April 22 is Earth Day and no matter your diet, there are many ways to celebrate. I spend a lot of time in my kitchen, testing and creating recipes, and strive to make my kitchen and home as sustainable as possible. So, today I’m sharing 3 ways to celebrate Earth Day in your gluten-free kitchen.
In fact, I’ve found that many of my environmentally-friendly tips are also budget-friendly. Gluten-free eating can be expensive if you are buying specialty baked goods, bread, or other specialty-certified products. So, being conscious of what you are using and how, will have a positive impact on your budget.
It’s Progress. Not Perfection.
Always remember that incremental changes are easier to sustain and more budget-friendly. Not to mention that making sweeping changes can be difficult and quite stressful.
3 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day In Your Gluten-Free Kitchen
1) GREEN KITCHEN HABITS TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE FOR EARTH MONTH AND BEYOND:
These tips will not only reduce the carbon footprint of your kitchen, but these tips will help you budget. Food costs are rising so keeping track of, and making use of pantry items is a must. “United Nations suggests that the average Canadian wastes 79 kilograms of food at home per year.” That is huge, and the more we can plan to cut that amount down, the better it will be for our planet.
Bonus Tip: Using frozen vegetables is much more economical. The produce is picked at the peak of ripeness - as many are packed on the same day. Plus, you only use what you need without fear of the vegetables spoiling. Bonus points if buying frozen vegetables on sale.
Getting creative in the kitchen with leftovers:
Just because you don’t have enough of something to have a second meal doesn’t mean you can’t turn it into a lunch, or add to it to make a dinner. Check out the recipes below for inspiration:
- GLUTEN FREE LEFTOVER SAUSAGE AND RICE BAKE RECIPE: This recipe uses just a few links of leftover sausage to create an incredible and simple dish.
- THE BEST GLUTEN-FREE CREAMY PASTA RECIPE MADE WITH LEFTOVERS: This recipe is easily adaptable as you can use leftover ham, chicken, turkey, or even a plant-based protein. You don’t even have to use much meat to make this a hearty dish that anyone would enjoy.
- THE BEST LEFTOVER MEATLOAF GLUTEN-FREE PASTA BAKE RECIPE: This recipe utilizes leftover meatloaf, but it would also work well with leftover meatballs that are cut up. Pasta dishes are always a great way to use up leftovers.
- THE ULTIMATE GLUTEN FREE TURKEY À LA KING RECIPE: Any time you have a lot of chicken or turkey leftover (after a holiday) this is the perfect dish to make. You could also use leftover rotisserie chicken. No one would ever think that this recipe was made using leftovers.
- GLUTEN-FREE LUNCH IDEAS AND GLUTEN-FREE CHARCUTERIE LUNCH BOX RECIPE: Using up leftovers for lunch doesn’t just have to be about sandwiches- though who doesn’t love a sandwich? Using up leftovers from a Charcuterie board or Charcuterie cups can make an amazing lunch.
2) GREEN COOKING HABITS TO MAKE YOUR KITCHEN MORE ECO-FRIENDLY:
Did you know that how you use your current appliances can make a difference? These tips will surprise you as they are very easy to implement and you don’t necessarily need to buy or replace anything. Using what you have in a more conscious manner is one of the best changes you can make, as it is sustainable.
3) 7 SIMPLE GREEN CLEANING IDEAS TO USE IN YOUR KITCHEN:
Which cleaning products you use and how to use them can make a huge impact on the environment. Click to read about the changes both big and small that you can easily implement in your life.
Implementing one or all of these 3 ways to celebrate Earth Day in your gluten-free kitchen, will have you making changes that last long beyond April 22nd.
Happy Earth Day!
“The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.”
—Ernest Hemingway