Going zero-waste can effect the ease of figuring out what's for dinner. I've found that having a few go-to categories (rather than meals themselves) allows for simpler grocery list making, seasonal vegetable enjoyment + a bit of variety. We've touched on five of those categories over the past few weeks, and now we have arrived at the sixth category :: pasta. 

When we first started seriously shopping the bulk bins, we could purchase bulk pasta there. At the moment I can't locate bulk pasta, but can buy orzo + couscous in bulk. Now that we avoid gluten, we don't choose those either. The first year we ate gluten-free, I skipped pasta altogether. Now we choose a gluten-free pasta in a recyclable cardboard box. (Anyway, there are a few different zero-waste options for pasta.)

Pasta is a familiar meal choice for most of us, so I probably don't need to elaborate too much...but I will just a bit.  :) Pesto pasta can be made by blending a couple of handfuls of tasty greens (basil, most commonly), a small handful of bulk nuts (pine nuts, walnuts, pecans), a clove or two of garlic (if you like), a glug of olive oil, salt, + pepper. Add a squeeze of lemon juice or grated parmesan, if desired. Mix this pesto with seasonal vegetables, chickpeas + pasta for a tasty meal like the one above.

One of my girls loves anything cheesy, and macaroni + cheese is a favorite. Our zero-waste mac + cheese is better than any I made before. I melt a small block of butter over medium heat, stir in a spoonful or two of flour (gluten-free works too) + add some milk. Whisk, whisk, whisk until this mixture thickens into a bubbly, gravy consistency. Remove from the heat + stir in some grated cheese (we love pepper jack). Poured over pasta + some steamed broccoli = decadently delicious.

My favorite way to eat spaghetti type pasta is to make a sauce of chopped fresh tomatoes (or some of my sauce) added to a skillet already sautéing red onion (add some red pepper too, if desired) + to cook it all down a bit. Stir in some salt + pepper flakes for a tasty sauce.

A hearty vegetable + legume + noodle soup is another tasty way to eat pasta. 

Parts 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 of building a zero-waste meal plan.  :) We eat vegetarian at home, but any of the meal choices offered here can easily incorporate meat, if desired.

Love, 
Jane

It's been raining for weeks, but today the sun was shining when we woke up. I couldn't help but smile. There's nothing like a garden to make us realize just how dependent on the weather we really are. Too much rain can wreak as much havoc as too little. My tiny stakes don't begin to compare to a farmer's, but they do open my eyes to the enormous effects of climate change on our food supply.

Eating food fresh from the garden is pretty amazing! Never are the radishes so spicy or the chives so pungent as when they've been harvested minutes before that first bite. 

Planting + watering + caring for + harvesting + tasting our own food just must be one of the best ways to share a connection with our planet...with our children. I felt it imperative to be able to let my girls pull a carrot out of the soil...pick strawberries off the vine...dig potatoes out of the ground. I'd done it as a child + there was just no way to explain the pure magic of it to them. Before having our own garden, we made sure to find pick-your-own apple orchards and strawberry + blueberry fields. We ate things straight away, and we made jam + apple sauce too. Establishing connections between the land + weather + farmers + our bodies is crucial. These connections form our thoughts + attitudes + actions...and the connection is there whether we acknowledge it or not.

Love,
​Jane

When it comes to healthy eating, I find it helpful to have some ground rules. Michael Pollen's food rules are just about right:
-Eat food. (Not processed food-stuff.)
-Mostly plants.
-Not too much.
I would like to add zero-waste to the list (which is quite compatible with the above rules).

In a quest to make my weekly menu planning + grocery list making easier, we have a weekly menu which consists of six meal categories. These categories have some flexibility for seasonal produce, prep time + preferences built in. 

This time, we're taking a closer look at the grain bowl. A grain bowl around here consists of a whole grain + vegetables + protein source + flavor.

Obviously this is a very flexible directive which could begin with any type of grain...quinoa, brown rice, wild rice + polenta are some of our favorites. I don't keep all of them stocked, but rotate as desired. Same with the protein source. Our most likely choices are chickpeas, lentils, beans, peas, nuts, seeds + eggs. Seasonal vegetables can steer the direction of the entire enterprise. And the flavor can come from a variety of sources...spices, herbs, citrus, yogurt + cheese often feature. The possibilities are truly endless here, but to name a few:

Tikka Massala (shown above)
broccoli
brown rice (1 cup bulk dry)
2 cans chickpeas
1/2 can coconut milk (full fat)
​1/2 lime, squeezed
tomato sauce
spices: (about 1 tsp. each) cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, cumin, cayenne
cilantro
Cook rice + steam broccoli. 

-A spring bowl might consist of quinoa, roasted asparagus, chickpeas, feta, chives, salt, pepper flakes + a squeeze of lemon.

-A summery bowl could include polenta, sun gold tomatoes, onion, cucumber, avocado, spiced pinto beans, cilantro + a squeeze of lime.

-In the fall wild rice, sweet potato, kale, black beans + a drizzle of yogurt, honey, cayenne + cinnamon sauce would be warming + flavorful.

-A bowl of potatoes, carrots + spinach stirred into a sauce of tomato sauce, coconut milk, turmeric, ginger, lime + pepper flakes on a bed of brown rice would be most welcome in the winter months.

This one meal category is so versatile that it really could be what I eat for dinner every night. Since I cook for more than myself, however, I switch it up. I fing that it's really nice to have some sort of system to utilize when I'm making my grocery list. One more category to come!

Love,
Jane

I like to keep actual breakfast at our house pretty simple, so hearty breakfast foods make a special appearance at dinner time. I like this meal, not only because it is tasty, but also because it is relatively inexpensive. A frittata (or quiche) can make use of the end of week vegetables + cheese. Greens mixed with a little lemon juice, olive oil, salt + pepper dressing is a nice partner. A big omelet stuffed with vegetables and maybe a side of potatoes...all topped with salsa is always welcomed. 

Pre-gluten-free days, we liked eggy bread made from a fluffy loaf of french bread (which can be frozen to save an extra trip to the store + cut while still frozen) or sourdough. My favorite topping is a bit of jam...or make it a croque madame or monsieur. Pancakes are a meal that can often be made from what is on hand. When it comes to zero-waste toppings, we can put maple syrup from the bulk section into our own container from home...or...my favorite option is to make a syrup out of seasonal fruit like strawberries, mangos or apples. Add some sliced fruit to a bit of butter in a pot or skillet along with a little sugar, cinnamon + corn or potato starch to thicken. (The strawberries above were from our garden.)  :)

Breakfast for dinner...it's a good thing.  

Love,
Jane

Next up on the zero-waste meal plan list: root vegetables. Basing a meal around sweet potatoes or potatoes offers an anchor, but still leaves a lot of room for creativity. A big pan of roast vegetables is one of my favorite meals to eat. Chop up in-season vegetables like carrots, turnips, onions, leeks, radishes, asparagus, tomatoes, peppers...and the list goes on...along with the potatoes. Toss them with some olive oil + sprinkle on some salt. Once they are in the oven (425F), there are about 45 minutes to do something else. Add a hard boiled or sunny-side-up egg, and it's a meal. 

I often add a bunch of chopped kale to the pan during the last 15-20 minutes of roasting time as well. A sprinkling of salt + pepper flakes + nutritional yeast is all the extra flavor we need. 

As with all of these categories, there is a lot of room for variation. A breakfast burrito bowl (or regular burrito bowl) could use roasted peppers, onions + potatoes (or sweet potatoes) along with scrambled eggs (+/or beans), salsa, cheese +/or avocado. Baked potatoes offer a different canvas to work with. Mashed potatoes or fries (just either type of potato cut into strips + roasted) are good bases as well. Top fries or a baked potato with some leftover chili + a dollop of yogurt. Yum.

Some extra roasted vegetables can be kept in the fridge + added to salads or rice for quick meals later in the week. Bake an extra potato to toss in with some scrambled eggs. I always thank my past self for the foresight.  :) 

Numbers one + two on the zero-waste meal plan.

Love,
Jane

Best Gluten-free Pizza Crust
2 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 cup warm water
1 egg
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups 1-1 gluten-free flour
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 425F. Mix yeast, sugar + water. Let sit 5 minutes. Mix in other ingredients. Spread onto compostable parchment covered pan. (Can let stand for 10-15 minutes for a thicker crust.) Add toppings. Cook 15-20 minutes.  (this recipe slightly tweaked)

The pizza pictured just above is topped with olive oil, sliced potatoes (purposely left over from earlier in the week), pepper jack cheese, feta (put into our own container at the salad bar), salt + cracked pepper. Top it with a big pile of greens tossed with lemon juice + a little olive oil- yum! (some fresh chives from the garden sprinkled on top would have been great as well) The pizza up top is a taco pizza topped with salsa, beans + cheese...with greens, cilantro, avocado, cayenne + salt added after removing from the oven. So good.

​Let seasonal vegetables or ethnic flavors steer the direction. Pizza is extremely versatile + quite nutritious when piled with protein + vegetables (go easy on the cheese).  :) Top it with some nutritional yeast (found in the bulk bins) +/or fresh herbs for a little more goodness. 

Love,
​Jane

When I decided to try this zero-waste thing, food was my biggest concern. In most of our homes, the biggest trash can is located in the kitchen...because that's where the majority of our trash is made. I'd read about how the only person out there at the time doing zero-waste bought her groceries...and decided to drive past four grocery stores to the one that had bulk bins. I skipped the middle aisles + gathered my (mostly) package free foods. At the time, I felt a bit cut-off from our usual staple meals. There was a bit of a learning curve...an adjustment to making do with what was now available to me...but I could see that eating zero-waste was possible + in so many ways...preferable.

A list of flexible recipe categories is very helpful to me today. Each week, I use these six categories to guide my meal planning + grocery list making. On the seventh day of the week, we might order pizza (+ recycle the box), go out to eat (somewhere with real plates) or eat leftovers. Food almost never goes to waste this way. 

So...the first category we'll dive into is soup or salad. In the summer, we are more likely to eat salad...in the winter, it is almost always soup. We like hearty soups + salads that really count as meals...so I make sure there are in-season vegetables, protein + grains involved. Soups + salads are very simple + forgiving, so this can be a great fridge-clean-out meal to eat just before grocery day.

When I first started cooking, I wasn't exactly sure how to get soup to taste like soup rather than stuff floating around in water. Here's what works for me now:
-heat some olive oil over medium heat + add some chopped onion (I use about 1/6 of a big red onion) + cook until translucent
-add water, vegetables, protein, spices, grain + a spoonful of bouillon (I like this brand) + bring to a boil
-reduce heat + simmer until vegetables are tender + grain is cooked
-adding a squeeze of lime, small glug of vinegar, coconut milk or cream after removing from heat often adds a great hit of flavor or creaminess

The soup above was the one we ate last week. It started with the olive oil + onion, had a broth of bouillon, water + tomato sauce (a chopped tomato works well too), and also included carrots, broccoli, chickpeas (cooked + frozen), rice (extra cooked earlier in the week), salt, cayenne + cilantro. It might sound like there are lots of ingredients to gather, but one of the reasons that we ended up with this combination is that I already had rice in a jar and tomato sauce + chickpeas in the freezer when I made my grocery list. We already had onion + bouillon + spices. I wanted broccoli + cilantro for different meals this week, so used what I knew would be leftover in this meal. The only thing that went on the grocery list for this soup was carrots. I want my meals to fit together like puzzle pieces. That way we save money + eat everything we buy.

Zero-waste salads are simple enough to put together with seasonal ingredients. Homegrown herbs, nuts, seeds + cheeses are tasty additions. My favorite dressings are simple combinations of olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, mustard, salt + pepper. I also like a mixture of yogurt + salsa as a dressing. 

Soup + salad are easily adjustable for vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free or other dietary needs or preferences. Since I cook for a family of four, we usually eat all of what I make. If I were cooking for one or two, I would put some into jars for dinners or lunches later in the week. 

More soup + salad inspiration here.  :)

Love,
Jane

Nothing new here...just popcorn. But this particular popcorn is local + came from our CSA box.  :) Normally, we buy our popcorn kernels in bulk. Our minimalist kitchen doesn't contain a popcorn popper, so I just use my trusty lidded pot + about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat to pop it. A handful or two of kernels can fill the entire pot!

A few of the ways we like to eat popcorn include:
-sprinkled with salt + a melted butter 
-sprinkled with salt, melted butter + nutritional yeast (available in bulk where we live)
-a spoonful (or two) of sugar thrown in with the kernels (just shake the pot periodically during popping to avoid burning) + salt + melted butter (if desired)
-a little cayenne or cinnamon sprinkled in with salt + butter 

All of these make a great, light snack...in the middle of the afternoon or after dinner. What are your favorite popcorn "toppings"?

Love,
Jane

We find ourselves at an abundant spot in the season...especially as I've chosen to wedge myself between our garden + our CSA box. I've filled up all of my available jars (+ the freezer) with tomato sauce. I've put up a year's worth of pepper flakes. We've got a little stock of potatoes + sweet potatoes tucked away in a cool, dry spot.

Right now, I'm feeling most triumphant when we eat up some of our bounty. This meal did that alright...but it took some time to prepare. The process was easy + much of the time was spent simply waiting, after the initial chopping + mixing. Zero-waste meal preparation is often simple + straightforward...but it can also be a bit time consuming (which can be made a bit more so due to my minimal kitchen tools). 

I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this line of thought, except to say that I don't spend too long in the kitchen every night. If I'm making rice, I'll always make two nights worth in order to save myself the time (+ dishes) another night. I make big batches of beans + chickpeas + then freeze them in jars, so that I have stock on hand. Greens get washed + stored once per week. Carrots can be chopped + stored in a jar with just a little water...ready to use. Pickled vegetables or kimchi can be batch made.

If I was cooking for fewer people, I would still make just as much + store the leftovers for lunches or quick dinners. Vegetables could be chopped + roasted once per week + tossed into salads, soups, or grain bowls as desired. I do think zoodles (spiralized zucchini "noodles") can be made as quickly as pasta though!  :) 

Zero-waste food may take a little more time to prepare than a microwave meal...but zero-waste food is much more tasty + healthy too! The connection we make with our food as we gather it + prepare it is beautiful + important. Food is one of the things that makes the rest of our lives possible...so we might as well enjoy the process.

Falafel + all the veg                                            (measurements given for 4 servings)
from the garden:
-tomatoes
-pepper
from the csa box:
-2 zucchini, spiralized
-radishes
-onion
from the freezer:
-chickpeas
also:
-olive oil
-salt + pepper
-pepper flakes
-1 tsp. cumin
-4 Tbsp. flour or besan
-lemon
-yogurt
-dill

For roasted tomatoes + pepper :: Cut tomatoes in half (+ slice peppers), toss with a bit of olive oil + salt, spread in a single layer, and put in the oven at about 350F for at least an hour (checking periodically)...until roasted + a bit browned. (These are good for a few days in the fridge + tasted amazing on our avocado toast for lunch today.)
For falafel :: Mix chickpeas (I used about 16 oz. for 4 of us), onion, juice from 1/2 lemon, salt, cumin, pepper flakes, flour or besan in the blender. Form into patties + place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Cook at 400F for 10 minutes...flip + cook for 10 minutes more.
For zoodles :: Toss spiralized zucchini into hot skillet + cook for around 4 minutes.
For dressing :: Mix around 1/2 cup of yogurt, juice from other 1/2 of the lemon, dill, salt + pepper.
(I give measurements where they matter most + season or substitute as desired with the rest.)

Love,
Jane

I am a huge fan of leftovers. They feel like a gift from my past self. With a leftover half of an acorn squash, 1/4 of a can of coconut milk, some leftover quinoa, + a jar of beans...this was the result + it was delicious. There was no plan, but sometimes...one thing at a time...it just all comes together.  :)

Coconut Squash Grain Bowl
quinoa
black beans
spinach
1/2 acorn squash (cooked)
1/4 can of coconut milk
plain yogurt
pepper flakes
cinnamon
ginger
salt

Blend all ingredients from squash on down. Pour over the others.  :) Enjoy!

(We ate ours with the leftover half of a local honeydew.)

Love,
Jane