It’s not even the festive season yet and people are already preempting the growing, new-age year-end tradition: returning unwanted gifts. In fact, over 1/3 of gifts received are returned, with some e-commerce retailers seeing a much higher rate of up to 50%!
So how do we avoid this waste?
Let’s take a few steps back and think about how we can turn frivolous spending into thrifty savings, from imported to locally made, and from garbage to gem.
The question we are asking ourselves is how can leave the lightest footprint this Christmas time.
The way we shop and consume during this holiday season includes not only the presents we buy from family and friends, but also the Christmas décor we purchase and the food we choose to eat.
Choose Plant-Based Food this Christmas
If you truly want to have a sustainable Christmas, then you need to first take a look at your plate, for our food choices have the biggest impact on the environment.
Indeed, livestock and their by-products account 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, according to the ground-breaking environmental documentary, Cowspiracy. More than half of the water consumed is for animal agriculture while only 5% of water consumed is used by private homes. Could switching to a plant-based diet and/or reducing your animal protein consumption be the solution to lightening the pressure we put on our natural resources? We think so, and so do some of these famous vegan environmentalists including, Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio, James Cameron and more!
Additionally, due to the demand for turkeys during the festive time, “Seasonal Slaughterhouses” are used, with 10 million turkeys killed in the run-up to Christmas, according to this study. Turkeys came to grow to ten years old but are slaughtered between the ages of 9 to 12 weeks old. Choosing a plant-based diet drastically decreases the amount of suffering caused around the globe for not only poultry but cows, dairy cows, fish and many more.
So what are you waiting for?! Get the almond milk ready for Santa, here are our top 10 recipe ideas for Christmas, or for any festive occasion for that matter! All recipes are cholesterol-free, low in saturated fat, high in protein and bold in flavour! Eat your heart out!
Our Top Ten Plant-Based Christmas Recipes
Sweet, crunchy and a little naughty, these glazed Braai-Sausages are a typical local-is-lekker South African meal – with a twist!
Download our Festive Foods Cookbook for the recipe here.
What pecan do, you can do better! This is a hearty and rich dish, made with our Country Roast, comes with great depth of flavour and is a great addition to the Christmas table that will delight even the pickiest of eaters! This also works great in sandwiches for the next day. #justsaying
Download our Festive Foods Cookbook for the recipe right over here.
Quintessentially English, served with our meat-free Traditional Sausages and enveloped in crispy batter, we think this toad in the hole is better than mum’s!
Download our Festive Foods Cookbook for the recipe.
For the perfect festive feast entrée, give these Prawn-Style and mango skewers a try. Served with a side of sweetcorn tacos, this creative dish is savoury-sweet, crisp and flavourful.
Download our Festive Foods Cookbook for the recipe here.
Have a magical, merry and meat-free Christmas with our award-winning Country Roast, recently voted a Xmas Best Buy by The Independent. Served with a gorgeous cranberry glaze and a side of your favourite mash, this dish is perfect whether you have relatives coming over from afar or if you’re choosing to have a more intimate celebration.
Get the recipe here.
Get your game on with this epic veganised gammon recipe! Glaze, roast and get fancy with our favourite Slicing Sausage/Polony!
Let the good times roll with these mini hot dog pastry rolls, made with our ever-popular #frysfans’ favourite: The Hot Dog! Perfect finger food, as an entrée or for the kids! Get the recipe for this fun, tasty and easy party dish right here.
This oh-so-hearty Country Roast comes with flavourful balsamic glazed onions and perfectly roasted vegetables. We think this is a meatloaf-inspired dish worth celebrating this festive season!
Get the recipe here.
This dish brings a breath of fresh air to the otherwise hearty Christmas meals we generally end up eating. Served with dairy-free tzatziki, a selection of your favourite crisp veggies and our Battered Prawn-Style Pieces, this platter is colourful, nutritious and easy to make too.
Find the recipe here.
The festivities continue! Make the morning after count, with a stack of bold breakfast waffles, served with crunchy gluten-free Chia Nuggets and sweet maple syrup. Pile them up high!
Download our Festive Foods Cookbook for the recipe here.
Don’t forget that when you go grocery shopping to bring your own bags. Reuse old plastic bags and material ones that can be used again and again over a longer period.
Choose DIY Décor this Christmas
As the stores and malls cram every nook and cranny with festive décor, from baubles to shiny ornaments, and from tinsel, to flickering lights, why don’t you consider making your own decorations?
Considering South Africa produces 108 million tons of waste per year, it seems all the more reason to cut back on purchases that are on display in the lounge for only a few days. Additionally, many of these purchases are “made in India” or “made in China”. When we shop locally, when possible, it reduces our carbon footprint and we can support local businesses thus helping the local economy flourish.
When you go about shopping for fun and festive décor, either make your own (a quick Google or Pinterest search will leave you feeling creatively inspired), purchase from local businesses that treat their workers ethically, and/or choose items that you know will last a good few years.
As a DIY idea, why don’t you consider giving our packaging a second life by reusing our boxes! They come in green, red and white boxes which we think fits into the green Christmas cheer! Hang on the tree as a Christmas tree garland or turn it into a X-Mas wreath
Choose to Donate this Christmas
Avoid the awkward conversation about how much you loved your aunt’s gift that you have already returned to the retailer.
Over and above the countless gifts that are returned, each Christmas, as much as 83km² square kilometers of wrapping paper ends up in UK rubbish bins, enough to cover an area larger than Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. So rather than wasting time wrapping a gift that ends up being cast away to a remote island, why not donate to a charity in your friend’s or family’s name, assist a community group in need, or invite someone who is without a family to the dinner table. The gift of happiness is surely the most powerful gift to give.
Not sure which charity to give to? Some of our favourite charities include:
Food For Life – http://www.fflsa.org/
Sea Shepherd – https://seashepherdlegal.org
By making another person or animal feel good, you too will feel good!
We wish you a happy, safe and ethical Christmas.
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