Feed 8 for Under $100 With This Green Frugal Feast: A Super Low Carbon Spread

I've written a lot lately about a low carbon diet. When you actually calculate the emissions of certain foods, it's absolutely amazing how much the choices that we make have a huge impact. Eating local is hugely important, I know, but what about that cup of tea after dinner or that steak on the grill? Which foods have such a huge impact that we just have to give them up?

First off, in order for this feast to be super low carbon, it has to be meat free. Seriously, beef creates 13,300 grams of carbon dioxide emissions per kilogram of food. If you were working to keep your carbon footprint at 3 tons a year, the number many experts think we need to be at to reduce global climate change, then that 13,300 grams of carbon is equal to .5 percent of your yearly allotment—that's a lot for a serving or two of beef. In addition, livestock production accounts for 55 percent of the erosion process, 37 percent of pesticides applied, 50 percent of antibiotics consumed, and a third of total discharged nitrogen and phosphorus into surface water. When you cut back on meat or even go vegetarian either get your protein from natural sources like beans and nuts or make sure that your soy products are organic. By some estimates, we could remove 580 billion pounds of carbon from the atmosphere simply by growing all our corn and soybeans organically.

Refreshing Watermelon Summer Rolls

Start off with this traditional Vietnamese summer roll with watermelon. This is an easy vegetarian appetizer that both meat eaters and full out vegans alike will love. Even cutting the meat out of a simple appetizer does a lot to reduce your eco-impact as well. Use fresh mint from the garden, local watermelon, and local raw honey to make it even greener. There is also very little cooking involved which uses less energy.

Cost: $13

Grilled Tomato, Eggplant, and Goat Cheese

This is a super low carbon vegetarian meal because everything is local and it just takes a few minutes on the grill to cook. It's been my experience that the simpler the recipe the better for the planet it tends to be because you can easily make it 100 percent local.

1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

2 large heirloom tomatoes, sliced

1 (11 ounce) log Split Creek Farms goat cheese

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large bowl, coat eggplant with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Arrange half of the eggplant slices on a tray. Place a slice of tomato and a slice of goat cheese on each slice of eggplant. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the tomatoes and cheese.

3. Top with remaining slices of eggplant, and secure each bundle with a toothpick.

4. Grill over medium heat.

Cost: $21

Kelly Rossiter's Roasted Red Potato Salad with Parsley-Pine Nut Pesto

This is hearty vegan eating at its best. By making Kelly Rossiter's Roasted Red Potato Salad with Parsley-Pine Nut Pesto instead of a steak, you?d be reducing your meal's carbon emissions by over 20 times. (And combined with yummy vegetables, fruits and cheeses—who needs steak to have a balances, filling meal?) The pesto is homemade and loaded with flavor and the produce is all local.

Cost: $31

Cocktails with Homemade Infused Vodkas

Flavored vodkas have become all the rage in the past few years. Vanilla, blueberry, raspberry—you name it, it's everywhere. But you don't have to buy it by the bottle. Instead make smaller quantities of fresh infused vodka from organic providers. Infusing your own vodka is much greener because you can use what?s seasonally available to make your eco-cocktail truly shine. And infused vodkas make it unnecessary to use sugary mixers and other junk that just add calories and eco-impact to your drink (more stuff = more impact on the planet, generally speaking).

Try these great healthy cocktail ideas.

Cost: $34

Total: $99

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