Sustainability in the Kitchen

-Hi, I'm Sandy Bauman,
the sustainability coordinator

at the UNT Health Science Center
at Fort Worth.

HSC Sustainability,
a student-funded initiative

through facilities management,

recognizes that a healthy community
depends on a healthy planet

and what we choose to eat,

how we buy and store our food,

and really all the products
we use here in the kitchen

not only affect our own health,

but also the health of our planet.

In this video, myself

and Celina Esekawu,
our garden and wellness coordinator,

will be sharing ways
that you can be more sustainable

in the kitchen.

Please know that what we present here
is not a complete list.

There are many, many things you can do.

If you have other ideas,
please share them with us

using our Instagram
and Facebook hashtag,

#sustainableunthsc.

Also remember that sustainability
is a journey.

Choose what works for you
and have fun with your efforts.

Let's get started.

First thing you're going to notice

is reducing our plastic use.

So while we've heard it a million times,

one of the best things you can do

is take your own reusable grocery bags
to the store.

And something that people
may not have thought of

is reusable produce bags.

These are definitely more available
in stores,

and it's just another way
you can reduce your plastic use.

Plastic bags are, on average,
used about ten minutes,

and for something that's used so short,

it has huge environmental impacts.

In fact, a recent study found

that plastic breaks down
into microplastics,

and that it's now being found
in our tap water.

So one of the other ways you
can really reduce your plastic use

is to use reusable Ziplocs.

You'll see all kinds of different kinds,

so really find what you like
and what works for you.

Now, while they may be a little bit
more expensive at the front,

they last a lot longer
and you can have a lot of fun with them.

More actions we recommend taking
that's not only good for you,

but also good for the planet,

is again to focus on reusables.

One of the best things you can do

is to bring a reusable water bottle
wherever you go.

Here at HSC, we have
so many quick fill water stations

that make it really easy
for you to do that.

Also, we recommend bringing
your own reusable coffee mug

or tea mug wherever you go.

It's just another way
to reduce your impact.

One thing is, we also recommend

bringing your own cutlery
wherever you go.

HSC sustainability
has these travel sets,

but you can find them a lot
of different places.

They often come with a fork,
knife and spoon,

and even a reusable straw and cleaner

that make it really easy.

We also recommend whenever you travel

to focus on stainless steel
or glass products.

Again, that's just something
that prevents plastic

from leaching into your food.

This is something I've had for years,

I use it with my kids
and it's held up really well.

Another thing to do is to try
to reduce your paper towel use.

Something as simple as kitchen rags
is a good strategy.

One thing I do, if you have kids,

or even if you don't have kids,

I use these really small towels.

So if we have a dirty mouth
or a sniffle nose,

we just use these instead
of grabbing a Kleenex or a paper towel.

Another thing I do is when I'm shopping,

I try to look for ways
that I can reuse containers.

So for example,
this was a peanut butter jar,

then now I can use to store food in.

This is also a yogurt jar
that I've had for years

that came with a reusable lid,

and it's been great for smaller items.

Also, you can even buy plastic lids

to go with glass jars that, again,

make it better to reuse
and store food in.

One of the other things I really like
are food saver bags,

so to make vegetables
and fruit last even longer

and to reduce your food waste,

you simply put your fruits
and vegetables in here

and then they last longer
than they would otherwise.

And these bags are recyclable

after you are done using them
for months.

My last tip would be reusable silicone.

So for example, these are muffin liners.

My kids love them,
they call for certain colors,

and we've used them, again, for years.

We also have a silicone mat,

so instead of using aluminum,

you can simply put this down,
wash it and reuse it.

Now let's hear from Celina
how you can be

even more sustainable in the kitchen.

-All right, so let's talk
about veggie scraps in the kitchen.

There are a few different things
that you can do.

A lot of people are familiar
with composting.

So compost is a practice
that can be integrated into the kitchen.

You can use a small container

that can hold your veggie scraps,

your eggshells,
and your coffee and tea grounds.

You can take your compost
to a local community garden,

or you can start one in your backyard.

Another thing you can do
with veggie scraps

is collect them for veggie stock
and bone broth,

so you can use your uncooked
or cooked bones.

You can use parts of veggies

that you're not going to cook with,
or any leftover scraps.

Put them in a bag, place them
in the freezer until you are ready

to create your own veggie stock
or bone broth.

It's a great addition to beans, rice,

and other things where you want to

integrate more nutrition
into your meals.

Another fun project is you can
use the ends of green onions,

and you can plant them
into a container

or in your backyard.

They'll start growing
and you can clip the ends

and add them to your meals.

All right, so let's talk about

integrating more sustainability
into our meals.

All right, so let's talk
about sustainable meals.

There are a few things
that you can do to

integrate more sustainability
in your food.

One can be supporting farmers.

So we have plenty of farmers markets
in the area,

and you can buy your produce
at farmer's markets

and even sign up for a CSA.

A CSA
is community supported agriculture.

It's a paid subscription for weekly

and biweekly farm-grown produce.

Another thing that you can do
is eat seasonally.

Food is at its peak nutritional value

when eaten in season.

It's actually cheaper to purchase
when it's in season as well.

So when we think about eating
for the seasons

during the cold time
of the year, a lot of things

that are ready to harvest

are root vegetables, broccoli, cabbages,

brussels sprouts, apples and pears.

During the warm season,

you can eat melons, squashes, tomatoes,

cucumbers, berries, citruses,

and fresh beans.

If you grow your own food,

think about centering most of your meals
around what is growing.

Now, for those
who are not growing their food

but really interested
in starting their own garden,

you can start off
with growing your own sprouts.

So that can be a really easy thing
to do as well.

It's a lot of fun.

So what you can do is get a glass jar,

put in some beans, it can just be beans

that you've bought in bulk
from the store,

and then you rinse them off,

you can have-- soak in water overnight,

and you would just cover them
with a cloth.

I use a rubber band
to just keep the cloth on your beans.

After they've soaked overnight,

you would rinse them out,

and just strain the water

and then let them soak in a bowl.

And then twice a day,

you want to do the same process
of rinsing them,

pouring the water off,

and letting them drain into a bowl.

After 2 to 3 days,
you'll start seeing sprouts

and you can start eating them
right away.

Another thing that you can integrate
in the kitchen

is actually conserving water,

so you can catch water in a basin

that you leave into the sink.

Or maybe you even have a container
for your plants

right next to the sink here.

So when you rinse your hands

or wash your vegetables,
maybe you are doing sprouts,

you can catch that water and use it

for your indoor or outdoor plants.

And last but not least,
instead of using those chemicals

to clean within your kitchen,

you can integrate using vinegar
and baking soda.

So I have a spray bottle here,

10% of it is vinegar, the rest is water,

and I spray it on things
around the kitchen

if I want to disinfect them, deodorize,

and it's actually a really good cleaner
for glass.

For baking soda, a lot of people
don't think about

using that for cleaner, but it is great.

So you would just spray it
with the vinegar water,

sprinkle the baking soda
on top of the stain,

let it stay there for a little while,

and then wipe it and wash it as normal

and your stain will be gone.

(Sandy) Thanks for watching,
if you're interested

in learning more
about HSC Sustainability,

visit our website at:

unthsc.edu/sustainability.

You can also follow us on Instagram

or like our page on Facebook

at sustainableUNTHSC.

Together, let's work
towards a healthier planet

and healthier community.