Tweedgreen Challenge - Food

8/3/2019 Tweedgreen Challenge - Food

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WELCOME TO THE TWEEDGREENFOOD CHALLENGE

Firstly thanks for agreeing to take on the Tweedgreen Food Challenge.

We hope the Food Challenge will both inspire and enthuse you about the joysof simple local foods, grown and eaten in season, and cooked simply anddeliciously.

By agreeing to take on the challenge.. your showing that youre interested in joining a widening community that understands and appreciates the value offood, and the real cost of wasting it..

We hope you maybe learn something, maybe even meet some new friends..but above all, share some great food..

GOOD LUCK!

Save money, feel good &reduce your impact!

TWEEDGREEN CHALLENGE FOOD 49


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50 FOOD TWEEDGREEN CHALLENGE

WELCOME TO YOURFOOD CHALLENGEHow tHe tweedgreen foodcHallenge workS

Tweedgreen has calculated the CO2 savings based on the three challengecategories. The impact of a change in behaviour is matched by the number ofcarbon points.

b EASY = 1 Carbon Point: Saves 0-1.5kg CO2bb MODERATE = 2 Carbon Points: Saves 1.5-50kg CO2bbb CHALLENGING = 3 Carbon Points: Saves 50-5000kg CO2

When you do the Challenge you record the number of the challenge and the CarbonPoints earned on the Challenge Chart provided. Remember points mean prizes!

The Tweedgreen Food Challenge is designed to be a fun and enjoyable way oflearning some new skills in the kitchen, and hopefully save some carbon. We will beworking with our resident chef Val Brunton from the Sunflower Restaurant cookingup some new meals and learning about local and seasonal foods. Each week youhave a number of tasks to undertake, which will build your knowledge and skills.

We also have a number of Challenges we would really like you to have a go at.

We have divided these challenges into three categories:

b EASYbb MODERATEbbb CHALLENGING


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What will we be doing?We hope that by working with your small group you willenjoy the experience and encourage each other to domore and have more fun.

week 1/2:First get together and free cooking lesson: our Head Chef Val takes usthrough some great batch cooking ideas.We start with some simple menu planning and measuring your food wastewhich you work on over the next two weeks.

week 3/4:Second get together and second cooking lesson: we meet again for moreof Vals gourmet guidance, and an introduction to how to make meals goso much further.In the second two weeks we look at ways of reducing your food waste,using more local and seasonal foods, and some more great batch cookingmenu ideas from Val.

week 5/6:Our last meeting: where you get to just relax and socialise over somegood food and we talk about how everyone got on.Your last two weeks are on your own. We hope you keep up the good work!


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Eating local means more for the local economy. A pound spent locallygenerates twice as much income for the local economy.

Locally grown produce is fresher. Supermarket foods could have beenin transit or cold-stored for days or weeks.

Local food just tastes better. Ever tried a fresh home grown tomato?Delicious.

Locally grown fruits and vegetables have longer to ripen. Becausethe produce will be handled less, and can be left to ripen naturally.

Buying local food keeps us in touch with the seasons. By eating withthe seasons, we are eating foods when they are at their peak taste, andthe least expensive.

Locally grown food has a great story to tell. Knowing the story aboutyour food is an enjoyable part of planning and cooking a meal.

6 GOOD REASONS FOREATING LOCAL FOOD...


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MEAT AND CLIMATE CHANGE?did you know tHat producing a kilo ofbeef can emit aS mucH co2 aS tHe averagebritiSH car driven about 160 mileS?Understanding how we consume meat and dairy products in a sustainable andhealthy way can be a bit of a minefield. First a few farmyard facts

Cows and sheep are ruminant animals which means their digestion produces

methane, a gas with about 20 times the global warming power than carbondioxide.

It comes out mainly in their burps. Their manure is also heavy with nitrates whichpollute both water and air. Pigs produce less gas, but plenty of manure. Chickenseat and waste little.

There is also a vast difference in the efficiency with which they turn vegetablefodder into meat protein; and the less land you need to feed each animal, themore you have left for anything else - like climate-friendly forests.


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For example cows and sheep need about 8kg of grain for every 1kg of meat theyproduce, pigs about 4kg. The most efficient poultry units need a mere 1.6kg offeed to produce 1kg of chicken.

Livestock production plays a big part in deforestation for grazing and cultivatinganimal feeds such as soya. Deforestation is currently responsible for a staggeringquarter of all global man-made CO2 emissions.

Add to this some of the welfare issues associated with non free-range chickens andpigs that are often bred indoors and the issue becomes very complicated.

Vegetarians argue that the simple answer is to avoid meat; but altering theScottish diet is a tall order and would seriously affect the lives of hundreds ofScottish farmers.

One solution is growing sheep and cattle on rough upland-grass where little elsewill grow and their feeding habits actually encourage wildlife and lock carbon intosoils, its a complicated subject but the more you learn the easier the choices get.

What to do?

Buy locally produced Scottish beef and lamb from your localbutcher, the quality is better and youre supporting local business

Buy larger cuts of meat and use the leftovers for stews and soups

Try to reduce the overall number of meat meals you eat each week

Reduce your dairy intake. The dairy industry accounts for about23% of UK food emissions.

Go organic its better for you, animal welfare and the environment

Eat what you buy!


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Your Challenges

1. With the family work out who is in the house next week anddecide what meals need to be cooked (and give yourself a point)

2. Do your menu plan for two days each week

3. Try to buy two main ingredient from a local supplier

4. Try cooking one Blue and one Orange meal each week

5. Eat one less dairy-based meal per week than youwould normally.

6. Using the Food Waste Guide weigh your edible food waste fora minimum of two days each week (and give yourself a point)

Additional Carbon Points Have a look at your Challenge Cards and select acouple to take on this week. You should aim to collect a minimum of FIVE CarbonPoints for EACH of the rst two weeks.

POINTS MEAN PRIZESIf you have succeeded in collecting 10 CarbonPoints in Weeks 1-2, you will receive some greatvouchers for visits to local attractions, helpingyou to plan your local weekends next week.

week 1+2of tweedgreen food cHallenge...


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Getting to know your local food suppliers is a great wayof learning about what in season, whats fresh and howto make the most of your purchase.

SUPPORT OUR LOCAL SUPPLIERS

tHingS to try over tHe next week...A thriving high street is the heart of any village. Most importantly every poundspent in a locally owned store is recycled locally, whereas a pound spent in asupermarket has less local impact.

Try to buy three main ingredients from your local greengrocer/butcher.

(Card 6)

While your there ask them about what they might recommend thisweek. (Card 7)

We have some great cheese makers in the Borders, what about a localcheese platter after dinner one night this week.

Do we have any local organic suppliers ? Maybe ask at the counter forsomething local and organic.


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TWEEDGREEN CHALLENGE FOOD 57TWEEDGREEN CHALLENGE FOOD 57

Your Challenges

1. With the family, work out who is in the house next week anddecide what meals need to be cooked (and give yourself a point)

2. Do your menu plan for 3 days each week

3. Try to buy three main ingredient from a local supplier

4. Try cooking two Blue and one Orange meal each week

5. Eat one less meat meal per week than you would normally

6. Using the Food Waste Guide weigh your edible food waste fora minimum of three days each week (and give yourself a point)

Additional Carbon Points Have a look at your Challenge Cards and select acouple to take on this week. You should aim to collect a minimum of SEVENCarbon Points for EACHof the rst two weeks.

POINTS MEAN PRIZESIf you have succeeded in collecting 14 CarbonPoints in Weeks 3-4, you will receive a giftvoucher for 5 for Castle Warehouse in PeeblesAND a 10% discount on all kitchenware.



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Food waste is one of the easiest and most effective waysof both saving money and protecting the environment.In the UK on average we throw away about 8.3 milliontonnes each year.

LOVE FOOD HATE WASTE

wHy we waSte food?The main reasons for throwing away food can be grouped in to "cooking orpreparing too much" (for example cooking too much rice or pasta and it gets left inthe saucepan or on the plate) or "not using food in time" for example having tothrow out fruit and vegetables because theyve gone off in the fruit bowl or in thefridge, or not eating food before it goes past its use-by date.

We know that there are lots of potential reasons why food might not get eaten intime our plans change, we forget what food we have in the cupboards, we forgetto freeze or chill something to use at a later date, we lack the confidence orknowledge on how to use up our leftovers.


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Your Challenges

1. With the family work out who is in the house next week and

decide what meals need to be cooked (and give yourself a point)2. Do your menu plan for 4 days each week

3. Try to buy three main ingredient from a local supplier

4. Try cooking two Blue and two Orange meals each week

5. Eat two less meat meals per week than you would normally.

6. Using the Food Waste Guide weigh your edible food waste fora minimum of three days each week (and give yourself a point)

Additional Carbon Points Have a look at your Challenge Cards and select acouple to take on this week. You should aim to collect a minimum of TEN CarbonPoints for EACH of the rst two weeks.

POINTS MEAN PRIZES:If you have succeeded in collecting 20 CarbonPoints in Weeks 5-6, you will receive a six monthsubscription to the Good Food Magazine OR avoucher for a meal for two at the SunowerRestaurant to the value of 15!



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We can get confused by the difference between Use By

and Best Buy. Heres a quick guide...

USE-BY DATES and wHat tHey mean

USE BY Food can be eaten up to the end of the 'use by' date, but notafter even if it looks and smells fine.

BEST BEFORE These dates refer to quality rather than food safety.When the date is passed, the food won't be unsafe but it might begin toloose its flavour or texture. One exception is eggs - never eat eggsafter the 'best before' date.

DISPLAY UNTIL You can ignore this date as they are for shop staff notshoppers.

FOR ALL FOODAlways follow on pack storage guidance andinstructions such as "eat within three days of opening". To extend thelife of food beyond its date, freeze it before the date and defrost anduse it within 24 hours. Find out more about food labelling at the NHSwebsite: www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/food-labelling-terms.aspx


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LO W CAR BON FO ODSo hat s all the fuss about ?

Avoid Highly Processed Foods Generally speaking, the moreprocessed a food the more steps there are between production andtable, the greater the energy that has gone into its manufacture.

Avoid Over-Packaged Foods Packaging can account for as much asa quarter of the energy used in food production and can often end upneeding to be disposed of.

Choose Less Meat Raising animals for meat generally requires more

energy, water and land than raising crops.Eat More Vegetables The governments five-a-day campaign hasalready raised awareness of the health aspects of eating vegetables.

Think About Buying Local Produce Lcally produced foods can oftenqualify as low carbon, but not all imported foods use more energy thanhome-grown produce.

Go Organic Their production certainly avoids many of the pollutionrisks of conventional agriculture and encourages biodiversity.

Changing your eating habits may seem a strange way toapproach preventing climate change, but its contributionto greenhouse gases soon mounts up.



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So your having a few friends around for a party... how canyou think about having a great night and passing on a greatmessage about how important eating locally is.

HAVING FRIENDSAROUND FOR A MEAL

tHat doeSnt coSt tHe eartH

Local food you know the story by now Local food has a great storyto tell, and your guests will be more impressed with simple food cookedwell than something over complicated. Keep in mind that internationalmeal ingredients, at least in some cases, must be shipped long distances,your local store might be able to get something you hadnt thought about.Planning this approach will do more than just cut back the carbon footprintof your party. Local food is additionally fresher and travelled less, thatmeans that the flavours and textures will be fuller and a lot of natural.

Prepare a Vegetarian Option If your night meal makes a purpose ofbeing green, there is a smart chance that at least a few the guests willbe vegetarian.

Cut Down on Waste For many dinner parties, this won't be a difficulty,however paper things such as cups, plates, napkins, and paper towelscontribute to deforestation whereas also adding to unnecessary landfill.


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KNOW WHAT S IN you r kitche n cupbo ard...

Basic Foods Pantries contain basic food staples and foods basedon what you cook most often. In general, basic pantry staples arefoods that are dry, canned, oils and condiments. Examples of theseare beans, soups and spices. Others include dry flours, sugars, pasta,potatoes and onions. See Vals recommended kitchen cupboard basics.

Stocking When a desired food item goes on sale, buy multiples ofthat item. That way one is used and the rest is stored in the cupboardfor future use. The result is a well stocked pantry at a lower cost andfewer trips to a store once the cupboard is full, therefore saving money.

Organising Organizing a cupboard with the newest purchased foodsat the back will ensure older foods are used first. Colour coded or clearairtight containers keep flour, pasta and other dry goods safe fromspillage, bugs and moisture while still allowing you to see whats inside.

See whats in your kitchen cupboards before you goshopping. Using the handy checklist provided in yourpack, then try out some of our kitchen stocking tips.



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1. Choose the right size pan for the size of the food that youare cooking avoid using a large when boiling water when asmaller might do

2. Place a saucepan on the cooking ring that best equals it insize this reflects the electricity savings of using a smallerpan (and thus a smaller burner) rather than using a largepan

3. Use a toaster instead of the grill for toasting bread generallyavoid turning on the grill or oven for single items

4. Chop vegetables/meats into smaller sizes when cooking

they take less time to cook and need less water!5. Avoid temptation to open the oven as food cooks also a

good idea to turn the oven off about 5 min before the endtime as the heat will continue cooking for a good while.

6. Cook a vegetarian meal local vegetablesgenerally have a very low carbonfootprint, and taste better!

7. Cook a vegan meal vegan meals can be fun and delicious(particularly BBQs!) www.vegweb.com

8. Make your own lunch instead of buying sandwiches shopsandwiches have lots of unnecessary packaging and justdont taste as good as home made ones.

9. Be aware of food packaging when buying food this week while shopping locally take a small bag. Avoid over packaged

food, youre probably paying for the packaging!

your food cHallengeStartS Here...

O N E C A R B O N P O I N T E A C H / / E A S Y

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10. Use something from the freezer for your next main meal

11. Identify a food you throw away regularly and work out a planto stop wasting that food

13. Store all your food in the correct place i.e. potatoes incool/dark room, other vegetables in the fridge and fruit in thefridge (except bananas/pineapple)

14. Plan one meal using only ingredients produced within a 50mile radius

15. Plan one meal using only items in season

16. Plan/have a "Waste free lunch" where none of the food orpackaging goes to landfill

17. Rotate the food in your fridge so that the items that need tobe used first are closest to the front

18. Check that your fridge is to the correct temperature 1-5 C andadjust it if needed

O N E C A R B O N P O I N T E A C H / / E A S Y

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19. Eat what you buy most importantly, this week challengeyourself to eat everything you buy. Our menu planning will help!

20. Long term action: When eating out, can you find a restaurantthat uses local produce? When treating yourself think aboutwhat youre paying for, is your local restaurant actively workingwith local suppliers? Its a good sign they take their foodseriously

21. Plan your meals in advance to help you avoid food waste while doing your menu planning, specifically think about foodthat will not have unnecessary

22. Cook on several levels using a steamer on one cooker ring itmakes sense and saves you money

23. Try to cook food grown by someone you know. Exchange

something for a meal, like giving a hand with gardening.24. Consider reducing the amount of meat that you eat by 50%

buy good locally produced cuts and use the leftovers inadditional meals

25. Consider reducing the amount of dairy products you eat by25% dairy goods have a large carbon footprint. Have you triedsoy recently?

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26. Includ e some (20%) local organic food in your weekly shop organic is generally better for the environment an d com esfrom farms that care ab out wh at they do

27. Avoid pre-prepared fruit and vegetables why p ay som eoneto do such a simple a nd enjo yable task buy local and enjoythe flavours and textures of real food

28. Try to remember al l the lo w carbon food rules when shopping keep it local, buy seasonal, avoid over packaged food and eatwhat you buy!

2 9. When you go shopping, aim to buy 10 items that dont haveany packaging that cant be recycl ed/com posted

30. Put all your uncooked food waste (banana skins, vegetablepeelings etc) in a compost bin

31. Plan a whole day eating only items in season

32. Plan/have a "Wa ste free day" - where none of the food orpackaging goes to landfill

33. Plan a w hole d ay eating only itemsproduced within a 50 mile radius


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34. Investigate local food co-ops is there a local foodcooperative or vegetable box scheme near you? Sign up andget an expert give you the freshest and the best available

35. If hiring catering for events or meetings, consider asking forlow carbon catering, e.g. seasonal fruit and vegetables thatare in season and grown locally

36. Work towards become self sufficient in fruit and vegetableas possible. Grow fruit if you have space in your garden &start growing your own vegetables, they taste amazing!

37. Buy a slow cooker slow cooked food has all sorts of addedbenefits, particularly if you share with friends and family

38. Do an inventory of everything in your freezer including thedate it was put in there and keep it up to date

39. Have a month where you dont throw away any food thatcould have been eaten

40. Have a "zero waste week" where you don't buy anythingthat can't be recycled/composted (including packaging if youbuy food/drink on the go)

41. For a week, only eat items produced within a 50 mile radius

42. For a week, only eat items in season43. Plan/have a "waste free week" where none of the food or

packaging goes to landfill

44. Use the portion planner from www.wasteawarelovefood.orgto calculate the correct portions for a meal.

T H R E E C A R B O N P O I N T S E A C H / / C H A L L E N G I N G

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Congratulations oncompleting the

Tweedgreen FoodChallenge.

Thank you for workingtogether with us to help

reduce our carbonfootprint. We hope that

you have found this

challenge useful andhave found new ways tohealthier, greener, and

cheaper eating!


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TWEEDGREEN CHALLENGE FOOD 71TWEEDGREEN CHALLENGE FOOD 71

US ING Y OUR KIT CHEN CADDY why ar e e mo nitoring our a ste?

How do I use my caddy?

We would like to weigh all the food that normally ends up in your bin.You can put any raw or cooked food in your caddy.

Please include:Meat and fish raw and cooked including bones All dairy products such as eggs and cheese Vegetables and fruit raw and cooked Bread, cakes and pastries Rice, pasta and beans Uneaten food from your plates and dishes Tea bags and coffee grounds

No Thanks! Please do not put any of these materials in yourfood waste caddy.

Packaging of any sort

Plastic bags

Liquids

Oil or liquid fats

By reducing the amount of food you waste you will helpto cut down the amount of food waste that ends up inlandfill sites. Rotting food in landfill generates methane a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more potent thancarbon dioxide.


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WASTE MONITORING CARD

NO. OF MEALS TYPES OF FOOD WEIGHT(g)IN THE CADDY

e.g. 2 Bread, peelings, leftovers 2.5

Documents

Tweedgreen Challenge - Food