about Marley here and cook her easy and pantry-friendly recipe for Sticky Orange Tofu below.

“Going vegan is one of the best things that you can do to practice sustainability in your own kitchen/household! Even if you aren’t completely vegan yet, choosing/starting to make even half or a majority of your meals plant-based can make a massive positive impact on the planet and environment and I love that because it shows that one by one, our choices can have a huge beneficial impact on our planet.

We chose to go vegan a few years ago by starting with simple swaps instead of “cuts", and instead of focusing on what we were “excluding” from our diet, we focused instead on all the variety of meals, cuisines, and recipes that we were introducing instead!” - Jessica Hylton, Jessica in the Kitchen

Try going meatless with Jessica’s White Bean Tuscan Soup recipe.

"With 6 people in our household and being a recipe and food content producer, we go through a lot of food. I try hard to not create extra waste and make my kitchen as sustainable as possible. I utilize reusable towels and washcloths instead of paper towels. I have a small countertop compost bin that I place unusable scraps of food, coffee grounds, etc that is emptied into a larger compost receptacle we have in the yard that we compost yard waste as well for our garden. I keep my leftover veggie scraps in a bag in the freezer to make vegetable broth and keep leftover bread scraps for bread crumbs. To me, it's important to reduce the waste as much as possible in our house. Whether you are one person of a family of 6, little changes in your daily habits can have a big impact." - Amanda Scarlati, Saporito Kitchen

Make Amanda’s recipe for Cast Iron Pan Pizza below and don’t forget to compost the scraps!

“It's really hard (to be sustainable) when developing and testing are the only thing that can create solid recipes.

I've done a lot in the past 2 years to tighten up the waste. Especially when there aren't enough neighbors to feed! Lately, I've been testing in small batches and then scaling the recipes for my clients or audience.” - Karlee Flores, Olive & Artisan

Try a small-batch version of Karlee’s Pecan Pretzel Turtle Brownies by changing the serving size of her recipe below:

“Being vegan is one of the best ways to reduce a household's eco-footprint. To create a more sustainable kitchen, we have swapped all cleaning products with harsh chemicals to more eco-friendly alternatives in glass bottles, all disposable products like paper towels to washable cloths, and save glass jars for use as drinking glasses and storage. Making these small changes helps us practice sustainability by using what we have rather than buying disposable products. “ - Candice Hutchings, The Edgy Veg

Learn how to make your oat milk and repurpose glass jars like Candice by clicking on her recipe below.

“Did you know you could also freeze avocado? Simply use a small cookie scoop to spoon the flesh into an ice tray or other container for choice. Freeze then thaw for instant guacamole making. 🙂 Food storage done right!” - Lindsay Cotter, Cotter Crunch

Read the rest of Lindsay’s Food Storage Tips and Way to Reduce Food Waste and try her recipe Smashed Mexican Avocado Toast below. Don’t forget to freeze any leftover avocados!

“I love to support our local farms as a sustainable practice in my kitchen! The produce is always so fresh compared to fruits and vegetables that have been shipped across the country. Additionally, it takes very little fuel to get the item from farm to table when the farm is located (practically) in my backyard!” - Summer Yule