If only eating green were as simple as going to a farmers market, buying organic and re-using that shopping tote at the grocery store. That's a good start, but there are so many other ways to shop, cook, dine out and even clean that can have a more meaningful impact on our environment. These 50 tips will help cut down on landfill and pesticide use, overfishing and the consumption of fossil fuels. 1. Eat more chocolate. Fair-trade and organic, that is. 2. Boil once, cook twice. Use the residual heat from pasta water to poach shrimp. Toss the cooked shrimp and pasta in olive oil. 3. Fill up your freezer. A freezer full of food uses less energy than an empty one. 4. Don't read "The Omnivore's Dilemma." Read Pollan's much shorter "In Defense of Food."
5. Make a bison burger. One of the best ways to save a species is, ironically, to eat it. 6. Ask your farmer these questions: Is your farm certified organic? If not, do you use organic practices? If your farm is not organic, do you use nonsynthetic pesticides? If you do use pesticides, do you practice minimal spraying? 7. Don't open that oven door. Every time you peek, it loses 25 to 50 degrees. 8. Buy a side of beef. The practice directly supports local farmers with a vested interest in taking care of the environment. 9. Cook more often. You'll avoid much of the packaging and preservatives of processed foods. 10. Roast a whole chicken. Less processing and less packaging mean less waste. Use the leftover bones to make your own stock (and save a can). 11. Become a human food processor. Use less electricity by getting handier with your knife. 12. Eat Alaskan wild salmon. Alaska is the only place that takes care of its salmon stocks in a truly sustainable way. And because it's all wild-caught, it's purer in flavor than farm-raised salmon (which is fed pigment and antibiotics). It's also higher in omega-3 fatty acids. Find out where to buy it online at wildpacificsalmon. com. 13. Savor sardines. America's other favorite fish, canned tuna, needs a break. Troll-caught albacore tuna is the better bet, but if you're looking for an altogether different canned replacement, check out sardines, which aren't at all in danger of being overfished and contain less mercury than tuna. 14. Get the scoop. In the bulk bin section of the market, not only are the nuts, grains and other dry items free of excessive packaging, but they're also minimally processed. 15. Plant an heirloom vegetable garden. Heirloom seeds are nonhybrid traditional vegetables that have not been genetically modified. Web retailer heirloomseeds.com has more than 1,100 varieties. 16. Learn how to read a carrot ... or rather, the label for a carrot, a chicken, or a can of coffee. 17. Buy barramundi. Funny name. Fabulous taste. U.S. barramundi is a sustainably raised fish with rich white flesh.
18. Be your own barista. Save money and lessen what goes in the landfill. Also, buy fair-trade organic coffee. Use a French press coffeemaker. Take your coffee to go with a good portable mug.
19. Treasure your trash. Recycling your takeout containers is a given. Even better, wash and save the sturdier ones to store leftovers or transport your homemade lunch.
20. Make stock ... with whatever veggies you have left in the vegetable bin.
21. Make your own cereal, such as granola. It will dramatically cut down on packaging, especially if you buy the ingredients in bulk.
22. Join a CSA. C stands for Community, S for Supported and A for Agriculture. A community (you and some others) supports (by buying food) agriculture (direct from farmers).
23. Eat American cheese. American-made cheese is some of the best in the world. Choose artisan or farmstead. Artisan means it's made in small batches. Farmstead means the cheese is made with milk that comes from the farmer's own flock or herd.
