4 Eco-Friendly Recipes With a Low Carbon Footprint

How to reduce your "food carbon footprint"?

Are you concerned about climate change?

Now that you've changed the light bulbs in your house, it's time to change what’s in your plate!

Food production now accounts for about a quarter of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 

And some foods have a particularly larger footprint than others. These are mainly meat and cheese, but also coffee, chocolate, palm oil, olive oil, eggs, rice, fish, etc. At the bottom of the pyramid are bananas, apples, tomatoes (but not from the greenhouse, eh!), root vegetables, but also peas, or even nuts.

But is it better to eat a banana from Colombia or a rib of beef from the local farm?

Eating locally would only have a significant impact if transportation was responsible for a large part of the overall food carbon footprint. This is not the case for most foods. In fact, what you eat is much more important than where your food comes from. So in reality, it's better to choose plant-based foods, even if they come from far away.

Why is this?

Much of the GHG emissions are a result of changing the land usage and production/exploitation, including fertilizer use and methane production from cattle. Contrary to what one might have imagined, transportation is therefore much less of a GHG contributor. For example, the share of emissions caused by beef transportation is only 0.5%.

5 tips to help you reduce your food carbon footprint

Before I get you excited about some eco-friendly recipes and creative inspiration, I'd like to give you 5 tips to help you reduce your food carbon footprint:

1. You bought it, you eat it - no waste!

2. No more beef and cheese

3. No to food that flew by plane!

4. A processed and packaged product? Skip it!

5. "I eat mostly plant-based, seasonal and locally produced foods": adopt this principle as a daily mantra

Here are 4 Gourmet and eco-friendly recipes

Garden Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients

(for 2 persons)

• 1 medium zucchini

• 1/2 cup walnuts

• 1 ripe tomato OR 1/2 cup tomato coulis (for a denser, less runny end result and a stronger tomato flavour, especially if it's not tomato season)

• 1/4 cup tomato paste

• 1 clove garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder)

• 1 tsp. smoked or sweet paprika

• 1/4 cup rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes

• 1 tsp. nutritional yeast

• salt, pepper and herbes de Provence, to taste

• Fresh basil

• Vegetable Parmesan cheese (recipe below)

Preparation 

1. Soak and rinse your nuts beforehand. 

2. Make spaghetti with your zucchini in a spiralizer (or grate it). 

3. Blend all the other ingredients except the basil and parmesan until you get a slightly grainy texture like a Bolognese sauce. 

4. Place the spaghetti on plates or a serving dish, add the sauce and garnish with basil and vegetable parmesan. 

5. You have a fresh dish perfect for the summer season, but it can also be eaten hot in winter. Simply steam the zucchini spaghetti for 2-3 minutes and heat up the Bolognese sauce in a saucepan.

Vegetable Parmesan

Ingredients

(for a 500 ml jar)

• 1/2 cup of cashew nuts

• 1/2 cup of walnuts

• 1 tsp. garlic powder 

• 1 pinch of chili powder

• 1/4 cup of malted yeast 

• 1 tsp. sea salt

Preparation 

1. Blend for a few seconds until a slightly granular powder texture is obtained. Can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several months.

Pear & caramel ice cream

Ingredients

(for 2 persons)

• 1 ripe pear 

• 1 cup frozen banana slices

• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp. cardamom

• 1/4 tsp. ginger powder

• 1/4 tsp. vanilla powder

Preparation

1. Blend all the ingredients in a blender until you have a smooth ice cream.

2. Arrange in 2 small bowls.

Dressage

Drizzle caramel (recipe below) over ice cream.

Sprinkle with roasted or honey caramelized sesame seeds.

No-bake nut caramel

Ingredients

(for 1 small 125 ml pot)

• 1/4 cup dates

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 cup nut butter (puree) of your choice

• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil

• 2 tablespoons water

• 2 tbsp. lemon juice

• 1 pinch of salt

Preparation

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

I wish you a lot of fun and creativity in the kitchen while managing to combine your gourmet dishes with a low carbon footprint.

Hope you like those eco friendly meals!