A Guide to Zero

Written by Jenna Byers I llustrations by Jasmine Ni

Zero waste meals are life-changing for both the world and your body. Here’s how you can reduce your carbon footprint by incorporating zero waste meals into your everyday routine!

Agreat way to wrap up your Sunday is to sit down and plan your meals for the upcoming week. Meal prepping can be as easy as doubling your veggies from Monday’s meal, so that Tuesday and Wednesday’s dinner are taken care of.

One of my all-time favorite recipes is the “Everything But the Kitchen Sink Buddha Bowl’’ (vegan unless you throw an egg on top). Start with a base (I like to use quinoa, but you can do farro, rice, cauliflower rice, etc). All you need to do is cook about two cups of quinoa, according to package instructions. Then, grab any leftover vegetables that you may have. Typically my family has some leftover spinach, onions, and garlic, so I sauté them and then throw them on top of the quinoa and refrigerate the rest.

Another go-to is taking a sweet potato and roasting it with Trader Joe’s Chili Lime seasoning—a pantry staple. I take any leftover corn and edamame from the freezer and add it on top of the sweet potato.

“Olivia’s Famous Miso Soup” is an easy vegetarian dish. All you need is a box of Trader Joe’s Ginger Miso Broth, its frozen Vegetable Gyozas, and bok choy. Defrost your gyozas, chop up your bok choy, let it boil in the broth, and throw it all together.

Finally, scrambling an egg or two with cauliflower rice and diced vegetables is a super simple way to make fried rice and finish up those last couple eggs. This is a super easy meal that I love to make in bulk and have for lunch throughout the week. By meal prepping, you save time and also make sure to use any leftover ingredients.

Another great way of reducing meal waste is to reuse and recycle dishes. Instead of tossing out any leftovers, stop and think about what else you could use the food for. If there are leftover roasted mushrooms, toss them in a salad for lunch the next day. Extra roasted chicken? Add this to some pasta and sauteed garlic for dinner. Always stop and think, “what else can I use this food for?”

By opting for local ingredients, your carbon footprint is automatically reduced. When food is grown locally, less transportation is needed to bring it to your plate. Supporting farms in your town not only helps a small business, but the environment as well. What goes hand-in-hand with this is choosing seasonal ingredients. An example of this is grabbing apples during the fall, avocados in the summer, and so on. By choosing to eat out-of-season foods less, carbon footprints are further reduced because our food doesn’t need to be shipped from other countries.

With these three tips I hope that you feel inspired to consciously choose a less-carbon filled way of life! In addition, here are some pretty simple meals that use up all parts of your ingredients.