How extreme are your ecological goals?

1. 67

   davenmidtownposted 11 years ago

   How extreme are your ecological goals?
   
   Recently I was at a soccer game (kids) and two of the moms behind me were talking about their purchasing habits and natural resources. They were discussing no longer buying canned goods because of the use of natural resources.  Instead they were making large batches of things like beans and then freezing them in can sized increments.
   
   That conversation seemed a little extreme to me and then I realized that I do the same thing though I did not label it as they did.... So how extreme are your ecological goals?  Do you have ideas that might help others conserve energy? Resources? save Money?

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2. 81

   Becky Katzposted 11 years ago

   I make large amounts of food and then put it into serving sized containers in the freezer. TV dinners; that taste better, better for you, and cost much less. I froze a bunch of chili last night in serving size containers. If someone is hungry, they just look in the freezer. Make sure to label with freezer tape, include the name of the food and the date frozen. No cans of chili in my cupboard either. No canned vegetables, the frozen is better for you and tastes better. I will freeze it from my garden or from fresh farmers market.

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   1. 67

      davenmidtownposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      With increasing pressure of not using plastic... what containers do you use to freeze your food?

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   2. 81

      Becky Katzposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I do use plastic, but we do not reheat in them and I reuse them. It is when they are too warm that most of the chemicals start to leach out of them. I also use quite a few Corning bowl with snap on lids. The lids are plastic but remove for heating.

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   3. 67

      davenmidtownposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      What I mean about  increasing pressures is that with plastic is it about it getting back into the food web once you toss it out. It never really degrades and it is causing a lot of environmental issues with the bottom layer of our food pyramid.

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   4. 81

      Becky Katzposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I reuse the plastic containers until they are unusable and then recycle them. All of the containers I buy are recyclable.

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   5. 67

      davenmidtownposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      not saying YOU... but there are mountains of plastic that float on the oceans... fill landfills, etc.

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3. 83

   lrc7815posted 11 years ago

   I do a lot of "one pot" dinners and freeze them in one meal sizes.  I tend to spend one day a week preparing food in larger batches for the week ahead. I also bake in batches for the freezer.  I am just learning to can so that I can buy fresh produce and store it.  I don't consider myself an extremist though. I want to eat healthier (less preservatives) and spend less on commercial packaging. I also use less electricity by cooking in batches. I have lowered my electric bill somewhat by reducing the number of times I pre-heat the oven.  It's a small savings but every little bit helps.

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   1. 81

      Becky Katzposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You can freeze in canning jars too. Be sure to leave at least an inch and half for expansion. I have a friend who makes soup and freezes it this way.  Her family loves her homemade soups from her garden.

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4. 59

   adamknowsposted 11 years ago

   Grow your own food, lol. Probably the most basic principle this earth will allow.

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   1. 67

      davenmidtownposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      while gardening is somewhat radical if you have never gardened... what other ideas might you consider a radical change to approaching ecology?

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   2. 59

      adamknowsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Crossbreeding and cloning different strains of things to improve yield  and resistance to infection. Also, genetic modification in corn based products that ultimately reduce sperm count.  I mean when I saw that I was like whaaaaat?

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5. 60

   Xenonlitposted 11 years ago

   Mine are not extreme because I tend to wait for the real science to happen. There is a lot of bad science out there and people tend to believe in the latest bad advice.
   
   Right now, I do the best I can. I don't use styrofoam, conserve electricity and water, cook my food from scratch and avoid bulky packaging on "single serve" items.

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