As a food writer, restaurateur, and culinary educator, there’s a lot for me to love about spring. Produce starts poking out of the earth after a long winter, farmer’s markets and roadside stands open up, and seasonal meal plans get greener and fresher.

Yet as a Mindful Foodie, there’s something about spring that I love even more, and that’s the variety of celebrations around the things I hold most dear.

A few weeks back, we celebrated Food Waste Prevention Week at My Mindful Kitchen. This week, I’m happy to get to share in two days that, taken together, best summarize everything we’re about!

First Up Is Earth Day

Celebrating Earth Day goes all the way back to 1970, and serves as a reminder of the importance of preserving and protecting our planet, raising awareness about environmental issues such as pollution, deforestation, climate change, and biodiversity loss. It also encourages individuals and communities to take action to reduce their environmental impact and promote sustainability, safeguarding the planet’s future for generations to come.

As you know if you follow my work, this aligns so closely with My Mindful Kitchen and the MMK Method which is about creating a more sustainable world that will support our children and grandchildren and is one of the most important themes of my work. Two entire pillars of the MMK Method – Reflect on Your Choices and Consider Food Choice Impact – are directly related to the power we hold as individuals and households to positively impact the Earth.

This year, we’ll celebrate it today, on April 22. 

Mindful food choices cut your environmental impact on the planet.  By reducing waste, we conserve resources, lower our carbon footprints, and help to preserve biodiversity and ecosystems. In other words,… just being a Mindful Foodie is one of the best ways to celebrate Earth Day!

Stop Food Waste Day

A slightly newer initiative is Stop Food Waste Day – the single largest day of action around reducing and, ultimately, preventing Food Waste. We’ll celebrate it this year on April 24 – and just like with Earth Day, the best way to celebrate it is by taking action!

33% of all food produced every year is wasted and the largest contributor to food in our landfills is from our own homes. In this case being number one is not something to be proud of. And that is precisely why I created the MMK Method!  The mission is to create a community of Mindful Foodies who understand the impact that even small changes in the way they approach planning, shopping and cooking can snowball into habits that make a big impact. 

Who's in and ready to get started?

If you’re thinking about taking the first steps on your Mindful Foodie journey, this week is a wonderful opportunity to try something new. First steps you can take are as simple as:

• Take a moment to appreciate the food on your plate and the resources that went into producing it. 
• Inviting your children to plan next week’s meals with you.
• Creating a meal out of what you already have in the refrigerator.
• Signing up for the MMK Newsletter and start implementing our mindful tips.

What else might you imagine this week to celebrate Earth Day and Stop Food Waste Day? I hope you’ll reach out to me and share how you shaped your choices to protect our planet this week!