5 Tips for a Plastic-Free Diet
We’re nearing the end of February and by now, many diet-related New Year’s resolutions have been broken. If you’ve abandoned your resolution to eat better, don’t feel guilty. It happens to the best of us.
But if you’re still interested in eating healthier, how about trying a plastic-free diet? If you think about it, all the things you probably shouldn’t be eating, come in plastic. Chips, snack bars, candy, and basically all processed foods. But adopting a plastic-free diet, you’ll eat better and reduce waste!
Speaking of waste, if you look at your trash can, chance are the bulk of your trash comes from food packaging. Food and beverage packaging make up 9 of the top 10 items picked up on our beaches. Tackling the plastic in your diet is a great way to reduce your plastic footprint while also eating better.
Cook Your Own Food
I know, I know. Prepared foods are so nice and easy. Growing up my parents had individual-sized Marie Calendar’s chicken pot pies in the freezer. They were delicious, but SUPER salty. It probably wasn’t the healthiest and there was all the extra packaging.
I’m not saying you have to become a chef, but considering the fact that we eat 3 (or more) meals a day, learning how to cook a few solid meals that you enjoy can go a long way in reducing your plastic footprint and spending.
Shop at the Farmer’s Market
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I love the Farmer’s Market. They have fresh local and seasonal produce and I love supporting and developing a relationship with my local farmer’s.
Shopping at the farmer’s market is an easy way to get produce without all the extra plastic. Bring your own bags and let the vendors know you don’t need their plastic bags. For more tips on shopping at the Farmer’s Market during COVID, check out this post:
Buy Loose Produce
Skip the bagged lettuce and go for the whole head. It takes a little extra effort but it’s a whole lot less plastic and it’s probably cheaper! Same goes for cut fruit, prepared zucchini noodles or riced cauliflower. Invest in a good knife, chopper, or spiralizer and stick to loose produce.
Check Out Online Bulk Bins
Most bulk bins are closed in stores due to COVID, however, there are online options that deliver! If you live in San Francisco or Los Angeles, check out Zero Grocery. For other parts of the US, you can try Loop which sells more mainstream products in reusable containers.
Or you can use The Wally Shop, like I do. They ship bulk goods in a reusable container in a reusable tote. When you get your package, you dump all the goods into your own containers, turn the shipping label around and drop it off at the UPS store.
For more details, check out this post:
Buy Meat & Cheese in Bulk
Now, if you’re vegetarian, it’s way easier to have a plastic-free diet. If you’re not, you’ll have more a plastic-free(ish) diet unless you raise your own meat and make your own cheese (hats off to you!).
What I do is buy a month’s worth of meat in one purchase. Now, I’ve also reduced the amount of meat we eat by 80%. So, there’s less meat to buy. I use what I need for the week and then freeze the rest.
For cheese and deli meats, I buy as large of a quantity as I can use before it spoils. So for us, I buy a two pound block of aged cheddar from the deli. This lasts us about a month and the cheese doesn’t spoil before then.
What do you think? Can you use one or all of these tips to jump-start your plastic-free diet?
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