Eat Better, Not More: A Year of Sustainable Meat Choices

Make Meat a Side Dish

Most of the cooking I do focuses on making vegetables the star of the plate. Honestly, when people eat predominantly plant-based meals with me, they fall in love with flavour combinations they wouldn’t usually consider in a meat-centred dish.

Making meat a side - think a whole roasted harissa cauliflower as the centrepiece, paired with a side of spiced, crispy kale jewelled with pancetta pieces - opens up creative possibilities with flavours, textures, and colours. It also helps reduce your food spend.

Higher Quality, Less Quantity

The UK is awash with quality assurance stamps and labels: Red Tractor, RSPCA Assured, free-range, corn-fed, organic—the list goes on. It can feel overwhelming, but the best way to cut through the confusion is to buy meat from a trusted supplier or go organic.

If you’re fortunate enough to have a local farm nearby, talk to them about their meat. If not, look for websites that are transparent about how their animals are reared. For example, Sutton Hoo Chickens are upfront about their birds being reared for 11 weeks—contrast that with some UK chickens, which reach slaughter weight in as little as four weeks. Sutton Hoo also boasts no antibiotic use and “true” free-range conditions, with birds grazing 24/7 on 40 acres of pasture.

For context, legally, “free-range” chickens only need access to one square metre of outdoor space for half their lives—and even then, overcrowding and limited exit points mean many never make it outside.

In large supermarkets, organic is the only label that guarantees a bird has been allowed to roam freely for most of its life and has been reared in a smaller flock with better welfare standards. I’ll dive deeper into this in a future newsletter.

Nose to Tail

If you’re buying a chicken, buy the whole bird. Think about it: that pack of ten chicken thighs came from five chickens—so where’s the rest of the bird?

Buying a whole chicken is often cheaper per kilo than buying portions, and it gives you so much more meat to work with. Roast the bird on day one, then use the leftovers for curries, pastas, or stews throughout the week. It’s economical, versatile, and ensures nothing goes to waste.

Eat What’s Truly in Season

Did you know lamb is actually in season in the UK from autumn through January? Yet many of us only put it on the table around Easter. To meet the demand for spring lamb, we end up importing it from abroad.

Getting to know your butcher or following sustainable suppliers like Piper’s Farm or The Ethical Butcher can help you discover what’s truly in season. Eating meat that’s in its prime not only reduces air miles but also means it’s at its peak for taste and welfare.

Go 50/50

Blending half meat and half beans in dishes like moussaka or chilli is a great way to balance sustainability with taste. You’ll still get plenty of protein, texture, and flavour, but you’ll also bring down the cost of the dish.

As a bonus, adding beans can give dishes a creamier, more rounded texture. Try butter beans instead of chickpeas for the ultimate creamy consistency. It’s also a great way to batch-cook meals without stretching your budget.