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Make your kitchen eco-friendly: 5 steps you can take now - The Washington Post

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the news about the climate, you aren’t alone. While so many of the forces behind climate change are beyond our control, many of us are interested in making changes in our day-to-day lives that help minimize our footprint.

In my journey as a sustainable chef, I have picked up a lot of tips and tricks on how to be more eco-friendly in the kitchen, where — surprise! — I spend a ton of time. It’s why I teamed up with The Washington Post to launch <a href="https://wapo.st/EKart" target=_blank>Ecokitchen</a>, an eight-week newsletter guide that will provide readers with actionable tips on how to make their daily actions in the kitchen greener.

<a href="https://wapo.st/EKart" target=_blank>You can sign up here</a>, but keep reading for a taste of the kind of easy-to-implement tips you can expect.

Why buy broccoli by the pound and then throw out half of what you paid for, i.e., the stalk. Many-a-times the parts of the produce that we discard are just as nutritious and maybe even more nutritious ― banana peels contain an additional <a href="https://www.today.com/series/one-small-thing/are-banana-peels-edible-4-fruits-you-should-be-eating-t151474">78 milligrams of potassium</a>, for example. With produce that has been washed thoroughly, everything can be eaten and go inside your body instead of the landfill. You can make <a href="https://www.chefpriyanka.com/banana-peel-pulled-pork/">banana peel “pulled pork” sandwiches</a>; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/whole-banana-bread-black-sesame-and-walnuts/17827/">whole banana bread</a> or <a href="https://www.chefpriyanka.com/creamy-golden-beet-fusilli-with-pistachios-vegan-zero-waste/">beet tops pesto</a>, to name just a few options.

7 recipes to use up vegetable scraps for low-waste cooking

We don’t always have a say in what kind of cooktop we get in our homes. But there are still ways we can use our cooktops efficiently ― consider adding a lid to boil water quicker, boiling water in a teapot for tea and coffee (<a href="https://stanfordmag.org/contents/the-best-way-to-boil-water-nitty-gritty">versus an electric kettle</a>), and cooking items on the stovetop that may normally be made in ovens. For example, make<a href="https://www.chefpriyanka.com/one-pan-skillet-eggplant-parmigiana-vegan/"> eggplant parmigiana</a> in a skillet on the stovetop instead of baking it in the oven. Regulate the flame when cooking on a gas stove ― a higher flame means more gas use. The same applies for electric cooktops ― generally, a mid-heat setting is sufficient versus the highest setting.

Power down an electric cooktop a few moments before your dish is complete ― this will allow the cooktop to cool down sooner and not prolong the use of energy. Similarly, for induction cooktops, which are the most <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2022/02/17/induction-cooktops-healthier-alternative-to-gas-stove/">energy efficient option</a>, make sure to align the size of your pan with the size of the heating element on the stove to not overuse electricity when cooking or prolong the heating process.

Convection cooking: How and when to use this oven setting

I can’t recall the last time I purchased a glass jar. Instead, I wash and reuse jars from coffee, jam, salsa and more. If you ever walked into the home of an Indian family in America, you are bound to find a former Tostitos salsa jar now filled with fragrant masalas or large jars filled with all sorts of dried legumes, flours and rices. The easiest way to sanitize a jar to reuse it is washing it in the dishwasher on a hot cycle.

Alternatively, soaking it with hot water and soap overnight and scrubbing clean the next day works, too. Dry completely before using. If canning or jamming, consider <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/water-bath-canning-step-step/17541/">water-bath canning to process and seal jars</a>.

If you’re boiling pasta or grains for a meal, reuse the same water to boil or steam veggies in the same pot. This minimizes the use of additional water and dishes. Once your food is cooked and removed, you can use the remaining water to blend into sauces. And if you’re still left with water from cooking, use it to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-7979867/Using-leftover-pasta-water-PLANTS-eco-friendly-acts-fertilizer.html">water your houseplants</a> (it can even add more <a href="https://flourishingplants.com/watering-plants-with-pasta-water/">nutrients</a> to your plants!).

Quiz: How much do you know about climate change?

While this is an obvious one, I’ve observed that most people don’t practice this. Having hosted and led several pop-ups across New York City, I’ve seen that the majority of restaurants don’t have systems in place to compost, which means everything you don’t eat goes straight to a landfill. In 2018, the Food Waste Reduction Alliance reported that <a href="https://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/food-industry-composting">84 percent of unused food</a> in American restaurants ends up in the trash. When food rots in a landfill, it produces massive amounts of methane — a greenhouse gas at least 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide.

Priyanka Naik

Make your kitchen eco-friendly: 5 steps you can take now

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5 steps you can take now to make your kitchen eco-friendly

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Become a climate-conscious cook in eight weeks with Ecokitchen - The Washington Post

How can I be more eco-friendly in my day-to-day life?

With consistent rising temperatures, overflowing landfills emitting methane, and the overconsumption of, well, everything, we need to be more thoughtful about our daily habits. Every action we make as individuals can have a positive or negative effect on the environment. While the forces behind climate change can often feel out of our control as individuals, we can still work collectively to repair our environmental wounds.

Which leads me to my next question: Do you want to know how to have a positive effect on the environment? <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/ecokitchen/?method=SURL&location=ART&initiative=PROMO" target=_blank>Sign up for Ecokitchen, an eight-week newsletter guide to greener cooking.</a>

A little bit about me: I’m Priyanka Naik — a self-taught vegan and sustainable chef, author, Food Network champion, TV host and lover of animals. My upbringing as a first-generation Indian American in New York City largely influences my cooking style, outlook on life and approach to sustainable living.

Sign up for the 8-week Ecokitchen newsletter course

As a sustainable chef, I spend most of my time in the kitchen, and along the way I’ve developed countless eco-friendly kitchen habits. For example, if you’re stuck with a bunch of leftover pasta that would normally be headed for the trash bin (tears are flowing down my face just thinking of that possibility), I can give you ideas on how to repurpose those leftovers to give them new life. Over eight weeks, I’ll be sharing more tips and tricks to help you work toward a more sustainable kitchen.

Here are three reasons you’ll want to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/ecokitchen/?method=SURL&location=ART&initiative=PROMO" target=_blank>sign up for Ecokitchen</a>:

It’ll help you achieve a positive effect on the environment.

It’ll cost you nothing to implement many, if not all, of these tips.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/ecokitchen/?method=SURL&location=ART&initiative=PROMO">Sign up for the Ecokitchen newsletter here</a>. We’ll be kicking it off May 5 with tips on how to minimize food waste. After that, you can sign up anytime to start the eight-week series. And don’t forget to share with a friend!

Become a climate-conscious cook in eight weeks with Ecokitchen

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5 steps you can take now to make your kitchen eco-friendly

Become a climate-conscious cook in eight weeks with Ecokitchen