Our Zero Waste Life

I love drinking fruit-infused water in the summer.  I'll buy cheap berries, grapes, melon, cucumber, apples, etc. in season and mix with chopped carrots, celery and the like, then dump it in a jar and top with ice, and fill with water.  When I've slurped a jar down, all that is required, is more ice and water.  At the end of the day,  I'll pull out the grapes and dump the remains into Teddy's bowl.  She loves it!

To keep things simple, I'll do all the slicing and dicing at once and store it in an air tight container.  This can also be mixed with lettuce or feta cheese and vinaigrette for a quick side salad.  It's all super healthy and refreshing.

Any of the leftover rinds, cores, etc. get dumped in a bowl. This is done in conjunction with a crisper drawer purge.  What a lot of waste!   But wait, we aim for zero waste at the Microcosm.  Every last bit of this is whizzed up in the food processor for the pup.  This is truly the most laborious part of the process.  Of course I do have vitamin supplements to add to help with her cancer fight.

I've read that 35 million tons (20% of the food we purchase) ends up in land fills.  Since we don't garden much, composting makes little sense.  Throwing it all out just rubs me the wrong way.  It's a good thing we have a dog who will eat anything!  Best of all, this is truly nutritious and good for her.

I cringe when I hear people refer to Teddy's diet as "people food."  Or when it's touted as dangerous or irresponsible.  Some feel it's too costly.  When you factor in that a good amount of what she eats solves a real food waste problem in our house, it all begins to make more sense.  She eats real food -- just like us.

IMO, one of the more environmentally responsible ways to feed a dog, is to feed food waste.  The simple way to start is to grind it up and put it over food when the dog is a pup.  We feed raw meat and soft bones, but this is also very do-able if you feed kibble.  When fed this way from the start, your pup will imprint on healthy fruits and veggies.  Of course, you'd be best to start with adding water and small amounts at first.   But if you feed fruit and veggies (ground up for digestibility) from the start, your dog will grow to love them.  Feeding these as a stand-alone treat (like we do, right at bed time) is a healthy way to fill up their tummy without adding serious calories.

Feeding veggie scraps to our pets means less waste in land fills, healthier animals -- everyone wins!

It's not just frugality that makes me aim for little to no waste. I really hate to see what our society throws away.   I might not reach the level of zero waste, but me and Teddy sure are trying!