September 29: Food Waste Awareness Day (and more)

September 29 is conventionally designated as World Food Loss and Waste Awareness Day. 

The historic moment we are experiencing is pushing us towards a radical change in our actions, to save what can be saved and to be able to live in a more sustainable way, caring about the health of our planet. Food loss and waste seriously undermine our food systems, and all it takes is a little more attention in our daily lives to avoid waste and bad habits. 

We discussed this with Cristina Mauri - GoodFoodLab to better understand what each of us can do to bring about positive change. 

How can we plan our shopping better?

Rethinking our shopping—how we do it, what we choose, and where we shop most often—is perhaps the first step in avoiding food waste in our homes. But also waste related to packaging! It may seem like trivial advice, but when shopping, we need to be super prepared, with our own reusable bags and, above all, a good list. Draw up your list after checking what's in the fridge and pantry to avoid buying food we already have and that is likely to go to waste, and preferably after planning your meals, or at least some of them. And then you have to be able to resist supermarket offers—unless they are long-life foods or foods that you know for sure you will consume in the short term. You also need to pay attention to what you bring home in addition to food, because very often packaging can be avoided or reduced.

Do you have any useful tips for avoiding waste at home in our daily routine?

There are lots of examples, but given that we are in a period of severe energy and water crisis, there are several things we can do to save a little of these resources. For example, unplugging and turning off electronic devices even if they are on standby, or turning off the water when it is not needed: while brushing our teeth or in the shower while soaping ourselves. Using the eco programs on our appliances makes a difference: it's true, they take longer, but they are more efficient. Similarly, washing clothes at a lower temperature has a big impact: about 90% of the energy used by a washing machine is to heat the water, so using cold wash cycles significantly reduces energy consumption and therefore CO2 emissions. And it's cheaper too!

How can we reuse what we think of as waste, like stems and peels?

The parts we commonly consider "waste," such as peels, outer leaves, and stems of fruits and vegetables, are a real resource in the kitchen and can sometimes even stimulate creativity. 

• I use the skins of organically grown potatoes and carrots to make crispy chips that are perfect for aperitifs: just wash them well, season them with oil, salt, and spices, and cook them in an air fryer or oven for a few minutes until they are crispy. 
• Stems are too often underestimated: they contain a lot of flavor, fiber, and nutrients. Broccoli stems, for example, always end up in soups or meatballs. 
• For tough, fibrous outer leaves and stalks, such as those of asparagus, a juicer is invaluable: I juice them and extract their juice, which I then use to flavor risotto. 
• Citrus peels are so versatile that it's a shame to throw them away: every time I use a lemon, I peel it with a vegetable peeler and put the peel in the freezer or dry it. Sometimes it's enough to change your perspective and think of waste as an opportunity to be exploited!

A greener world is everyone's dream. You have written a book dedicated to more sustainable cooking, but the health of our planet is still precarious. How can we live more consciously in our daily lives?

The first step is to become aware of how our lifestyle has impacted the health of the planet, literally destroying it in order to consume its resources. On the other hand, however... if we are the problem, we can also be the solution! There are so many actions we can take and try every day that can have a positive impact: avoiding single-use plastics, recycling our waste properly, unplugging appliances... and, of course, eating (more) vegetables are all small habits we can easily incorporate into our lives to influence change.

Give us a "recycling recipe" that we absolutely must try...

One of the most wasted ingredients in our homes is bread. And that's a real shame, because as well as grating it, it can be used as the basis for lots of delicious recipes, both sweet and savory! Have you ever tried making French toast? In French it's called "pain perdue" and it's a poor man's dish, made with stale bread, precisely so as not to waste it.

Here's how I make it: 

I pour 100 ml of soy milk into a deep dish and add a tablespoon of ground flax seeds and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. I stir and let it rest for 15-20 minutes. I heat a frying pan with a tablespoon of vegetable butter (I use olive oil-based butter, but coconut oil is also fine), soak the slices of stale bread in the soy milk, and then cook the slices of bread in the pan on both sides for a few minutes. I serve it with seasonal fruit and maple syrup or honey.