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Make it yourself

Top Home Cooking Ideas

The January 30, 2025 Shop Smarter, Eat Better Instagram Live presentation, hosted by Zeina Bardakji, Sustainable Food System Project Manager at Équiterre, brought together three food experts:

  • Alessia Gadoua, Public Health Nutritionist at CIENS;

  • Caroline Huard, also known as @Loounie, author and content creator; and

  • Florence-Léa Siry, an expert on Zero Waste

They were all able to share their experiences, best practices and, above all, advice on how to start (or not) cooking at home. It was a win-win situation for everyone, with lots of positive spin-offs. We'll tell you more!

Cooking sustainably: tips and inspiration for a no-holds-barred approach!

The question that often comes up: “Why cook?” 

To eat more plant-based foods, prevent waste, cultivate good health, save money and above all... have fun! It's that simple! Find out how to make cooking accessible and enjoyable with practical tips, and turn one meal at a time into a meaningful and lasting experience!

“Home” cooking yes, but “no” to perfection!

As an occupational therapist by training, Loounie points out that when we analyze the very activity of cooking (choosing, planning, buying, eating, preserving, etc.) it's perhaps more demanding than we might imagine. So it's important to feel validated in your culinary efforts. To make cooking more approachable, we suggest that you identify any of the common obstacles you may face, such as the fear of failure or the lack of tools or space, in order to be able to more  easily overcome them.

For example, let's say that you would like to cook more vegetables. It's a good idea to set small goals and accept the more demanding periods of experimentation ... which involve making mistakes.  It's all part of the learning process!

For example, you could learn, once a week

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to be an Anti-Waster!

Committed to a mission of avoiding waste, Florence-Léa Siry shops for groceries three weeks out of four and uses what's on hand in the fourth week, focusing on local and vegetarian ingredients. Remaining open to new combinations and ways of doing things, as well as often preparing meals that require few ingredients and making sure she uses all the food on hand are some of the tricks she uses.  

Specifically, she

  • frequently reuses recipes that she has already mastered (adapting them, of course!);

  • spends a maximum of 1.5 hours of preparation time on Sundays or whenever she's in good form, all to the accompaniment of music for added enjoyment;

  • cooks uses basic ingredients, and tries to envision how she'll use them during the week.

For example, she grates her carrots in advance for use in stir fries, salads, etc., and freezes any left over in a silicone muffin tin. She uses the same principle with starchy vegetables and legumes, and a frozen slice is quickly ready to use in a dish or to garnish a soup. Her meals are really a jazzy combination of basic ingredients! 

She suggests trying the recipe for buckwheat and corn croquettes and substituting ingredients, as necessary, depending on whatever you have in the fridge. For example, she used shredded cabbage instead of zucchini. 😉

Stay motivated 

Alessia Gadoua, a public health nutritionist, stresses the importance of community in cooking and eating together. Indeed, while our food environment doesn't always make our choices easy (see articles on marketing traps) and there are many contemporary challenges (climate change, inflation, etc.), we can motivate ourselves and learn with others! Everyone can find their own way to connect with their food. Here are a few suggestions: 

  • Cook with people you know: neighbours, friends, colleagues, family, community kitchens, etc.

  • If you prefer to be alone in your kitchen, you can communicate by video conferencing (e.g. Teams, Facetime, Zoom, etc.) or join sharing groups on social networks.


To cook in a more sustainably fashion, experts all agree that the baby-steps approach is the best way, and they all say that they are still in ‘learning mode.’ They remind us that everyone has to start somewhere and that it's important to allow yourself the right to make mistakes. The important thing is to adjust your expectations so that you don't aim for perfection—just  have fun cooking!