Lent Plastic Challenge: Days 14 - 20

Our tiffin carrier

What with it being a busy week and having settled into my plastic-free life the posts have slowed down a bit.  There have been ups and downs but thankfully more of the latter than the former.

Days 14-17  I continue to struggle with seemingly unavoidable plastic.  There's the hidden variety - the inner coatings of tins in particular.  I imagine they're there to prevent the contents of the tin corroding the metal, which is a good thing, but is it the only solution?  I declined a plastic sheet to protect the tracing paper I bought on Tuesday, but one of the pens came shrink wrapped in plastic film.  The other didn't.  Why the difference?  Then there's the unsolicited plastic, like the straw in the glass of water I ordered in a burger bar on Friday evening.  I didn't need it but it was too late to save it from the bin.   On the other hand I have been reminded that eating waste free results in a healthier diet as most fatty/sugary snacks come wrapped in plastic.

Day 18  We travelled up to London to take part in the Stop Trident march and rally, and needed a plastic free picnic to carry with us.  Mark's bread and cookies in paper bags and apples from our veg box were easy enough.  But the tin of tuna revealed a suspicious looking lining and the paper wrapper on the Ooh! Chocolata bar was backed by something other.  We couldn't buy the bottled drinks I might have chosen.  Fortunately we have a couple of canteens which we filled with water to last us through the day.

When we arrived home late and too tired to cook we were able to use our tiffin container to collect a takeaway from the Thali Cafe, plastic free except for the tiny tub of chutney that came with the starter.

Day 19  There was a shared lunch after Quaker Meeting.  Having spent the previous day in London I hadn't had time to shop for or cook anything to take so I popped in to Lidl on my way.  Supermarkets are shrines to plastic.  It was a struggle to find anything I could buy.  I finally decided on a a bunch of vine tomatoes and an avocado (which turned out to be under ripe!).  It was very depressing to contemplate how much plastic shoppers were buying and how much of it would be in the bin by the end of the day/week.

Top tips

• Be gentle on yourself.  Living completely plastic-free is a tall order and one which very few of us will ever achieve.  Doing your best is better than doing nothing at all.
• Avoid supermarkets.
• Never give up!  

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. 

Lent Plastic Challenge: Days 8, 9 & 10

Help!  I've been plasticked!

Day 8:  When I find myself  cooking and eating alone I often take comfort in one of my favourite dishes - boiled egg curry.  I'm sure that even the thought of it will put some people off, but I love it.  However, when I emptied the tin of tomatoes into the pan I was horrified to discover that I had encountered one of the dreaded plastic lined tins that Nicola Holderness had warned me about earlier in the week.  Too late to do anything about it and I have to admit that it did nothing to impair the deliciousness of the sauce.

Wrappers from potatoes?

Day 9: You may remember my apprehension regarding the restocking of loo rolls.  Well, it turns out that our local Southville Deli stocks Essential toilet tissue packaged in polymers made from renewable sources such as potato starch, which is even GM free!  They are, of course, more expensive that the supermarket equivalent but I reckon I save in other areas so I'm not going to quibble over it. 

Single use plastic free fish supper

Day 10:  One of the joys of shopping local and independent is building up a relationship with traders.  Today was only the second time I'd shopped at my local fishmonger, aptly named The Fish Shop,since I started this challenge, yet he remembered that I wouldn't be wanting a plastic bag for my delightfully pink salmon fillets.

Top Tips

• It's impossible to tell from the outside whether a tin is plastic lined, so make a note of which brands are plastic free.
• Check out local stores.  Sometimes what you're looking for is closer to home than you'd imagine.
• Make friends with your local traders. 

Lent Plastic Challenge: Days 6 & 7

This week's Not Quite Plastic Free veg box!

Day 6:  It was back to work after the half term.  On Sunday evening I boiled up a big pan of ribollita (following Nigel Slater's classic recipe) for a plastic free work lunch.  Hurrah for the staff room microwave!

Nicola Holderness, who is documenting her progress with this challenge on Twitter @njholderness, alerted me to the possibility of plastic linings in tin cans.  Yikes!  Will have to check next time I open a tin of tomatoes or beans - by which time it will, of course, be a bit late.

Day 7:  Today marked the arrival of our fortnightly veg box , including a bundle of purple sprouting broccoli in a plastic bag!  I'm going to have to have to recycle it.

Top Tips

• A panful of soup can provide lunch for a few days.  
• Share your plastic free experiences with your friends and follow others on social media.

Lent Plastic Challenge: Day 5

Day 5:  There was a shared lunch after Quaker Meeting this morning.  I made one of my favourites, a Spanish tortilla.  It survived my spilling it onto the work surface as I attempted to turn it over, and was safely transported in a reusable container.

Top Tip

• Think ahead when you're attending a shared meal.  A home cooked pizza, tart, salad or dip avoids the need to buy a plastic-wrapped alternative from the supermarket.  If time's short (as it often is), a loaf of bread or some fruit from a local shop will always be welcomed.

There being not much else to report I thought I'd post a link to contiki's survey for you to check your plastic impact.  I'm pleased to say I scored Low but, as I'm learning this Lent, there's always room for improvement.  Have a go yourself here.

Lent Plastic Challenge: Days 3 & 4

Chickpea Flour & Almond Biscuits

Day 3:  I had a few Quaker friends round for a meeting in the evening and baked a banana cake.  Then I remembered one of them is coeliac.   Normally I'd have bought a gluten free alternative from our local deli but was sure this would involve a plastic wrapper, so I searched the internet for biscuits made with chickpea flour and found this one.  Trying out new recipes on other people is always risky but I needn't have worried.  I flavoured them with ground cardamom and rose water and sprinkled them with poppy seeds.  They were delicious, reminiscent of the 'ladoos' I ate as a child in India.

Day 4:  We remembered to carry empty containers when we went shopping this morning to avoid plastic bags in the butcher's and fishmonger's.  I was a bit wary of asking to use them but they were both happy to oblige.

Top tips:

• Bake your own biscuits and cake.  They'll probably cost less and taste better.
• Buy fish and meat from local independent traders and carry your own containers.

Lent Plastic Challenge: Days 1 & 2

If you want to shop plastic free you need to be prepared

I wasn't intending to give up anything for Lent this year.  But then I picked up a tweet from City to Sea Bristol encouraging people to give up single use plastic - bags, wrappers, cups etc - the kind that cannot be reused and go straight into the bin.  Being a sucker for challenges, and having just returned from Cornwall, where I'd been shocked by the volume of plastic waste washed up by the storm, I signed up on the spot.

Day 1 - Ash Wednesday:  We had friends round for dinner and I'd decided on an aubergine and potato curry, dal and rice.  I found most of the vegetables in one of our local greengrocers but had to go on to Lidl for unwrapped aubergine, and abandon the fresh coriander garnish.  We'd had to cancel our doorstep delivery while we were away so I needed to pick up a couple of pints of milk.  I tried a number of shops but couldn't find any variety that didn't come packaged in plastic, even if it was just the lid on a tetrapak.  So I had to give in and buy a 2 pint bottle.

Day 2:  The easiest way to stay plastic free is to buy nothing.  At this point I should point out that the challenge only applies to stuff bought in Lent.  Much of the food on my shelves, the clothes in my wardrobe, the toiletries in my bathroom etc came packaged in plastic.  I've challenged myself to seek out alternatives, if they are available and, if not, to make my own ... or consider doing without.
 
Looking ahead, we're shortly going to run out of toilet tissue.  An initial recce has turned up only one possible option - an Andrex 2-roll-pack wrapped in paper.  It's in Poundland alongside 4/6-roll-packs for the same price.  All the others, including one by EnviroSoft, are packaged in plastic film.  I have, however, been given details of two shops where I should be able to lay my hands on a plastic free loo rolls.

Top Tips

• Buy your fruit and vegetables from a local greengrocer where you're more likely to be able to buy single unpackaged items.
• Invest in reuseable shopping bags.  I use an Onya Orignal and and an Onya Weigh for my fruit and vegetables.
• Have your milk delivered.  We use milk&more who are undoubtedly more expensive than any of our local supermarkets, but it keeps the milkman in a job and eliminates plastic.  A little while ago milk&more did threaten to switch from glass but happily there's been no sign of this yet.
• Grow your own herbs.  I've had mixed results with this.  Rosemary, sage, bay, thyme and parsley have all thrived, but I've failed dismally with two of my favourites, basil and coriander.  Asian stores are the best bet for unwrapped bunches, generally at much lower prices than supermarkets.
• Ask for advice and share your experiences.  It was a tweet that prompted the recommendations on where to find loo rolls.  

The Rubbish Diet Challenge - Before I Start

The guide tells me to weigh our rubbish (non-recyclable).  This will give me an idea of how much we throw away and help me set a target.

Our landfill bin is collected fortnightly.  The next collection is on Wednesday, so I'm going to wait until then before I weigh the bag.

I'm not overly worried about the amount of rubbish we send to landfill as we've cut it right back to no more than half a swing-bin-liner-full every fortnight.  My major concern is the amount of packaging we throw away.  Most of it's recyclable but I believe that, with a bit of effort, we could just not buy most of it.

The next thing I have to do is to identify the top 5 bin-fillers.  These are:

1. Crisp packets
2. Non recyclable plastic wrappers (the kind that won't stretch when pulled)
3. The plastic film that covers recyclable plastic containers (ie the ones used by supermarkets to package mince etc)
4. Black plastic containers (which our recycling service won't accept)
5. The plastic netting used to package onions, oranges etc

These are the items I'm going to be working on eliminating over the next few weeks.

Wish me luck!

The Rubbish Diet - Spring 2013

Here we go again!

This isn't the first Rubbish Diet Challenge I've undertaken.  In many ways it's a continual challenge to keep on top of the mountains of rubbish that threaten to bury us under their weight.

But every now and then it's useful to be reminded of the facts, resume good practices that we've been forgetting and learn new ways of reducing, reusing and recycling.

So a big thank you to Mrs Almost Average for delivering that all important kick up the proverbial!

Top Tip on Freezing Tortillas

We are very fond of tortillas - generally wrapped round a spicy chilli with a handful of salad and a dollop of creme fraiche.  Eaten thus, a packet of eight does our family of 3/4 for one meal.  However, when called into service as a bit of light relief from the boring sandwich, we only require a couple at a time.

The trouble is that, even when the packet is resealed with a clip, the remaining tortillas tend to dry out.  Freezing them does preserve their shelf life but I find it difficult to prise them apart when they are rock solid.

Yesterday I tried a different technique. I rolled each tortilla into a tight tube and replaced them in their packet.  This makes them much easier to remove individually.

Ta dah!

National Zero Waste Week 2012

The theme of this year's week is One More Thing and mine is to make more effective use of my freezer.

Dinner this evening was lamb tagine leftover from yesterday.  There's still a small portion remaining which I shall freeze, clearly labelled, of course!

If you've chosen to do One More thing then I hope you've got off to a good start too.

Hurrah for my Green Box

I came home yesterday evening to find this waiting for me on our doorstep.  It's our new green recycling box.  I can't tell you how eagerly I've anticipated its arrival and how delighted I was to see it.  After seeing me take this photo of it my neighbour must have had his worst fears about my sanity confirmed.

Bristol City Council actively promotes recycling and we already have an excellent weekly kerbside collection for glass, paper, tins, aluminium foil etc.  However, until today, we have been unable to recycle plastic or tetra paks other than by taking them to one of only a few recycling stations, most of which tend to be located at the far end of supermarket car parks! 

Now I know I should be cutting down on plastic consumption and I am trying to.  Honest!  But there are still a number of essentials(?) that come in no greener packaging.  Chief among them are dairy products - milk, yoghurt, cream.  We have milk delivered in glass bottles but it's no longer delivered every day and we sometimes require extra at short notice.

So now, while I shall continue to try and 'reduce' first, I am thankful that I'm now able to' recycle' more easily.   

Water Water Everywhere - or not?

Yesterday the government introduced a hosepipe ban for counties in the south east of England.  Although it doesn't affect us, it reminded me of my continuing commitment to reduce the amount of water I use.

We have a hosepipe which we rarely use, mainly because our tiny backyard doesn't require it but also because the connector doesn't fit properly so that whenever we try to use it water squirts out all over us and the bathroom walls.  A couple of years ago we installed a water butt which saves us from having to fill buckets from the bath tap and provides us with 'free' water.

Apart from that I turn off the tap when I brush my teeth, I shower, I only flush when necessary, I wait until I've a full load before switching on the machine, I've installed a watersaving device in the cistern, I only fill the kettle with the amount of water I need etc.  It's difficult to see how much more I can do but I'm certainly more aware of my usage than I was even a week ago, which is no bad thing.

Photograph courtesy of the BBC

Freezer Roulette - Day Five

On Thursday I learnt my lesson for failing to label items before putting them in the freezer.  I removed two small containers which looked as if they both held bolognaise sauce.  However, once defrosted, I discovered that the smaller of them was in fact chilli.  Fortunately both of them went with pasta!

The project is on hold for a few days, mainly because I've not been cooking.  (We have been eating but it's my daughter and husband who've been in the kitchen.)  But also because most of the rest of what's in the freezer is either in single portions or requires more thought than I've had occasion to give it at the moment.  Still, as I hope to spend try and spend some time this weekend planning next week's meals in advance, I should be back on track on Monday.

Top of my list is what to do with the considerable quantity of puff pastry I seem to have accumulated over the years!  I was tempted by Paul Hollywood's sausage rolls which featured in the finals of The Great Sport Relief Bake Off, but they'll do nothing for my New Year 'intention' to shed a few pounds!  Hey ho.

Freezer Roulette - Day Four

This morning I removed the ingredients for this evening's dinner - a pack of lamb and rosemary sausages and a container of braised red cabbage.  I think the sausages were bought at last year's Organic Food Festival.  The pack had been opened and one eaten which was strange.  I suspect that it's not advisable to eat cabbage that's been in the freezer for almost two years but I like to live dangerously!

We ate them with boiled new potatoes and sweetcorn.  Proper winter grub!

Tomorrow, if I get up in time to make a bowl of porridge, I shall eat it with some blueberries.

They don't look very appetising in this photo but I'm sure they'll taste delicious.

Freezer Roulette - Day Three

I have an annoying habit of rarely labelling the food I put in the freezer which has, on occasion, led to some 'interesting' discoveries.  Today, however, I have found a labelled container, in my husband's hand!

This will do me for lunch tomorrow and the day after - perhaps with a crusty slice or two of Mark's bread.

Freezer Roulette - Day Two

This evening's Cullen Spink was delicious.  I tweaked the quantities, adding more potato and water than was required and I left the potato slices whole.  The cayenne pepper provided a bite and the turmeric a pale golden hue.  There didn't appear to be enough fish but its strong smoky flavour made up for it.

Today's discovery is a pair of chicken drumsticks, which will do very nicely for my daughter's tea tomorrow.  She'll have them drizzled in olive oil, baked, perhaps with a couple of cloves of garlic smothered in IKEA gravy and served with a jacket potato.

Last night and again tonight I've also taken out a couple of wholemeal rolls for packed lunches.

Apart from a small loaf of interesting bread to mop up our soup I haven't had to buy any extra food today.

Freezer Roulette

I don't know about you but my kitchen is bursting at the seams with food, in the fridge, in the freezer and in the cupboards.  What's the problem with that, I hear you ask.  Well, it's because some of it has been there for a long time.  Instead of using it up I go out and buy more food, and the jars and packets and tins spread out over the surfaces until there's very little room left to work.  It's got to stop one day and the New Year seems the best time to begin.

So, starting tomorrow, I've set myself the challenge of preparing a meal based around at least one ingredient from my stockpile.  I'm beginning with the freezer.

For the uninitiated, this is an Arbroath smokie, a smoked haddock, originating from Auchmithie, a fishing village a few miles north of Arbroath.  My smokie was one of two I bought at the Tobacco Factory market some time ago. We ate the first one the day we bought it, dotted with butter, flashed under the grill, with Mark's oaty groaty bread and diced beetroot.  Its partner was frozen for a later date, which is now tomorrow.

A quick Google produced the ideal recipe, Cullen Spink, a variation on the traditional Cullen Skink.  I have enough potatoes, onions and other ingredients to produce a meal for two.  I know that my daughter will not eat so smelly a fish, and will be happy enough with yesterday's leftover sausage casserole.

Now that wasn't too hard, was it?

Ways with Stale Bread - 1

I took half a 3-day-old baguette and sliced it lengthways. I brushed the slices with a couple of glugs of oil spiked with crushed garlic. I laid the slices of bread on a baking tray and grilled them until golden brown. They went perfectly with a bowl of vegetable soup, eaten in my sunny back garden.

The oil came from a jar of sundried tomatoes. I buy jars of sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers and artichokes from Aldi. When I've finished all the vegetables I use the oil in dressings etc. It's full of flavour. Too good to throw away.

Why?

Heinz have launched a new Fridge Pack. At 1kg it holds approximately the same amount of beans as 2 1/2 standard tins, and its purpose is to provide families with beans 'on tap'*.

However I don't get it. If a consumer finds it difficult to eat her/his way through 410g of beans at one sitting, why would s/he opt for 1 kg instead? Especially if there was no savings per kg to be made!

I don't know what kind of plastic the jar is made of, but even if it is recycleable, facilities for doing so are much less common than for aluminium cans. My guess is that most of them will end up in landfill sites.
Besides, what's so difficult about decanting the remains of a tin of beans into a sealable container and storing it in the fridge? Just as effective and a lost less waste.

* Paula Jordan, Marketing Director at Heinz