How to cook a completely green meal!

Perhaps you’re concerned about the amounts of chemicals and pesticides that are showing up not only in our foods, but our bodies.  Of course you’d like to keep yourself and your family as healthy as possible.  Or maybe you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an illness, or the idea of simpler living appeals to you.

You want your food to be free of this!

You can cook a completely ‘green’ meal, even if you’re living in a small flat with no garden.  It takes a little work and some planning ahead, but it can be done.  Depending on the time of year, you may have some resources available closer than you think.

First, look for a farmer’s market or even just a vegetable stall nearby.  Some supermarkets have organic sections, but most times this produce has been trucked in from afar and isn’t as fresh or nutrient-packed as local veggies.  A supply of organic produce that’s close enough to walk or bike to is even better.  You can reduce your carbon footprint while you’re getting healthy!

A farmer’s market would get you fresh vegetables!

Take your cloth shopping bag and stock up on those veggies.  Talk to the farmers and growers at that market or stall.  Find out what will be coming in next week or next month.  You can plan menus around the harvest and obtain cheaper, fresher food by working with Nature rather than against her.

Look for foods that have no or minimal packaging to keep it as “green” as possible.  For instance, fruits and vegetables from a farm stand rarely have plastic packaging around them.  If you must have some kind of container, look for a kind that can be recycled where you live.  For instance, if the only recycling available in your area is for paper products, look for cardboard containers.  If plastic and/or glass recycling is available, you can expand your horizons – just be sure to rinse the container and place it in the recycling bin so it can be used again.

Stay away from over-packaged items such as these!

Want to grow some of your own food?  This will reduce your carbon footprint even more, since you won’t need to even go out for some of your food.  Minimal space?  Consider gardening in pots.  Even if your flat is tiny, you can place pots on windowsills or a small balcony.  You don’t even need to buy anything – the “greenest” of container gardening is when you reuse or recycle something you already have to serve as the container.  Old bowls turned upside-down, that one boot with the missing mate, or a wooden box lined with leftover plastic can all serve as wonderful containers.

Herbs typically flourish in containers, and by planting “buddy” or companion plants, you can increase your yield.  For instance, plant basil alongside oregano, peppers or asparagus.  Borage helps strawberry plants as well as cucumbers and tomatoes, and if you enjoy chamomile tea, try planting that herb next to basil, onions, or cucumbers.  Carrots do well alongside shallots, sage, leeks, or beans.  Both will grow better and you’ll have more than one type of produce.  Lettuce yields are improved by planting alongside radishes, carrots, Kohlrabi, or beans.  Peppers and tomatoes thrive in sunny spots together.  Garlic is incredibly easy to grow, and when planted with lettuce or celery, works in a beneficial role.

Seeds can grow virtually anywhere!

Do you have a patio or balcony?  A little spot of earth available on the ground floor alongside the building?  Some plants, like peas or pole beans, grow very well if they have a wall or fence to use for support or growth.  Even brick walls are useful.  Peas can often gain traction in the little nooks and crannies, and corn loves the heat that radiates from bricks.  You can grow tomatoes, cucumbers, even strawberries in upside-down containers that hang from a strong beam.  The container holds the soil, so the roots grow up and the fruits and vegetables grow toward the ground.  One advantage here is that you’re less likely to lose any produce from slugs and other crawling critters, meaning you can often get by without any pesticides.  And remember that the tops of many vegetables, like beets, can provide greens for your salads.

If you’re not quite ready to go totally vegetarian or vegan, you’ll want some meat with your meals.  Look for organic meats, like free-range chicken, and beef and pork that were not fed hormones or antibiotics.  These chemicals are showing up in the soil, water, and even our bloodstream, and some of them are believed to have effects on the human endocrine system.  It is best to avoid them.

Get them like this

Some people say that animals contribute to greenhouse gasses and we should avoid all meat; other say the animals are a natural part of Creation and part of the food chain.  Wherever you stand on the issue, try to reduce or eliminate packaging for whatever you bring home, and go as organic and natural as your appetites and wallet allow.  Use natural, organic oils like olive or canola to cook with, and try to compost fruit and vegetable leavings.  Even in small spaces a little composter can provide beautiful, black compost for your growing areas, where it can feed the next batch of herbs, fruits and vegetables.

You can even make your own herbal tea to go along with your green supper.  These may be herbs that you grow yourself, or find at the market.  All you need besides the herbs is a clear glass jar with a watertight seal, some water, and the sun.  Depending on how strong you enjoy your tea, use anywhere from 100-300 grams of herb for each litre of water, remembering that the roots and seeds usually make a stronger infusion than do the leaves or flowers.  Also, you’ll need about double the amount of fresh herbs, as the essential oils are not as concentrated in fresh leaves as they are in dried.

Dried flowers and herbs aren’t as potent

The herbs can be placed in cheesecloth if you wish to make clean-up easier or just tossed into the jar.  Pour water in the jar, shake it a bit, and then place it in full sunlight.  Once the tea is to the colour you like, pour through a strainer into another bowl.  Place the used herbs in your composter, add a bit of honey to sweeten your tea if you wish, stir well, then pour.  Lemon is also a nice touch.

Give it a try!  Without much effort or space you can cook a completely green meal, even if you don’t have an allotment.

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