5 TIPS FOR GOING PLASTIC FREE
At the start of 2018, I had a go at doing a week of eating food that had no plastic wrapping… I found it so satisfying I extended it as a months challenge to myself but it ended up lasting the whole year and creating some great long term habits. So, I thought I’d put together this blog with my Top 5 Tips for going plastic free. If you feel like giving it at go, I’d love to hear how you find it, or even if you just try one of these things, it’s still an incredibly positive action for the new year!
Shop small or local for veg
Initially, I thought this might be quite an expensive thing to do, but it actually wasn’t! I found myself at local weekly markets and being able to pick out fresh, seasonal veg with no wrapping. It was also so nice to chat to the people that run the stalls and support them and their businesses.
Weigh Shops
These little gems have been popping up left, right and centre! Take your containers or reusable bags and fill them with the dry food you’d usually have to buy in plastic from supermarkets. Again, often much cheaper when buying products like rice, oats, pasta, nuts and seeds and supports some small shops. You can also buy as little or as much as you need which is always handy when juggling cupboard space!
Have a go at making the things you can’t find
Something I love each day is yoghurt … granola just wouldn’t be the same without it! So I set myself the challenge of making it which was really interesting. I learnt a lot about the process of feeding the bacteria and perfecting each batch which became very satisfying (even if I did become a bit of a yoghurt nerd! 🤓)
Meat, fish and fresh
This was something that I was quite unsure of how to navigate to start with! At the time, we were still eating quite a bit of meat so I went to the butchers armed with my reusable containers! After a little explaining to the butcher what I was doing, they were more than happy to put meat in containers so I could wash and reuse them. As the meat was better quality and provenance, it did cost a little more but we decided to just eat less anyway as that would be better for us and the planet, then any we did have was local & free range.
Don’t underestimate tinned
If you’re looking for quick dinners and to have some staples in the cupboard, tinned chickpeas, lentils, beans, tomatoes, coconut milk etc are very handy! You’ll be able to whip up something tasty with these staples if you are used to having ready food that comes in plastic packaging. You’ll also find it much cheaper!
So, I hope you find these tips useful and might try even just one of them for Jan … let us know how it goes!
Jodie x