4 Tips To Eat With The Environment In Mind

Many goals can be created when it comes to healthy eating. Most involve nutritional aspects like reducing salt or increasing vegetables.  The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics encourages individuals to take their goal-setting a step further by keeping the environment top of mind, too.

Harvard Health explains that part of being a mindful eater involves expressing gratitude for meals and reflecting on how one’s food choices affect the local and global environment. Here are four ideas to help you get started with sustainable eating.

1. Enjoy more plant-based meals and snacks

Choosing plant-based foods over animal-based foods can be an effective way to reduce environmental impact (like land use, water use, and lower greenhouse gas emissions) and help promote better sustainability.  Plant-based eating looks different to everyone.  One idea would be to implement recipes made without meat, like our butternut squash curry.  Another option is to use vegetables to help cut down on the quantity of meat you consume, like using The Blend technique created by the Mushroom Council. And don’t limit your plant-based swaps to meals; it can be easy to eat more fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts for snacks, as well. 

2. Purchase foods with minimal packaging

Do you ever get home from the grocery store only to fill your kitchen trash can with bags and packaging from your newly purchased groceries?  Next time you’re shopping, make an extra effort to evaluate how many items you buy in packaging and work on reducing it as best you can. This change can help reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and decrease your overall environmental footprint.

3. Buy foods in season and shop locally when possible

Shopping seasonally is not a new strategy; however, you may not have fully realized its impact on the environment.  By shopping seasonally, we can reduce the distance our food travels, which can help lower greenhouse gas emissions.  It also helps support local farmers who practice sustainable agricultural practices to benefit our communities.

4. Start a container or backyard garden to grow food at home

Ready for a new hobby?  Then, why not take up gardening?  Growing your own food at home can help reduce packaging waste, conserve water, and decrease the fossil fuels used in typical transportation routes.  An herb garden is a great place to start; check your local grocery for a potted basil plant. Gardening may be just what you’ve been looking for to bring that extra dose of joy into your typical day. 

The Bottom Line

Eating more sustainably can help to create a healthier planet for ourselves and future generations. There are many different versions of what sustainable eating could look like in your life.  This article is meant to get you thinking.  In our opinion, any change, big or small, can help.