My Zero Waste Kitchen

I love my little kitchen. It's small, but it works for me. I would love a huge, bright, beautiful Pinterest kitchen, but this one is perfect none the less. 

This is where I store most of my dry goods. Pasta, nuts, legumes, sugar, granola, chocolate, cookie jars, popcorn, potatoes, onions, and garlic.

The kitchen doesn't have a pantry. Justin built this one for me. I'm a little afraid of earthquakes taking it all out, but you can see the liner below the jars.

I've had that liner since my freshman year of college: I have no idea how it made it out to California, but I'm sure glad it did!  

I'm working on zero waste yogurt, but I have not perfected it. I caved and bought some goat yogurt. Everything else is zero waste.

We're enjoying the last of the summer bounty. People ask me what I eat all the time. So, here's an outline of a regular week. 

Breakfast: Yogurt, Granola, Fruit Smoothies, Toast, and Muffins

Justin Lunch: Chicken Caesar Salad, Chicken Sandwich, and Turkey Sandwich

Kathryn Lunch: Asian Salad, Veggie Sandwich, and Falafel Sandwich

Snacks: Plums, Watermelon, Grapes, Popcorn

Dinners: Falafel and Greek Salad with Yogurt Sauce, Roasted Pepper Soup and Baked Potatoes, Pesto Pasta, Margarita Pizza, Pepper & Onion Quesadillas, and Roasted Corn, Chicken, and Tomato and Basil salad. 

Dessert: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

I still have quite a few appliances. I'm trying to weed some out. 

·       Toaster

·       Microwave

·       Blendtec

·       KitchenAid Mixer

·       Waffle Maker (Justin's favorite)

·       Crockpot

·       2 Le Creuset Pots & 2 Cast Iron Skillets

The Things I'm Considering Donating: 

·       Coffee Maker

·       Food Processor

·       Fondue Pot

·       Margaritaville

I also get asked a lot how much time I spend in the kitchen. I spend about 15 minutes putting together breakfast and lunch.

Dinner takes around 30 - 45 minutes depending on what I'm making. On average I spend around an hour a day. I have always cooked from scratch, so this isn't much different than PZW.

Grocery shopping takes around an hour and a half throughout the week. It takes longer than it used to. I used to shop once a month at Costco. I'm at the farmers market about 30 minutes.

The butcher and the baker are on the same street and it takes about 40 minutes. If I have to go to the bulk store in town, it's another 30 minutes. 

If I need to get something special, and I have to leave town it will take an hour or two, but we typically couple it with a fun excursion. But, I think the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

We're eating so much cleaner and healthier. I feel energized after eating, and feel good for cutting out most animal products. Animal products are among the top contributors to greenhouse gasses, drought, and heart disease.

How do you like my teeny zero waste kitchen? What do you think about those excess kitchen appliances?

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My Trash

So, I know this is what you've all been waiting for - the big reveal. How much trash have I made since starting this journey? 

There are lots of stickers stuck together that I could not pull apart. I hope I can upcycle the twist ties. This does not include anything I've had before going zero waste. This is only what I've purchased since starting this lifestyle that can't be recycled or composted. 

I have been fortunate with ample bulk stores in my area and excellent farmers markets. We used to make day trips to Berkeley or Napa for bulk foods, but recently we found one only five minutes from our house! 

Occasionally, I'd run out of food and run to the grocery store to pick up some tagged produce. 

My thrift store recently went from grease pens to stickers which is really unfortunate. I will be writing them a letter.

I do have several rubber bands, but I use those at work and have been bringing them.

I still buy burritos wrapped in paper, but I can compost that and pizza boxes, (vegan pizzas have no grease, so they're recyclable as well!)

I collect wine corks for my Christmas tree. I've managed to cut most plastic out of my life.

My recyclables are typically paper from work, a wine bottle or two a month, and pesky junk mail. I will end junk mail at this house.... it will happen. I've been trying so hard, but to no avail. 

I have roommates, so there is still plenty of trash around. One day, I hope to experience not taking out the trash, but the chore wheel shows no favoritism. The entire house throws out approximately 6 gallons a week for four people, so I'm pretty proud of them. 

Here's another sneak peek at my kitchen. 

I'm re-growing green onions and romaine!

I have refillable olive oil and balsamic bottles, an empty butter dish, some bulk cinnamon, my milk jug for nut milks, and a flip-top lemonade.

I'm hoping to collect several of these bottles. Several times throughout the year the wine country will host re-filling events. Bottles have to be 750ml. I'm starting a collection. I would love to fill up some wine! 

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