Monday 22 February 2016

Lent Plastic Challenge: Days 11, 12 & 13



Day 11:  Our Saturday morning shopping trip produced mixed results. I needed fresh mint to dress a salad I was making on Sunday.  I was able to salvage enough sage leaves from our herb garden but the mint has died right back.  Our local greengrocer sells naked bunches of parsley but every other herb is presented on a polystyrene tray swaddled in cling film.

The butcher's assistant was happy to sell us sausages wrapped in a square of paper, but insisted on weighing our mince in a plastic bag.  It's still preferable to the plastic trays sealed with plastic film I'd have found in any supermarket, but I may need to consider buying mince in larger quantities and freezing it in smaller portions.

Our weekend paper revealed hidden horrorss.  The Guardian's magazine comes in a plastic bag, as did this month's copy of Country Living!

Day 12:  A fairly uneventful day on the challenge front.  Apart from the mint, my contribution to my choir's shared lunch was a plastic free roasted vegetable salad.

Monday's packed lunch

Day 13:  Inspired by Noriben, a Japanese film I saw at the weekend, I dug out one of my bento boxes and filled it with brown rice, roasted root vegetables, homemade turnip pickle and dried apricots.  Of course the box itself and the silicone cake holder I used for the pickle are plastic, but they're reused many times and eliminate the need for single use varieties.

Top Tips
  • If you can't buy an item plastic free then buy it in the largest manageable quantity.
  • Packing your lunchbox closely bento-style cuts down on the need for disposable containers. 


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