Podcast 3

Eating a sustainable diet benefits individual health, communities, the economy, and the environment. Smaller households can reduce waste through intentional meal planning. Tips include meal planning to save time and money, checking ingredients, involving family in planning, shopping with a list to avoid impulse buying, focusing on seasonal fruits and vegetables, and avoiding bulk buying for smaller households to reduce waste and environmental impact. So as you can see, eating a sustainable diet has benefits for not only individual health but communities, the economy and the environment, meaning a healthier planet for everyone. Smaller households are actually in a unique position to reduce waste because meals can be planned more intentionally, so here are 5 simple and easy tips for a healthy body, budget and planet. Tip 1. Meal planning. Meal planning is a great strategy to save money and time. To plan your meals, check what ingredients you have and write a list of what you need. Start off small, plan your meals for 3-4 nights, working up to a full week. Some ingredients may be versatile and work in several meals. Check your fridge, freezer and pantry for leftovers. Make meal planning an activity and encourage your partner or children to be involved. This in turn will help reduce food waste and unnecessary packaging from takeaway meals. Tip 2. Shop with a list. This sounds simple enough, but it's crazy how many times you walk into the supermarket and you walk back out with a trolley full of products you had no intention of buying. Shopping with a list helps you buy only what you need and keeps you focused. Check what you have at home and buy in season fruits and vegetables as they last longer and help reduce environmental impacts like less transport and storage. Avoid 2-for-1 deals or bulk buying for a smaller household. And the biggest tip, don't shop on an empty stomach. This helps to avoid impulse buying.