Welcome to the Climate Kitchen newsletter, a new content universe for climate-curious parents.

Curated by Sophie Egan

Every month, we share 3 things we love as parents/caregivers raising little humans. It can be something we’ve just discovered, something we use all the time and want to share, or something recommended to us. It can be food-related, but it doesn’t have to be. Whatever it is, it should add to/simplify/enhance your life.

1. A simple meal planner board. There are so many different options–from chalkboard to chalkboard-looking to stylish to minimalist to office-y dry erase—so go with whatever works with your design preferences, fridge, and kitchen setup. Why is this climate-friendly? Because one of the most essential ways to feed your family sustainably is to reduce household food waste, and one of the most tried and tested ways to do that is to have a meal plan and a grocery list (and actually stick to it!). Three other reasons I love it: 1) I find it fun to have my sons write out the menu each week with different colors. 2) It helps answer my husband’s perennial question of “What are we having for dinner?” 3) It’s simple enough that I don’t overinvest time on meal planning, yet I have a place to get all the ideas out of my head, which is much-needed for my daily sanity. 

2. The Climate Emotions Wheel. This wheel is provided by Climate Mental Health network, but I was reminded of it in Amy Kamenetz’s great newsletter The Golden Hour (climate, children, and mental health) this week. As Amy writes, “As the wheel shows, it’s important to realize that polycrisis emotions are not all negative. When you allow yourself to get in touch with the bad ones, it opens you up to experience the good ones.”

3. ThredUp, Toycycle, and GoodBuyGear, not to mention your local consignment shop or thrift store. Just in time for some spring cleaning/end of school year organizing! One of the most climate-friendly things you can do as a family is get the longest life out of all the stuff that comes with raising littles. I already mentioned Mercari in Volume 7, but the same goes for toys, and especially for big-ticket gear items like strollers, wagons, trikes, and bikes. Depending on where you live and how much time you have, you can even sell your own items to continue the virtuous cycle. 

Ease Up on Plastics—In Easy Ways

By Sophie Egan

Tasty, nutritious, convenient. Preferably portable. These are the must-haves of any parent's snack repertoire, yet they too often come with a nauseating quantity of single-use plastic and packaging. As do countless other facets of family life. Sonalie knows more about this topic than just about anyone—so stay tuned for many more tips, tricks, and insights in future volumes!—but even I, a relative novice in the quest to reduce plastic use in my household, am here to assure you that all of our parenting dreams can still come true when we ease up on the single-serve string cheese and the individual baggies of animal crackers. Here are 8 Easy Ways to Help Your Family Use Less Plastic: 

1. BYOB– As in bag. Yes, you’re trained to bring your own grocery bag to the store, but how about produce bags? If you’re still accruing a hefty number of single-use plastics just to transport your fruits and veggies, this is a chance for an easy win. I have been using these bags for years, and they’re great. (Note to self: Don’t forget to wash them every now and then!)

2. Replace Plastic for Food and Beverage Storage and Serving– Use glass, stainless steel, or silicone containers for food and drinks instead of plastic whenever you can.

3. Don’t Heat Food in Plastic – If you bring home takeout in plastic, transfer it to a glass or ceramic dish before reheating to avoid chemicals getting into your food.

4. Skip Single-Use Plastic Water Bottles – Bring your own reusable water bottle (metal or glass) instead of buying bottled beverages. 

5. Try a Plastic-Free Week – Make it fun: challenge your family to avoid single-use plastic for one week and see how much you can reduce.

6. Replace Ziplock Baggies for Kid Snacks and Sandwiches –There are loads of nontoxic brands nowadays, but I personally like the seal on Stasher bags, plus they’re easy to clean. Sonalie loves these stainless steel and silicone lid snack containers for her toddler.

7. No Need for Plastic Straws – Use reusable straws made from metal, bamboo, or silicone (bonus points for fun colors kids will love!)—or go without.

8. Buy in Bulk – Refill jars and cloth bags with beans, oats, nuts, dried fruit, and more in the bulk aisle of the grocery store. It’s cheaper and uses less packaging. And if all this really strikes a chord, take it a step further: Find a Zero-Waste Grocery Store. There’s a growing landscape of shops where you can buy groceries without any packaging. Litterless has a state-by-state directory! In Boulder, for example, we have Nude Foods Market, where my boys went crazy the first time we used the peanut butter grinder. Or check out this handy list of online retailers.

Kid-Friendly Savory Pancake Recipes

It’s that time of the year when supermarkets and farmer's stands are showcasing the bounty of the warmer months. That means gorgeous bunches of rhubarb, peaches, okra, zucchini, tomatoes, and more, which, as a food lover and cooking lover, is simply glorious.

Not as glorious is getting your mini-mes to embrace all this fruit and veggie largess. Too many of our kiddos are fussy when it comes to less common ingredients like asparagus or artichoke, but as we have written about a few times, exposing them to seasonality and increasing the variety in their diets is a worthy climate-smart eating goal.

Enter veggie pancakes. Every cuisine has a ‘throw in all the extra veggies’ pancake recipe. Well, all the good ones anyway. And they are delicious, easy to make (usually one-pan affairs), ideal for a lighter meal (serve with a salad for the perfect spring lunch/dinner), and a great way to introduce veggies they may not love whole in shredded or cubed form.

Below, I am sharing three of my favorite versions that are kid-friendly and easily adaptable. The egg-free and dairy-free recipes are just a jumping-off point of inspiration. The idea is to use the base and then riff with the freshest produce you find.

Okonomiyaki (rice flour base): I grew up eating this every other Sunday, when my mom would take us to a tiny little Japanese joint to fulfill her cravings (she grew up partly in Japan) and us kids would get this umami-filled savory shredded cabbage pancake that hails from Osaka, which we would drench in Japanese barbeque sauce (usually Bull-Dog, though Bachan will do), Kewpie mayo, and bonito shavings. Today, I skip the shavings and go lighter on the condiments, but I still love it just the same. Swap out the cabbage for shaved zucchini and halved okra fingers.

Yachaejeon (sweet potato flour base): The ultimate Korean comfort food—this chewy, crispy pancake is the perfect foil for dark greens, and in the sunnier months, I would keep the traditional spring/salad onions and shredded carrots, and throw in sliced asparagus, green beans, and peas.

Besan ka chilla (chickpea flour base): Over in India, chickpeas are a pantry must, and not just in their whole bean form. Chickpea flour, aka besan, is used by Indian moms all over for all sorts of delicious recipes from fritters to patties to pancakes. It’s super simple: just the flour, water and seasonings, and then you can adapt freely on the filling side. Besan flour is not as glutinous and chewy as rice or potato flour so the pancake will be thinner, crispier and work best with leafy veg: this is a great time to use any spring herbs and leaves from your garden/windowsill. That being said, I do love to do these with thinly sliced green beans.

-Sonalie Figueiras