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Planet Friendly Food Recipes that won’t

cost the Earth

Photograph by Paolo Ferla for My Somerset Kitchen

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Tasty eats shouldn’t cost the Earth.

Food is hugely important. And yummy! Good food helps us to grow well and be active. It plays an important part in family and community life, whether that is eating dinner all together, celebrating a birthday or feasting with friends. Food can make us feel great. But the food we eat can have a big impact on our planet. Did you know that, globally, food systems account for about one quarter (25%) of all manmade greenhouse emissions? That’s a big contribution to climate change - more than global transport, and about the same as the production of electricity and heat.

We have therefore suggested FOUR great ways to change what we buy and eat that can reduce our contribution to climate change. We’ve also been talking to some of Bath’s best loved foodies who have kindly contributed a collection of recipes (see below) that will not only tickle your taste buds, but help put new, healthy eating habits into practice that are good for you, and the planet.

1. Throw less food awayFood waste is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. Food waste in general produces three times as much carbon as packaging waste. And if food waste were its own country it would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, after only China and the United States.

Wasting less food is good because...One third of all food produced worldwide for human consumption never reaches our tables. The natural resources and energy used to grow, produce, process and transport food that is just thrown away is wasted, and contributes 8% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.

Most of the food we throw away still ends up in landfill, where it decomposes and releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is at least 28 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.

What can we do?• Plan what we’re going to eat and only buy

what we need. Growing your own food has also been shown to reduce waste.

• Compost food – it’s great for the soil in your garden! Anaerobic, or “methane”, digesters are also becoming smaller and more affordable, and convert methane into electricity.

• Use every scrap. Meat bones and veg peelings make a fantastic stock. Why not try The Green Bird Café’s Free Range Chicken, Winter Vegetable and Lentil Soup and see how easy it is to make sure nothing goes to waste.

Did you know?Each year, globally, the food that is thrown away could feed 2 billion people!

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2. Eat seasonal food‘Seasonal food’ is when fruit and vegetables are naturally available and at their best. While we all love strawberries, they only grow when the weather is warm, and so British-grown strawberries are usually available from June to September. If we want to eat strawberries in December, they will have come from somewhere far away such as Spain or even Peru.

Eating seasonal food is good because…Transporting food shorter distances produces less carbon dioxide from fuel use. It also reduces the amount of energy used to grow food, chill it during the journey to keep it fresh and heat it to artificially ripen food before it reaches a shop.

Naturally ripened fruit and vegetables are more nutritious, have more flavour and are nicer to eat! They can also be cheaper - when farmers harvest a crop that is in season, there is often a lot of it so the cost goes down.

What can we do?

• Be more in tune with the seasons and eat great, fresh produce when it’s at it’s best.

• Buy more British – buying what is grown in the UK will help to eat more seasonally.

• Why not try Beth the Free Range Chef’s Crunchy Pea Fritters in the spring when British peas are at their best!

3. Eat locally grown foodWhat counts as local? There is no set definition or distance used to define what it means to ‘eat locally’. But as we know that the further food travels, the higher the ‘food miles’, it makes sense to try and source our food as near to where we live as possible.

Eating locally is good because...Locally produced food does not have to be transported as far, is less likely to need to be stored to keep the food fresh and packaging is reduced as less protection is needed if food travels a shorter distance. All this uses less energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

By choosing to buy from people nearby, you not only help the environment but your local community and economy too.

What can we do?• Check out your local farmers market or farm

shop and support your local growers.

• Grow your own – you don’t get much more local than your own home!

• Challenge yourself to eat food sourced within 25 miles of where you live for a week. If you live in or near Bath why not start with the The Bertinet Kitchen’s No-bake Quinoa Flapjack - they sourced all the ingredients right on their doorstep, but be sure to make this during summer when lovely local berries are in season!

Do you know what is in season, when?Check out this handy seasonal calendar: www.bbcgoodfood.com/seasonal-calendar/all

Did you know?A Locavore is a person who exclusively or primarily eats foods produced within a predetermined radius from his or her home. Locavore was The New Oxford American Dictionary’s word of the year in 2007!

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4. Eat less meat When we visit primary schools nearly every child giggles knowingly when we ask how cows contribute to climate change! But does reducing our meat consumption really have such a big impact?

Eating less meat is good because…Eating a plant-based diet saves about four times more greenhouse gas emissions per person each year than recycling. Greenhouse gases are reduced because less transport is used, there is less methane from cows, sheep and other livestock, and fewer fertilizers are used.

Eating more fruit, veg, seeds, nuts and other plants also saves a lot of water. Did you know it takes 660 gallons of water to make one hamburger – that is more than 60 showers! In contrast, it takes 60 litres of water to produce one pound of potatoes.

What can we do?• Reduce the amount of meat, especially

red meat, which we eat. Being a vegan or vegetarian is not for everyone, but cutting out meat just once or twice a week would have a positive impact.

• Why not try My Somerset Kitchen’s Matcha Smoothie Bowl, Goodness Grazers’ Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus or Sal’s Smoky Aubergine Pasta with Herby Pangrattato – perfect if you love cheese but want to try vegan!

Bon Appetite!We hope you enjoy trying the recipes, and that making a change to what you eat is easier than you think.

Remember - it’s not always possible to eat locally or seasonally for everyone all of the time. We are also not saying never eat meat. It’s about making informed choices when you can that are better for you (your wallet and your health) and for the environment.

Did you know?Beef has a larger carbon footprint per pound than any other popular meat: two times larger than lamb, six times larger than pork, and seven times larger than chicken.

Recipes

Chicken, Winter Veg and Lentil Soup

Crunchy Pea Fritters

No-Bake Quinoa Flapjack

Matcha Smoothie Bowl

Smoky Aubergine Pasta with Herby Pangrattato

Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus

Almond and Chia Seed Energy Balls

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Ingredients• 1 x Free range chicken

leftovers alternatively 100g cooked chicken

• 1 x medium carrot

• 1 x medium onion

• 1 x stick of celery

• 1 x garlic clove

• 1 x medium potato

• 1 x bay leaf

• 1 x small bunch of thyme

• 6 x crushed peppercorns

• 1 x tin of cooked lentils

• 1 x handful of shredded spinach

• 3 x tbls of rapeseed oil

Method1. Start by stripping all the remaining meat from you roast

chicken carcass then roughly chop into a small dice reserving all the bones and juices left in the tray.

2. Peel and dice the onions, carrot and celery keeping all the trimmings in a separate bowl. Combine the bones and vegetable peelings in a large pot and add the bayleaf, garlic and peppercorns.

3. Pour in around 2 pints of cold water and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for around 2 hours then strain the stock through a colander.

4. Sweat the diced vegetables in a little rapeseed oil for around 5 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

5. Peel and dice the potato and add to the vegetables with the thyme.

6. Pour in the stock and add the drained lentils. Bring to a gentle boil for around 10 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked but still firm.

7. Take around a third of the soup and liquidise it until smooth. Add this back to the original soup to give it a thicker consistency.

8. Add the diced chicken and spinach. Heat through adding more seasoning if needed.

9. Serve with some warm bread and proper butter!

The Green Bird Café is an independently owned café in the centre of Bath. They aim to support as many local suppliers and producers as possible such as Castle Mead Poultry, Eades Greengrocers and The Bertinet Bakery.

Look out for the delicious seasonal soups on their menu as 10% of all soup sales go to their #souperstar charity partner.

Here owner Chef Henry shares his recipe for a soup that uses up leftovers and minimises waste after a Sunday roast !

www.greenbirdcafe.co.uk

The Green Bird Café

Chicken, Winter Veg and Lentil Soup

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Ingredients• 1 large onion,

finely diced

• 300g peas, defrosted in hot water and drained

• ½ tsp turmeric

• ½ tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp nigella seeds

• ½ tsp ground coriander

• 25g roughly chopped cashew nuts

• 100g gram or buckwheat flour

• ½ tsp bicarb

• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 2 ½ tbsp. water and left to thicken for 5 minutes

• 100ml water

• 1 tsp salt

• Oil for frying, I

use rapeseed

Method1. Mix together spices, bicarb, salt and flour

in a bowl. Combine flaxseed mix with extra water until you have the desired texture. 100ml is about the right amount but you want the fritters to hold a good shape and not be too splatty. Add the onion and peas and mix.

2. Pour 1cm of oil in to a deep-sided frying pan and get it nice and hot. You can test this by dropping a bit of the batter in and watching it sizzle. Fry off a tester fritter to check it’s the right consistency. You might need to add a bit more water or flour. Take a tablespoon of the mixture and pop it in carefully, cooking in batches and turning to achieve a golden, crispy, crunchy bundle of happiness.

3. Serve on a pretty plate with a cucumber and mint yoghurt dip.

After working in kitchens across Bath, I set up Beth’s Bakes in 2008. A passion for organic ingredients and cooking sustainably is what drives me to keep experimenting with food. Through travelling and working within different cultures I love to recreate experiences and inspire people to eat more veg. These vegan crunchy pea fritters are a very pleasing combination of textures and flavours with sweet peas popping, nuts crunching and a general zing of zesty flavours jiving together to create a comforting treat for both little and large mouths. Something a bit different for snack time as well as perfect finger food for socials so if you are having chums round for a soiree then bring out these simple morsels.

www.beththefreerangechef.com

Beth the Free Range Chef

Crunchy Pea Fritters

Photography by Lucy Baker

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Ingredients• 8x8” dish

• 2.5 cups quinoa flakes

• 1 cup nut or seed butter

• 1/3 cup honey

• 1/4 cup rapeseed oil

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1/2 tsp salt

• Various berries

Method1. Put all dry ingredients together

and mix

2. Put all ‘wet’ ingredients into a pan and melt gently over heat

3. Stir to combine all ingredients

4. Press into dish and put in the fridge for a few hours to set

We had the pleasure of working with The Bertinet Kitchen recently who delivered a cookery session at one of our events - their session got children thinking about carbon footprint and how using the amazing range of local ingredients we can find right here on the doorstep of the Wicked Weather Watch offices in Bath can reduce our food miles and have a more positive impact on our planet.A huge thank you to The Bertinet Kitchen and the local companies who supported the cookery session by providing their produce. The quinoa came from the Bath Farm Girls, rapeseed oil from Bath Harvest, blueberries and raspberries from Lovejoys Wholesale – all sourced within 25 miles of the event!

An easy cookery activity to do with your kids and a nice opportunity to talk to them about how our choices can impact our wonderful world, and the outcome, a delicious healthy snack to enjoy together!

Made with lovely Bath produce!

www.thebertinetkitchen.com

The Bertinet Kitchen

No-Bake Quinoa Flapjack

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Ingredients• 1 large avocado

• 2 large bananas

• 1 teaspoon of organic matcha green tea powder

• 200ml coconut water

Toppings:

• Goji berries

• Chia seeds

• Sliced banana

Method1. Slice the avocado down the middle and

scoop out the avocado flesh, discarding the stone and avocado skin. Next, peel the bananas, breaking them into small chunks. Add the banana chunks, avocado flesh, 1 teaspoon of matcha green tea powder and 200ml of coconut water to a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.

2. Pour the smoothie into two bowls. Top with sliced banana, a handful of goji berries and a sprinkling of chia seeds.

I am passionate about creating delicious and nourishing plant-based food. My diet is based on nutritional whole foods including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts, limiting animal products and avoiding processed food. By following a whole food plant-based diet, I have noticed a positive impact on my wellbeing. It’s empowering to think that everyone can contribute and make a difference in saving our planet and helping to slow down the effects of global warming simply by reducing the amount of animal products they eat and eating more plant-based food.

Eat more veggies and love our planet. Together, imagine the impact that we could have on slowing down or even preventing climate change.

‘A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change’ – The UN

www.mysomersetkitchen.com

My Somerset Kitchen

Matcha Smoothie Bowl

Photography by Paolo Ferla

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Ingredients• 1 small aubergine

• Olive oil

• 1 fat garlic clove

• 2 tbsp tomato puree

• 1 tsp sugar

• Salt

• Dried oregano

• Spaghetti, to serve

To make the pangrattato:

• 1 slice of white bread

• A few fresh basil leaves

• Sea salt

• Olive oil

Method1. Start by finely dicing the aubergine (the pieces

should be no more than 1cm square), and then fry very gently in a generous splash of olive oil until nice and soft. Remove the aubergine to a plate.

2. Finely chop or crush the garlic and fry in the same pan as before (add a little more oil if necessary) until it starts to smell really good, then return the aubergine to the pan and mix well. Add the tomato puree and a splash of water to loosen it up.

3. Season the sauce with sugar, salt and dried oregano, then put a lid on and leave it to simmer gently while you cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.

4. Finally, while the pasta is cooking, make the pangrattato. I find the easiest way to do it is to toast the bread, then chop it as finely as you can, before crisping it up again in a frying pan with a little splash of oil. Keep a close eye on it and once the breadcrumbs are really golden and toasty, remove from the heat and mix in a generous pinch of coarse sea salt and chopped fresh basil.

5. To serve, simply stir the cooked pasta through the sauce, then divide between two plates and top with fresh basil and your herby pangrattato.

Food blogger and Digital Marketing Consultant Sal Godfrey shares her favourite vegan recipe from her blog, Sal’s Kitchen.Sprinkled on the top of this delicious pasta is Sal’s top recommendation for anyone who doesn’t eat cheese but loves pasta – pangrattato.

This is seriously good stuff!

www.salskitchenblog.com

Sal’s Kitchen

Smoky Aubergine Pasta with Herby Pangrattato

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Ingredients• 1 medium

butternut squash

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• Sprinkle sea salt

• Sprinkle black pepper

• 1 425g can of chickpeas (drained)

• 2 tbsp tahini

• 1 clove garlic (crushed)

• 1 tbsp sesame seeds (plus more for sprinkling)

• Sea salt and black

pepper to taste

Method1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2. Slice the butternut (I like to leave the peel on, but that’s optional!). Place the butternut slices onto a lined baking tray. Brush with sesame oil and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.

3. Place into the oven and bake for around 30-35 minutes until soft and cooked.

4. When the butternut is cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.

5. Add the butternut to a food processor along with the chickpeas, tahini, garlic and sesame seeds and process until smooth.

6. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

7. Serve with flat breads or raw veggies – or eat it straight (or maybe that’s just me?)!

For me, food is joy. Goodness Grazers carefully source top of the line, quality produce from the local Bath region, to bring you a unique grazing experience! Roasted butternut squash is one of my favourite foods. I’m originally from South Africa, where butternuts are sun ripened and gorgeous... and hummus is another of my favourite foods. So a roasted butternut squash hummus is literally heaven for me! This vegan and gluten free hummus makes a fabulous dip for flat breads and fresh raw veggies, or use it as a healthy spread. It’s creamy, hearty, satisfying, healthy, veggie packed and deliciously textured. It’s best when fresh, but will last a few days when kept covered in the refrigerator.

www.goodnessgrazers.co.uk

Goodness Grazers

Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus

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IngredientsMakes about 20 balls

• 1 mug almonds (200g)

• 2 mugs Medjool dates (400g)

• 4 tablespoons raw cacao powder

• 2 tablespoons almond butter

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

• 2 tablespoons chia seeds

Method1. Start by putting the almonds in

a food processor and whiz for about 30 seconds, until they’re nicely crushed.

2. Then pit the dates and add them, plus all the other ingredients and 2 tablespoons water, to the processor and blend again until everything has mixed together perfectly and it’s all nice and sticky.

3. Roll the mix into balls.

4. Place the balls in the freezer for an hour to set, then store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Having just done Veganuary (which I loved and it felt really empowering to take climate action on my food choices), I thought I’d add a recipe to the collection. Energy balls were a regular snack for me through the month, particularly around exercise or as a treat with a coffee during the late afternoon slump. I’ve tried out a number of equally delicious energy ball recipes but I’ve picked this one by Deliciously Ella as the cacao powder provides a lovely chocolatey hit. The great thing about energy balls is that they travel well so you can take them on the go, and they will also last for ages in the fridge so you can make a big batch.

To find out more about climate change and how we can live more sustainably please visit the WWW website using the link in the footer below.

WWW Vicky

Almond and Chia Energy Balls by Deliciously Ella

www.deliciouslyella.com

Sources

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www.activesustainability.com/sustainable-life/advantages-of-consuming-seasonal-fruit

www.activesustainability.com/sustainable-life/responsible-consumption-benefits-local-consumption

www.activesustainability.com/sustainable-development/the-sustainability-of-the-food-system

www.articles.extension.org/pages/62107/how-close-must-food-be-grown-to-be-considered-local

www.bbcgoodfood.com/seasonal-calendar/all

www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2007/10/29/food-packaging-and-climate-change

www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/nr/sustainability_pathways/docs/FWF_and_climate_change.pdf

www.lessmeatlessheat.org/facts

www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/the-four-lifestyle-choices-that-most-reduce-your-carbon-footprint

www.rebootwithjoe.com/benefits-of-eating-seasonally

www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/05/why-what-we-eat-is-crucial-to-the-climate-change-question