Our pledge to avoid plastic bags (shopping and produce), takeaway coffee cups, straws and water bottles is going well so far. I think we’re still at 100%…..!! This is the second week of our challenge – if you’ve just joined us you might also like to read the first installment, Plastic Free July Diary: Our First Week.
Bread Without a Plastic Bag
As you’ll know, most ‘normal’ bread comes in plastic bags so we’ve pledged not to purchase ‘normal’ bread. We’ve stuck to this and have only bought one baguette and a few rolls which we put into paper bags. This has been quite a change for us as whilst we don’t have it everyday, my children love their sandwiches and sometimes toast with an egg in the mornings.
So instead of buying bread in a plastic bag, I have been putting my bread maker to work and making my own loaves. I have had to be organised about this and think well in advance of when I might need it because baking a loaf of bread is not a five minute job. But it’s been good and the children love homemade bread so it’s a win win.
But when the organisation part fails…it’s great to know that we do have options!! Pictured below is a soda bread I made to go with chicken soup. This is a super easy bread to make as there is virtually no kneading and no proving or rising required, so you basically mix and bake. A great option for those times when planning hasn’t been optimal….
Shop Around
Since last week, we’ve been ‘out and about’ a bit more because of school holidays so we’ve visited a few other supermarkets that are a bit further afield than our local. What we noticed was that the choice and set up of the shops can vary greatly between locations.
So, following on from last week’s post including all those images of pre-packaged produce, I thought it was worth sharing these images that tell a different story. Just rows and rows of loose, fresh produce, as it should be. I was quite encouraged by this and it might make me reconsider my choice of supermarket in the future.
Bulk Shopping can Help Avoid Plastic Bags
We also took a trip to Bin Inn to stock up on cereals and some other pantry staples including popping corn (it’s definitely the school holidays….!!). We took all our containers and a jar for freshly ground peanut butter so it was a completely packaging free shop which was a great result.
If you haven’t used these stores before, they offer a great selection and ours even has bulk Ecostore products that you can use to refill your own containers. They also offer some of the basic ingredients to make safe homemade cleaning products from scratch.
What we found rather surprising was that their loose cereals worked out more expensive than the bagged version available at the supermarket. We normally buy them when they’re on special but even at full price, it worked out more expensive. So, we’re all for less packaging and we still love the concept of a store that allows you to refill your own containers, but if price is really important to you – check before filling!!
Cheese is a Challenge
Another challenge we have faced this week is dairy….cheese in particular. Even the gourmet stores near us that start with big blocks, or rounds of cheese, cut smaller portions and pre-wrap them in lengths of cling film. I have looked, but have not been able to find a store that sells cheese wrapped in paper or something more sustainable than plastic.
Top Takeaways from this Week’s Experience:
1. Baking/making things from scratch really is a good way to save on packaging.
2. Cheese is a challenge.
3. Bulk stores are awesome but not always the cheapest option.
4. It’s worth visiting a different supermarket every now and then to see what else is on offer.
