Entry tags:
Life Without Plastic - Day 8 (the grocery store)
Cucumbers need two layers of plastic? Really??? They come with skins, fer pete's sake!
Now that I have that little rant off my chest, I can get on with things.
It took me three tries to find reasonable carrots that weren't bagged. A 3 lb bag of regular carrots cost $2.50. A skinny little bundle of organic carrots, with tops, was about $3. A slightly large bundle of unorganic carrots(five carrots with tops) was $2. Way off in the corner, I found large loose carrots for $1 a pound. That was close enough.
I was able to find all the other fruits and vegetables I wanted and avoided all bags, though the lady at the cash may have thought I was a little weird. Aside from the carrots, I had picked up no more than three of each thing, so it wasn't too bad. We could go down another ethical rabbit hole on why I bought bananas, pears and a lemon, rather than planning to cook with local ingredients, but the rest of my produce was Canadian, so we'll ignore that challenge for another day.
Cheese and meat proved much more problematic. The girl loves her soft goat cheese. I looked for Brie or another soft cheese without plastic wrapping, to no avail. Even those that use paper wraps (Oka) or look like they have wax paper covers (all the Bries and Camemberts) actually had plastic. Same problem with the meats, so I allowed another principle to kick in; food does not have to be perfect, and wasted food is an abomination. I bought ham ends from the clearance section at the deli for a ham and potato soup, plus clearance chicken (for Qabuli rice, now on the stove) and clearance ground beef (recipe to be named later).
The apple juice and soft drinks for lunches were easy because they came in tins. Some of the oils I needed for the shampoo and conditioner recipes came in glass jars with metal lids, as did my salsa. The coconut oil was in a plastic jar, though. I'm counting on the oils etc. for the shampoo and conditioner lasting much longer than a conventional bottle of hair product, since I'm not paying for bottles of water with a bit of soap/conditioner in them. I hope I'm right!
I bought butter instead of my favourite soft olive oil margarine. I'll need to find a covered plate to store it - and maybe look for a proper plate the next time I hit a pottery sale. Milk was a bust. Three plastic bags inside a plastic bag. I haven't heard back from Cochrane's Dairy yet, so getting milk delivered in glass bottles may never happen.
The Qabuli rice needed raisins, and I couldn't find any sold loose. Short of growing my own grapes and drying them myself, I'll have probably have to accept that raisins cannot be purchased any other way. Fortunately, I rarely eat them, preferring my own dried fruits.
Now that I have that little rant off my chest, I can get on with things.
It took me three tries to find reasonable carrots that weren't bagged. A 3 lb bag of regular carrots cost $2.50. A skinny little bundle of organic carrots, with tops, was about $3. A slightly large bundle of unorganic carrots(five carrots with tops) was $2. Way off in the corner, I found large loose carrots for $1 a pound. That was close enough.
I was able to find all the other fruits and vegetables I wanted and avoided all bags, though the lady at the cash may have thought I was a little weird. Aside from the carrots, I had picked up no more than three of each thing, so it wasn't too bad. We could go down another ethical rabbit hole on why I bought bananas, pears and a lemon, rather than planning to cook with local ingredients, but the rest of my produce was Canadian, so we'll ignore that challenge for another day.
Cheese and meat proved much more problematic. The girl loves her soft goat cheese. I looked for Brie or another soft cheese without plastic wrapping, to no avail. Even those that use paper wraps (Oka) or look like they have wax paper covers (all the Bries and Camemberts) actually had plastic. Same problem with the meats, so I allowed another principle to kick in; food does not have to be perfect, and wasted food is an abomination. I bought ham ends from the clearance section at the deli for a ham and potato soup, plus clearance chicken (for Qabuli rice, now on the stove) and clearance ground beef (recipe to be named later).
The apple juice and soft drinks for lunches were easy because they came in tins. Some of the oils I needed for the shampoo and conditioner recipes came in glass jars with metal lids, as did my salsa. The coconut oil was in a plastic jar, though. I'm counting on the oils etc. for the shampoo and conditioner lasting much longer than a conventional bottle of hair product, since I'm not paying for bottles of water with a bit of soap/conditioner in them. I hope I'm right!
I bought butter instead of my favourite soft olive oil margarine. I'll need to find a covered plate to store it - and maybe look for a proper plate the next time I hit a pottery sale. Milk was a bust. Three plastic bags inside a plastic bag. I haven't heard back from Cochrane's Dairy yet, so getting milk delivered in glass bottles may never happen.
The Qabuli rice needed raisins, and I couldn't find any sold loose. Short of growing my own grapes and drying them myself, I'll have probably have to accept that raisins cannot be purchased any other way. Fortunately, I rarely eat them, preferring my own dried fruits.