Wasteless lunch

Packing a zero waste lunch starts with shopping zero waste – so lets get started.

First and foremost, its important to make a plan for what you are going to eat. This way you avoid unnecessary waste from buying food that goes uneaten, as well as saving money by buying only what you need.

Meal planning does not have to take a ton of time, it can be as quick as five minutes and as easy as you make it. Kathryn from the blog Going Zero Waste has an endless abundance of tips, tricks, and how to’s on packing a zero waste lunch, some of which are outlined below:

How To Make A 5 Minute Meal Plan: In less than 4 steps Kathryn outlines how to make a quick meal plan and the steps you can take to be fast and efficient in you meal planning.

4 – Step Meal Planning by the Zero Waste Chef: This outline is great because it includes an awesome template if you want to write down your

How To Pack A Zero Waste Lunch: From what you need to how to succeed – this outline is a great overview of what you can do to truly be zero waste.

Getting Started on Zero Waste: A 50+ item outline that gives you ideas for how to be zero waste in every aspect of your life.

But HOW do I plan recipes to be zero waste?

We have been planned, programmed, and expected to buy everything we eat in unsustainable plastic packaging, so going without it might seem impossible. Thankfully, there are so many great resources on the web to get you thinking about how you can turn your favorite foods zero waste.

Places to look for recipes:

I know what I want to eat – but how do I shop zero waste?

Now that you have an idea of what you want to eat and how to turn your food into a Wasteless Wonder – it’s time to shop for it. Click here for our second installment, Shopping with a purpose – how to grocery shop and not drop the ball on the environment

Articles in our Zero Waste Lunch series:

1 – Getting Started – zero waste starts with a plan (meal planning and recipes)

2 – Shopping with a purpose – how to grocery shop and not drop the ball on the environment

3 – Packing, storing, and breaking up with plastic wrap – making sure your food lasts

4 – Packing your lunch without packing waste

5 – Wasteless Lunch Week Social Media Sharables

This series was written and created by Kaitlyn Tyschenko, the Communications and Outreach Assistant for the London Environmental Network (Summer 2017). She can be contacted at communications[at]londonenvironment.net