Monday, March 17, 2014

Cooking With Sharon: Part Deux

Our sustainable leading lady is back again! This week, Sharon will be cooking up an amazing vegan dish with the most under-loved vegetable of them all: Brussels Sprouts. For some reason, common thought is that Brussels Sprouts taste horrible, and that children especially won't eat them. We're here to break those stereotypes with a delicious recipe no one can resist!


Sweet Chili Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:
1/2-1 lb Brussels Sprouts
1/2 onion, diced
3-6 garlic cloves
1/2 inch piece of ginger
2-3 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce
2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sesame seeds for garnish
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Remove stems and wash Brussels Sprouts. Slice into halves. Mince the garlic and ginger. Dice onion.
2. Turn on stove. Heat olive oil in pan on medium heat
3. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 30-45 seconds. Add onions and sautee for 7-9 minutes or until translucent.
4. Toss in Brussels Sprouts and cook for 10-15 minutes or until they are nice and brown and slightly charred.
5. Add the sweet chili sauce and soy sauce and sautee for 1-2 minutes
6. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and black pepper
7. Serve with pasta, rice or lentils.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MldAyU7MBvY

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Food Waste in America

The United States is the 3rd most populous country in the world, behind China and India. With over 2.2 million farms covering an area of 922 million acres, No one in this country should ever go hungry. However, the data around food waste in America is astonishing. Getting food from the farm to our fork eats up 10 percent of the total U.S. energy budget, uses 50% of U.S. land, and uses 80% of all fresh water consumed in the United States. Yet, 40% of food in the United States today goes uneaten. This not only means that Americans are literally throwing out $165 billion each year, but also that the uneaten food ends up rotting in landfills as the single largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste, producing the majority of our methane gas pollution.
 Reducing food losses by just 15% would be enough food to feed more than 25 million Americans. Current figures estimate that 1 in 6 Americans lack a secure supply of food for their tables. Increasing the efficiency of our food system is a sustainable solution that requires collaborative efforts by businesses, governments and  most importantly, YOU the consumer. Consumers can waste less food by shopping wisely, knowing when food goes bad, buying produce that is perfectly edible even if it’s less cosmetically attractive, cooking only the amount of food they need, and eating their leftovers. Pay it forward by donating goods and/or volunteer time to local food banks, charitable organizations and homeless shelters. Waste not!