“What do you want for dinner tonight?”
This is a question we ask each other all the time and we probably don't realise how important the question is. Our answer can be impactful on our own physical and mental health and also the health of the planet.
Food and a good diet can change both our mental and physical well-being. However, it is not always easy to pick a recipe- even when there are literally thousands available online. And this is the problem, there is just too much choice and often we can be tempted by our own psychological responses to recipe’s that are not good for us – with high sugar, salt and fat contents. We can’t afford to spend ages going through pages of recipes before we select one that we are in the mood for – and then think about whether we have the ingredients and time left to cook it!
What we eat impacts the planet
We should also consider the environmental impact of the food we eat. Agriculture has massive impacts on the planet. It is a leading cause of climate change, it globally requires huge amounts of water, the mechanical and chemical inputs and farming practices mean that we may only have 60 harvests left. Our decisions as to what ingredients we use is therefore vital not just to our health but the planet too.
Finding time to eat healthy, sustainable food
We appreciate the work students and staff do and how busy they are. I was not able to even cook pasta when I started my first year. Every recipe just sounded too difficult and I never even attempted to try it, so I resorted to frozen and processed food more than I should have. No wonder I had zero energy all the time.
This is one of the reasons we decided to start this cookbook. We wanted to create a place where students and staff could choose from a range of tried and tested recipes including mainly vegetarian and vegan meals. Our aim is to show people that leaving meat from their meal plans is not difficult and definitely not boring. I am sure all of us have heard the ‘rumour’ that vegan meals are plain and boring- we can prove this wrong.
With more time spent at home, a lot of people have turned to cooking and baking and found a new hobby. A Sunday roast (vegetarian edition) is a meal a lot of us would have never attempted to make at home. Some crispy roasted potatoes, with honey glazed carrots and parsnips, a choice of a veggie alternative – sweet potato, cauliflower or perhaps a Quorn roast-and a vegetarian or even home-made gravy to complete the look and taste. I remember how proud I felt after my first attempt at making a vegetarian roast dinner.
Desserts are also nothing to be scared of. Experiments with pastry and dough have been my thing in lockdown. I used to fear all cake recipes because dough was never my strong suit- but clearly, I was wrong. There was nothing better than building the layers of cream, mascarpone and icing sugar, adding seasonal fruit of choice like raspberries, strawberries, or whatever you like. The decoration part is the best- you can use your imagination to finish your masterpiece. The fabulous result is the cherry on the cake. Literally.
We want your recipes - submission extended to 5 March
We are crowdsourcing recipes to compile into the cookbook. If you have a tasty favourite vegetarian or vegan recipe then send this either as a URL or copied into an email to sustainability@gre.ac.uk. If you would like your name against it let us know and also what subject you are studying or which department/Faculty/Directorate you work in). We also want to know why you like the recipe.
We are happy if you want to share up to 5 recipes and they can be starters, mains or desserts.
Our cookbook will include sections on:
Essentials: What you need before you even get started - appliances and ingredients every kitchen should have at all times (it does help to have a pan if you want to cook something)
Cooking terms explained: Does anyone know what blanching is… I did notx.
Carbon footprint: This will be included for some recipes, with the idea to get students and staff more interested in sustainable eating.
We will also introduce ideas for quick and easy meals, impress for less (cooking on a budget) and will have examples from different cuisines. This will include starters, mains and desserts. We have also included a smoothie section, which works well with some leftovers from the other meals.
Although the book is focused on giving advice on good food and sustainability, it also aims to make cooking less scary. We want students to think of it as less of a chore and more of an experience – even if they are preparing a bowl of rice. We hope that by giving them some ideas, the cheat days of eating crisps for dinner (yes, I am not proud) are going to be limited.
And hey, there is nothing wrong with a quick dinner or a cheat day take-away, as long as it is balanced with healthy and sustainable meals on other days.
Alexandra Zlatareva, Graduate Film & Television Production (2017), University of Greenwich.
