Taco Tuesday : An easy zero waste dinner night

Tacos are great for large family and friend gatherings as well as for solo meals since there will inevitably be leftovers. Not only can each person make it their own by mixing and matching ingredients, but it's also easy to make it entirely zero waste!

Personally, I stick to veggie tacos 90% of the time. This is one of the adjustments I find that makes it much easier to go waste-free. Navy beans are my go-to are and readily available in bulk stores.

Cooking Navy Beans:

soak the beans overnight
strain and add beans with fresh water into a pot
bring to a boil for about 15 minutes
let sit on med-low for 20-30 minutes

When re-hydrating beans you are essentially giving them a hot water bath. Boiling at the beginning speeds up the process but can change the texture slightly. If you're in a real hurry, you can skip the overnight soak and boil for longer. Or if you must, canned is an option but remember, recycling should always be your last option if it can be avoided by things like buying in bulk.

Goldilocks beeswax wraps zero waste taco dinner

Goldilocks beeswax wraps bring the fun to sustainability.

If you prefer a traditional ground beef option, I recommend heading to a local butcher rather than to a grocery store. The meats are often local, high-quality cuts and they are more likely to let you bring your own container. (This is the one instance I don't recommend using a wrap - that is for storing meat). This does add another stop/step so I typically just stick to veggie options to save time.

After straining the beans, I add my DIY taco seasoning. I usually make mine on the fly since I'm not one for recipes, but it's also easy to make a large batch to have on hand in the pantry.

Once you've gotten your navy beans from the bulk store, simply head on over to the spices section to pick up the following :

Taco Seasoning

cumin
garlic powder
onion powder
paprika
oregano
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes (for those who like a bit of spice)

Remember to bring your own jars with you and bring them to be weighed before filling. Or in a pinch, you can make a pocket out of one of our beeswax wraps! Chances are you have a lot of the above on hand already.

I don't have exact ratios for the spices (again, the no recipe thing) but I've listed them in order of the amounts I use - cumin being the most, pepper/red pepper flakes being the least. Don't be scared to adjust to your tastes; you really can't go wrong.

The best part, in my opinion, is the toppings. You can chop everything and place into bowls, and whatever you don't finish can be covered by a wrap and placed in the fridge - so it also saves on dishes!

Here are a few of my favourites:

Topping Ideas

tomatoes
red onion
radicchio/cabbage
cheese
avocado
orange, red or yellow peppers

Keep cut tomatoes fresher longer by cover your bowl of tomatoes with a Goldilocks beeswax wrap Taco Tuesday zero waster dinner isn't complete without guac Store your cabbage in Goldilocks beeswax wraps to keep it fresh longer Don't waste a bit. Keep your cut cabbage wrapped in Goldilocks wraps

The next day for lunch I love to make a burrito (since it's easier to transport) and wrap it up in a beeswax wrap! It makes it easy to take to go and also helps you keep everything assembled.

Burrito in a beeswax wrap

Tip for Eating with Kids

If things are getting a little messier than you'd like, you can take their soft shell and cover the bottom half in a wrap to prevent dripping and ingredients from going everywhere.

Wrap the bottom of your kid's burrito with Goldilocks wraps to keep your child mess free