25 easy ways to make sustainable change in your kitchen

Cooking is one of the areas we can really make a difference to the environment – and our pockets too, says Michelle Darmody

Little changes in the kitchen can alleviate the pinch of rising energy prices. 

The price of food and fuel is rising, but there are a few ways that we can save money while cooking and buying food. These small savings can really add up at the end of the year, which is something I particularly noticed while running professional kitchens.

In the 1980s Irish households spent over a quarter of their income on food, whereas by 2016 that fell to about 14%. As the household spend on food has decreased the average spend on housing greatly increased over the same time. The cost of a mortgage or rent is fixed so when food prices, and the costs of cooking that food begin to rise again, the housing costs stay high, and people quickly begin to feel the pinch.