Written by: Giulia Simolo
It’s not always easy to stick to your eco-friendly lifestyle when you decide to eat out. But there are ways to ensure that your meal is planet friendly as well as good for you. Here are some tips to take to dinner the next time you hit the town.
Before you arrive at the restaurant
Eating green starts even before you sit down to actually eat! Try to find ways to make your journey to the restaurant more eco-friendly. For instance, find a restaurant that is within close quarters to your home so you don’t have to travel far. Walking to the restaurant can be great, too – and you walk off the calories of your meal afterwards with a healthy stroll! It’s a good idea to avoid the drive-through where you waste petrol by queuing for food and collect items such as plastic knives and forks which you don’t really need.
Where to chow
When choosing a restaurant, it helps to know which ones are eco-friendly versus which ones are not. That way, you know that the preparation of your food has been conducted with eco-friendliness in mind. For instance, choose a restaurant that uses locally grown produce. In order to search for restaurants or delis that have their eye on eco-friendliness, check out the liveeco eco directory here. Once you find a restaurant that feels good to you, why not check out their menu online? This enables you get a feel for what foods are on offer and you’re more prepared when it comes to what to order. You also avoid going to the restaurant hungry and choosing something that is unhealthy or non-organic because you don’t know what else to choose.
Green to go
When ordering food, try to order smaller portions if you often don’t eat the entire meal. This will prevent you wasting the food, as well as all the effort that went into making it (for instance, the heat energy and ingredients that were used). It’s also a good idea to ask for takeaways if you can’t finish your meal. You could even go one step further and bring your own packaging for them so the restaurant doesn’t have to use plastic or polystyrene containers that wind up in the bin. Make it a habit to bring along some stainless steel containers that you can use routinely when you dine out.
Food choices
Be prepared when it comes to choosing the most organic foods from the menu. Here are some good choices to make:
- Avoid junk foods. Instead, opt for meals that are steamed, baked or roasted. Not only is this healthier for you but junk food is not good for the planet because it is heavily processed, thus using a lot of energy.
- Choose fresh foods wherever possible because they still contain their original nutrients. Ensure that the fruits and vegetables are locally produced because imported goods notch up a lot of food mileage, which means a lot of energy expenditure and pressure on the environment’s resources in getting the foods to your plate.
- When choosing fish, it important to know which ones come from a sustainable/eco-friendly source. For instance, did you know that farmed salmon is not considered eco-friendly? The species is raised in heavily populated netted pens which leak waste and chemicals into the ocean. If you want to eat salmon when dining out, it’s better to choose wild-caught salmon.
- Choose socially responsible foods. For instance, this includes free range chicken, organic vegetables and foods that are locally grown and in season. These all form part of social responsibility. If there is no information on the menu about whether or not the foods are socially responsible, ask your waiter for more information.
- When ordering a glass of water, ask for it straight from the tap. Water that is bottled in plastic is not very eco-friendly and you can’t re-use the bottle many times before it ends up being thrown away or recycled.
The liveeco team
