About Mindful Home Kitchen
Origin Story
The idea of becoming a home food waste prevention consultant came to me when I was preparing to move to a new home and I challenged myself to use everything perishable in my fridge and everything that was open in my pantry.
In those two weeks I enjoyed the creativity and challenge of using everything up. I ate well. I went to the store once for bread and salad greens.
I made homemade beef jerky, fried chicken, a vegetable rich chicken stew, spicy tuna rolls, cauliflower and potato curry, and flavorful sauces using what I had at home.
About me
Hi, I’m Amani Ali and I’m proud to introduce Mindful Home Kitchen.
I work for a zero-waste chef who turns fruit and vegetable donations from farmers into hot sauces, marinades, and pickles. I support her in the commercial kitchen while also using the products in my own meals. I blog about those meals to inspire readers on the different ways to use our products.
Prior to that, I worked several years at food access nonprofits managing food pantries, supporting small grocery stores, and administering local discount programs. In my office jobs, I was always the one with a nose in the shared fridge. Clearing it out and asking folks to be mindful of not wasting.
I learned to cook by watching cooking shows like Chopped. Chopped is an excellent example of cooking intuitively without relying on recipes. I lived on a tight budget for a long time. As such, I became very resourceful and found ways to make humble ingredients exciting to my palate while saving money.
MINDFUL HOME KITCHEN VALUES
Values
Prevent Waste. Plan, store, and preserve your food so it doesn’t go bad before you can eat it. Buy foods you can use in numerous ways. Find ways to transform it to keep you interested. Share your food with others.
Preservation. Stretch out the life of your food by pickling, freezing, and using proper storage techniques.
Cook intuitively. I promote a food-based approach to cooking instead of recipe-based approach. Shopping for a recipe often leaves behind excess ingredients that you don’t know how to use once the recipe is cooked. A food-based approach allows the ingredients you already have to be your inspiration. When you start with the ingredients or products that need to be used, you will be able to find many more ways to use them as compared to when you start with a recipe. There is a time and place for recipes, but they are not practical for every day meals.
Creativity. Try new flavors and methods of cooking to transform ingredients into something new. Excite your palate with different flavors from the same ingredients.
Practicality. Build habits that work for you. Shop the way that your family eats, and do it mindfully. Don’t expect picture perfect meals.
Save money. If you’re throwing away food, you’re throwing away money.
Mindfulness of the earth’s resources. While composting is preferable to the landfill, it should not be the first choice for unwanted food. Water, time, space, and fuel are all used to produce and transport food. When food is wasted, these resources are also wasted.
Whether budget conscious or eco conscious, the common denominator is consciousness. Be aware of the the food you have and what you do with it.
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