Closet Canuck: The Waste Not, Want Not Cookbook: Save Food, Save Money, and Save the Planet

Victoria, BC freelance journalist Cinda Chavich's latest cookbook, The Waste Not, Want Not Cookbook: Save Food, Save Money, and Save the Planet, has been nominated for a prestigious International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Award. Chavich, who specializes in food, wine and travel writing, is an award winning author of six cookbooks -- including The Girl Can't Cook and The Guy Can't Cook. The Waste Not, Want Not Cookbook was nominated in the Food Matters category, which celebrates cookbooks that focus on the impact of food choices on personal health and the health of the planet.

Freelance journalist Cinda Chavich

The Waste Not, Want Not Cookbook tackles the global issue of waste on an individual level, advocating that if people are to reduce their own collective food prints, they must focus on diminishing the amount of food wasted in their own kitchens. Chavich is a longtime proponent of sustainable, local cuisine and eco-tourism, and inspired to write her latest cookbook when realizing she could do her part to address one of the globe's most pressing issues. Highlights of the cookbook include:

More than 140 recipes
Transforming leftovers into delicious new dishes
Storing and preserving fresh foods to make them last
Shopping smart when buying in bulk
Debunking the myth of composting
All about the science (or lack thereof) of 'best/before' dates
Six weekly feasts (family sized meals)
Tips and tricks to stay on track

"I'm humbled to be nominated by such an important culinary organization and be in such esteemed company," said Chavich. "It's a big win for spreading the word about how we can end the global crisis of food waste by helping people take some easy steps at home to be part of the global solution." The Waste Not, Want Not Cookbook was also the recipient of the Gourmand World Food Cookbook Award for Best Sustainable Cookbook in the English Canada competition.

Chavich's cookbook is competing against two others in the Food Matters category: The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center Cookbook by the OAEC Collective and Olivia Rathbone and Soda Politics: Taking on Big Soda (and Winning) by Marion Nestle.

That's me on the left with Cinda Chavich on a gourmet kayaking trip in BC's Gulf Islands in 2006

Click on for a complete list of IACP Cookbook Awards Finalists. The winners will be announced on April 3, 2016 at the 38th annual IACP conference in Los Angeles.