2.5 weeks into the Zero Waste Challenge ( Groceries )

I am now a little over two weeks into this challenge.

My learnings and observations thus far:

1. This is a LOT of work. This is the most cooking, baking, and food prep I have ever friggin' done in my life. but...

2. It is getting easier and taking less time. For example, as I fuddle my way through what things I need to make from scratch and what I can get bulk, I'm learning about and purchasing base ingredients- and as I do recipes over and over again, I get quicker and see where I can become more efficient.

3. This takes a LOT of planning...but that is getting easier and quicker too. Example: prior to my first shopping trip I researched for almost two hours and brought a ton of container types with me. But by the third trip out, I only researched about 30 minutes, wrote my list (15 minutes) and planned out, my meals for the week (15 minutes). So on average, I need to put about an hour's worth of planning into the next week's food. I usually do this Friday or Saturday night. I write everything down with my laptop handy and then I am all set for Sunday ( whilst my little is playing with daddy) to go to the store.

4. I am seeing plastic wrapping EVERYWHERE. So I've been exclusive to Whole Foods and New Seasons these last weeks, but I stopped at Fred Meyer's for something and it was shocking to see so much packaging, everywhere. Wow. Really like when you have been on the ocean or a wave pool for a long time and when you get back on land/deck of pool you still feel the effects. I felt like I was seeing mountains of waste! Now, now, please don't interrupt this as judgy as I promise I won't do that! I just mean it was really eye opening to go without and then see again with new eyes.

5. The foods and meals taste better! Honest to God, guys, bread, granola, snacks, soups.... all taste so much better from whole unprocessed ingredients. The salsa is more savory, the honey is sweeter, the home made dried fruit fills up more than fruit snacks. The home made chicken stock with a meat dish makes the meat taste richer. Again, I am so not a chef, but the fam has been pretty impressed- and I have enjoyed actually loving the taste of all this stuff.

6. My grocery bill is lessening! The grocery bill was the same amount my first trip out, but I had to get a lot of base ingredients I don't usually have- and they have lasted well and the last couple successive trips have each been cheaper by about 10 to 20 bucks! At this rate, I might see a pretty drastic change in my monthly grocery bill.

7. New Seasons is great for bulk cheeses, bulk liquids ( oils, honey, shampoos...) and sandwich meat, and Whole Foods is better priced for Organic bulk grains, nuts, oats, fruits, soaps, and you get a bring your own jar/container discount and the meat counter works with your glass container without a fuss.

My tips to do thus far:

1. NOTE PAD. When going to the grocery store with your containers, jars and bags, bring a note pad and pen- use this to write down the weights of the jars/containers and also the SKU # for the bulk items. A. it will save you from having to get more waste- i.e. stickers and tags, and B. the cashiers will love you when you show up and say, "I'm going to tell you the weight and SKU of each item", so they can enter it orderly and don't have to hunt for the tag and guess at your messy handwriting. Win.win.

2. Develop a sustainable routine. If you have to take time off of work or gym or time away from your family to do this work/planning/prep, you will not be able to keep it up. What I have done is replace my 'happy hour' - the hour after my two year old goes to bed which is usually from 8:30 to 9:30, when I sit back and binge watch Netflix- with my prep time. I make my easy no kneed bread dough, I make my granola bars or dry my fruit, I prep meals for the next day and or prep ingredients for something I will make ( like batches of applesauce or beans or soups). I take just about the hour and then am done- clean up and still have time to read a bit or watch that silly reality show.

3. Plan you meals out. Seriously a must do, otherwise you will fail and fail hard. I have a whiteboard on the fridge with each of my meals planned out for the week so I know what to plan for so I don't succumb to the easy pick up fix.

Current Result:

Well, that ol' mason jar trash can filled up the next day of week one- but I am now taking closer to a few days to fill it up... I am still aiming for the week when all my waste stuff will fit into that 12oz jar.

Still my goal-

More of this:

And an aim for this:

#zerowastegroceryshopping #ZeroWasteTips #SustainableLiving