Whether you have never been a morning person or just prefer having your meals ready ahead of the day, meal prep can always come in handy. But, to ensure you don't go overboard with the planning, zero-waste meal prep is a good place to start. Adopting certain hacks and tips can help you reduce food waste and offer a more sustainable touch to your kitchens and lifestyle.
Of what we consume, food is the largest contributor to waste. And, it is also the easiest to reduce. A zero-waste meal plan is essentially the same as any other meal prep. However, the only difference is that it includes reducing food wastage and saving time and money.
Below are some of the tested and tried zero-waste meal prep ideas and hacks you can stick to:
Step-By-Step Zero-Waste Meal Plan
There are different ways to plan your meals for the day. Some can choose to meal prep a day ahead, while others prefer doing it all a week ahead. Below are the three levels of zero-waste meal prep you can start with:
Step 1: Not Just Prep- Plan Ahead
Prepping can be secondary when it comes to making your meal prep zero-waste. To start with, you just get all theoretical. Before you actually start cooking, make a plan of what you would like to prepare. You can put everything on paper or even an Excel without actually cooking it all.
This planning stage will help you understand what you actually need to prep your meals and what kind of meals you can actually prep.
Step 2: Start With the Basics
The next step is where you get the big stuff out of the way. To do your zero-waste meal prep the right way, make sure to start and get done with the basics first. The basics usually include the mains or carbs- not the sides. This can include cooking rice, beans, roasted vegetables, and broth ahead of time.
Listed as some of the best eco meal prep tips for busy parents, this step helps save a lot of time. This step can also give you exact flexibility with the meal. For instance, rice can be paired with a couple of things- like a rice bed for chili or filling for a burrito.
Step 3: The Main Cooking Process
This is the step where you do it all. Now that the mains are ready, this step can be the most intense. This step literally includes all the prepping, cooking, and portioning out the meals for the upcoming week.
This might look like a lot of effort at once, but suck zero-waste meal preps can help you save a lot of time on those busy work-weekdays.
Eco-Friendly Kitchen Hacks for Zero-Waste Meal Preps
Just like a usual prep routine, zero-waste meal prep ideas are all about being organized. Below are some of the ways to make your meal prep sustainable and low on waste:
Make a theme for the week.
If you're a big fan of devouring different cuisines, these tips might help you save a lot of $$, time, and waste! Simply start by designating a theme/cuisine for the week. You can choose to go all Italian for a week or even Chinese. This will save time as you would only have to shop for the ingredients required for one cuisine. Without this, you would end up running around trying to shop for different ingredients for different cuisines. Once the theme is decided, make a cohesive list of ingredients you actually need. This will help you reduce waste as you can simply use a leftover ingredient for the next-day meal prep.
Shop local and always go seasonal.
Yes, ditching plastic is pretty vital. But, so is avoiding buying food that is trucked or flown from miles away. Plan your meals that rely on seasonal, local produce rather than some fancy imported food range.
Use the Incredible-10 concept.
Sometimes you can run out of new recipes. So, to save time, waste, and your money, you can follow the incredible 10 concept. This concept says that a meal should have all 10- fresh, spice, protein, main batch, crunch, starch, umami, citrus, herbs, and pickled. This is a great way to plan spontaneous meals without the waste.
Compost it.
It's absolutely natural to be left with some of the ingredients. So, if you are left with any of it, you can always compost it. This is a great way to get rid of the waste by converting it into something actually good for the planet. Plus, it can also be done in the form of a nice little activity with your kids, to teach them about sustainability and composting.
Wrapping It Up
When it comes to sustainable kitchen hacks for meal planning, it is always important to shop local and go seasonal. Apart from this, you can adapt to unique zero-waste meal prep ideas to make things interesting and low on the waste.