Many people want to make family life more sustainable—but how can you reconcile that with a hectic everyday routine? Most importantly: you don’t have to change everything at once. Step by step, it’s not that difficult to make more environmentally friendly choices. LILLYDOO mom Miriam shares her tips for a sustainable diet.

Sustainable family shopping

What do you value in terms of sustainable nutrition?

When it comes to my diet, I make sure to buy as locally and seasonally as possible. I love nutritious, healthy food, and I can feel how it benefits me and gives me energy. If unhealthy foods appear on the menu three or four times a month (hello, PMS ;)), I feel more tired, sleep worse, and have digestive problems.

I prefer to go to the market on Saturdays and buy fruit and vegetables directly from a farmer I trust. My tip: I often ask for orchard fruit that costs a fraction of the price but is perfect for making mash or canning. When the shopping isn’t enough and we need more during the week, I like to go to the organic supermarket or sometimes to the “regular” supermarket, where I shop as package-free as possible—that’s my compromise, since the nearest organic store is unfortunately far from us. Because we all travel on foot or by public transport, shopping there with a baby doesn’t always work.

We also buy as much as possible so we eat everything and don’t have to waste any food. Since we’ve had a dog, we’ve gotten even better at it. ;) And if we do have too much, I pass it on to friends or put a box in the stairwell for the neighbors (or for all non-Austrians: staircase ;)), where they can help themselves.

Tips for introducing solid foods

What advice do you give to parents who want to teach their child sustainable food habits starting with complementary feeding?

We started solid foods at the end of the fourth month with homemade mashed parsnips —Mikkel loved it. Gradually, we introduced other vegetables. We only offered fruit from the sixth month onward, because we wanted him to first try and learn to love local vegetables in Austria.

To help Mikkel see how his food is prepared, I let him watch while I cook and sometimes stir or wash vegetables. That way, he doesn’t only see food once it’s ready and on his plate. As a small ritual before eating, we also wash our hands and thank nature for the meal. It’s not a given that we’re blessed with such nutritious, healthy fruits and vegetables—and that we can afford them.

What are your best practical tips for sustainable complementary feeding?

Sustainability is a tricky topic. I think it’s important to do your best, but not to stress yourself out even more by running from market to market or standing in the kitchen all day. It’s the healthy middle ground that counts. I cook most of Mikkel’s food myself, but I also occasionally buy jars, paying attention to environmentally conscious brands.

In the first few months after starting solids, a steam cooker with a mixing function really helped me cook at home without spending too much time in the kitchen. With it, I often pre-cooked entire meals, froze the finished porridge (without oil), and reheated it when I needed it. When we’re out and about, I almost always have fresh fruit and vegetable sticks in a bamboo container. You never know when hunger will strike. ;)

My tip on food shelf life: Mikkel loves the rolls from our favorite bakery, which still bakes in a very traditional way using the best grains. If we don’t eat the rolls on the same day, I simply lightly moisten them the next day and briefly put them in the oven—then they’re as fresh as when they were just baked. As for bananas, I recommend keeping an eye out for ones that are already slightly brown. They have three advantages: they’re often cheaper in the supermarket, taste deliciously sweet, and are super healthy.

Compatibility with family life

How can a sustainable diet be combined with the often hectic family daily routine?

Currently, I’m still on parental leave, and I don’t know yet what it will be like when I work part-time. But our fixed market day on Saturday will remain. In the meantime Mikkel almost eats everything we eat and I think it’s great that I no longer have to cook two different dishes. Currently I like to cook ahead for two days at a time to save time. – I simply season my dishes only after I have removed Mikkel’s portion. We moms also take advantage of rescued food offers from restaurants, especially after a stressful day.

Thank you very much for the insight into your family life and your tips on environmentally conscious eating, dear Miriam! Is there anything else you would like to share with other parents regarding sustainability?

Many of us do our best to pay attention to nature and protect it. There are so many areas in everyday life where we also
can still improve, whether it’s laundry and cleaning , body and baby care, fashion, mobility, and so on. But we’ve also learned that sometimes you have to make compromises.

Mikkel, for example, loves avocados, and when he goes through a phase where he doesn’t want to eat anything at all, I buy him one and make sure to be more sustainable in other areas of life. At first, this used to upset me, but now I know that, especially with a child, you sometimes have to make compromises—and it’s perfectly okay not to be perfect all the time.

Learn more about Miriam, Mariana, and Mikkel on Miriam’s Instagram channel.

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