With the holiday season upon us, we’ll have more opportunities to enjoy home cooked meals with family and friends. For this holiday cooking season, why not make a shift towards more plant-based options? It’s worth reflecting how eating more sustainably has a positive impact on both our health and the planet's. Using foods that are lower on the food chain, such as vegetables, legumes, grains, and nuts not only has a smaller environmental footprint but these ingredients can add vibrant flavors, different textures, and overall versatility to the menu! Incorporating plant-based dishes doesn't necessarily mean skipping your favorite traditional dishes or going meatless, but rather giving the spotlight to a more sustainable meal.
Why Use Foods Lower on the Food Chain?
Plant-based foods have a significantly smaller environmental impact than animal-based ingredients. Plant-based ingredients use fewer resources – energy, land, and water -- compared to animal-based ingredients, which can use far more for animal agriculture and raising livestock. Production of animal products (meat and dairy) generates more greenhouse gas emissions than plant-based food products. Among animal-based protein choices, beef has the greatest impact. Dairy operations also have a large climate impact. This study published in PLOS Climate attempts to quantify the total impact of animal agriculture.
What Can You Do?
We don’t need to entirely switch our diets and lifestyle habits all at once. Small efforts can lead to a big difference over time! You must start somewhere, and recognizing the impact and a need for change is a great start. A small change can begin with using reusable shopping bags, minimizing the use of single-use plastic. If you love to cook, bake, or neither and would simply like to challenge yourself, try a sustainable recipe! Who knows, it can even be your new go-to dish for the upcoming holiday season and potluck events. It’s also important to discuss the food waste involved around the holidays. While it’s not easy to measure exactly how much you or your guests will eat, try to only buy what you need – this can save both time and money. Make sure you properly compost leftovers, or pack them up and share with neighbors, coworkers or friends. Everyone deserves a nice home cooked holiday meal, so why not share what you can’t finish!
Holiday Menu Ideas:
To kick off some holiday cooking using ingredients lower on the food chain, here are some tasty meals to either try out as is or inspire you to experiment. I will definitely be trying one or more of these at some point this month – they look delicious!
- A salad for starters: Kale Pomegranate Salad + Zesty Dressing
- A hearty entree: Shepherd's Pie
- A side dish for good measure: Charred Tahini Cauliflower
- Ending off strong and sweet: A simple 9 ingredient Vegan Pecan Pie (I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! Top it off with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream for an extra treat.)
Check out these previous SCOCO Insights articles:
- Winter Farmer's Markets (Plus Yummy Pasta Recipe!)
- 5 Tasty Breakfasts to Power You Through the Holidays
- Party for the Planet
- A Greener Holiday Season
Salad Photo by Monika Borys on Unsplash
Cutting Board Photo by Katie Smith on Unsplash
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