4 ways with puy lentils, to reduce carbon emissions! #ctww

This week, Reduce Footprints has put forward an interesting “Change the World Wednesday” challenge.

We had a choice of three, each designed to reduce our Carbon footprint.

She writes “Go on a “no spending” diet this week. Refuse to purchase anything but the bare necessities thereby reducing the industrial processes required to manufacture stuff.”

Which has me heading off to the food stores, to do one of those procrastination jobs.

For a while now, the freezer has threatened to defrost itself several times.

Not because there’s anything wrong with it, except a massive build up of ice.

This means the door doesn’t always get shut properly, so it starts to defrost and more ice builds up.

We have about half the real available freezer space and I know that one day we’ll lose all the food in there if we’re not careful because the door will no longer seal and it will go un-noticed for 24 hours.

As this year’s zero waste week is focusing on food waste, it’s important it all gets used up!

In addition, we have quite a bit of stockpiled food which is approaching or beyond its ‘use by date’.

So for the following month I’m only going to be buying fresh foods – fruit and vegetables, milk, yogurt and meat. Oh, and wine for Mr Green at the weekends; you can only push a man so far!

One thing we have stockpiled is puy lentils! They were on too good an offer to miss once, so we bought loads of them but in all honesty I’ve never really know what to do with them. I tend to use the red lentils because they cook so quickly and I like the way they break down for soups and dahl.

I put my creative culinary cap on and have come up with three meals; two of which are now firm favourites: shepherds pie, pasties and pasta bake. I did make a curry with them too, and although edible, it wasn’t great – there’s something about having big chunks of something in a curry that makes it better than tiny puy lentils! Perhaps I’ll add big pieces of potato next time…

What about you – could you have a ‘no spend’ week? And if you have any favourite puy lentils recipes, please share them in the comments!