The Zero Waste Chef - Anne-Marie Bonneau

In her decade of living with as little plastic, food waste, and stuff as possible, Anne-Marie Bonneau, has preached that “zero-waste” is above all an intention, not a hard-and-fast rule. Because, sure, one person eliminating all their waste is great, but if thousands of people do 20 percent better it will have a much bigger impact. And you likely already have all the tools you need to begin.

In her debut book, Bonneau gives readers the facts to motivate them to do better, the simple (and usually free) fixes to ease them into wasting less, and finally, the recipes and strategies to turn them into self-reliant, money-saving cooks and makers.

Rescue a hunk of bread from being sent to the landfill by making Mexican Hot Chocolate Bread Pudding, or revive some sad greens to make a pesto. Save 10 dollars (and the plastic tub) at the supermarket with Yes Whey, You Can Make Ricotta Cheese, then use the cheese in a galette and the leftover whey to make sourdough tortillas.

With 75 vegan and vegetarian recipes for cooking with scraps, creating fermented staples, and using up all your groceries before they go bad—including end-of-recipe notes on what to do with your ingredients next—Bonneau lays out an attainable vision for a zero-waste kitchen.