Earth Day is right around the corner on April 22nd! This is a perfect day to bring awareness to our surroundings, respect our Idaho resources, and promote eco-friendly ways of life. Take this opportunity to have environmentally conscious conversations with your kids. Talk about what happens when we consume in excess, how we are helping our environment when we carpool and recycle, and how switching to re-usable products (instead of single use plastics) can reduce the amount of waste we contribute to landfills.
One of the easiest places to start your Earth Day reflections is in the kitchen. Get your kids involved in these
Environmentally Friendly Kitchen Tips:
- Bring reusable grocery bags to the store instead of using multiple plastic bags
- Switch to reusable containers instead of plastic bags (glass over plastic if possible)
- Switch to reusable bees wax wrap or silicone wraps instead of plastic wrap
- At restaurants, bring your own reusable containers for your leftovers
- Make fewer trips to the grocery store to cut down on gas usage in your vehicle
- Buy in bulk (ex: choose bulk oats or rice instead of buying small individual packages)
- Reduce kitchen scraps-compost when possible
- Use your veggie scraps to make your own vegetable broth (ex: onion skins, carrot shavings, ends of vegetables)
- Prepare at least 1 meatless meal each week (ex: use beans as your protein or try this Green Pasta Sauce Recipe)
- Grow your own herbs on your counter top next to a window
- Recycle when possible (plastic bags can be returned to some grocery stores, re-use glass jars,
- Use nontoxic cleaning products
Try out some of your new environmentally friendly kitchen tips with this Green Pasta Sauce recipe:
Green Pasta Sauce
Equipment
- Skillet
- Pot
- Blender
- Spatula
- Knife
- cutting board
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 box whole wheat pasta
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 3 cups spinach
- 1/2 cup cream or canned coconut milk for dairy free
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast for diary free
Instructions
- Boil pasta until fully cooked (reserve 1 cup of pasta water), then set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium high heat, add 2 Tbsp. olive oil and sauté onion, garlic, zucchini, and spinach. Cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes.
- In a food processor or blender, add sautéed vegetables, cream and lemon juice, then blend until smooth. May need to gradually add reserved pasta water to achieve desired consistency.
- Mix together cooked pasta with blended green pasta sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese overtop and enjoy!
Nutrition