Virginia Aquarium

We made it team! 

I hope everyone had fun, picked up some new habits, and learned a lot. 

Thanks for being a part of plastic free July with us!

Week three! We got this you guys. Keep it up!

Did you know Americans drink over 18 million gallons of milk each day? That is a LOT of plastic containers. And even if you purchase milk in cardboard cartons, there is still some plastic associated with your purchase (those cartons are lined with plastic and aluminum which can make recycling complicated). Milk is also incredibly resource intensive and a big part of that is the incredibly long distances your milk must travel to reach your grocery store (California and Wisconsin produce 1/3 of the milk consumed in this country).


But milk is a staple of American life. Are there better solutions for getting our favorite beverage - well, 4th favorite after soda, bottled water (turrrrible!), and beer - ? Yes! Check out some of my favorite solutions!


- Homestead Creamery - their products are made right here in Virginia! And their milk (which you can purchase at Kroger or even get delivered to your house using the Neighborhood Harvest) comes in glass bottles that you return for reuse over and over and over again!

- Oberweis Dairy - their milk is produced by 11 small family farms in Wisconsin and shipped around the country. They deliver their milk straight to your door in glass bottles like the milk man of yesteryear. Simply put your bottles out when your next milk delivery is scheduled and they will pick them up to be cleaned and refilled. Easy peasy!

- Nut milks - not a dairy milk fan? You can make your own nut milks using nuts from that ever handy bulk section of your grocery store! You can even make peanut milk to keep it nice and local!

- Hemp milk - this is SUPER EASY. Blend 1/4 cup raw shelled hemp seeds, 4 cups of water, 1/4 tsp of sea salt, and 1 -2 tsp of agave nectar (optional) in a blender for 1 - 2 minutes. Keeps in the fridge for 4 - 5 days.

-Oat milk - also super easy and superrrr creamy


Maybe you could challenge yourself to try one of these options for the rest of Plastic Free July (and beyond!)?

Hum dum de dum, hum dum de dum
I'm so rumbly in my tumbly
Time to munch an early luncheon
Time for something sweet


Back on sweets today! Here are some of my favorite tips for plastic free sweet snacks:


- Bakeries - check out your local bakeries (even the ones at some grocery store chains). Many of them will allow you to fill your own containers with their tasty baked goods or may have paper or cardboard packaging options. This is a much better alternative than your favorite plastic laden Oreos or Chips Ahoy!

- Grocery bulk sections - I'm pretty sure by now anyone who has glanced at my posts can tell I'm obsessed with the bulk section. You can get dried fruit, prepared granola and trail mix, candied nuts, and chocolate chips at most of them. Yum!

- Granola bars - speaking of that bulk section, why not grab some fruits, nuts, chips, and granola and make your own granola bars? Who needs granola bars wrapped in plastic?!

- Cookies (etc :)) - still speaking of the bulk section; did you know you can get sugar and flour there too? Get yourself some local eggs in cardboard (or no package at all!), paper wrapped butter, and tasty mix-ins and you can have plastic free cookies, pancakes, cakes, muffins...the limit does not exist!

- Yogurt - make your own with no special equipment needed! You will need to buy oneeee lasstttt throw away yogurt container to start your home made yogurt, but then you'll be set for life. Plop it a bowl and top it with tastyness. 


Got any great ideas to share?

Candy is great and all, but I'm more of a savory snack person myself. Here are some of my favorites if you're looking to fill that void left by your favorite plastic bagged snack:


- Popcorn: buy organic popcorn kernels in the bulk section of your favorite grocery store and pop in a pot on the stove or in the microwave at home. You can use brown paper bags to pop your microwave popcorn or try one of these fun poppers.

- Parmesan crisps: Miss the crunch of chips? Buy a block of parmesan at a local cheese shop or grocery store with a fancy cheese counter and bring your own container from home to transport the cheese. When you're ready to snack: shred, sprinkle in circles onto a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake at 400 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes.

- Nuts: grab your reusable bag and head to the bulk section of your store to stock up on almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios, whatever your heart desires! Some stores even stock different trail mixes.

- Homemade hummus: skip the tahini (or make your own if you can find sesame seeds in the bulk section), use BPA free canned beans (most organic canned options are in BPA free cans) or buy dry beans in the bulk section and cook them at home, fresh garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. Pro tip: you can purchase olive oil at Savor the Olive (locations in Virginia Beach and Norfolk) and they will allow you to wash your bottle and bring it back to be refilled. You even get a discount!

- Kale chips: can also be made with chard, collards, and probably any other sturdy green

- Roasted chickpeas: I've found to get the crunch I'm craving I have to leave them in the oven wayyyy longer than most recipes I've found recommend. So don't give up if you've tried and they fell flat.

- Potato chips: they are more work than the other options on this list but so worth it.


What are some of your favorite plastic free salty snacks?

You gotta eat!


But, lots of the processed food that we eat comes in plastic and ocean critters gotta eat too. More and more frequently - and alarmingly - what they're finding to munch on, is our plastic waste. (Did you know that a recent survey found Nestle products to be the third most common recovered plastic items from the oceans?)


In a perfect world, we would all only eat local, seasonal produce and animal products from farms we know and trust. We may be a long, long way from that world but we can still be much better. Today, I have a few tips on  plastic free candy options. You can have your chocolate and save the world too!


- Bulk candy: find stores with bulk candy dispensers. You can fill paper bags or any kind of reusable bag you have 

- Cardboard boxes: lots of candy (Junior Mints, Whoppers, Milk Duds) still comes in cardboard boxes

- Alter Eco truffles: this company makes their packaging from eucalyptus and birch trees. Their chocolate is also organic and fair trade (perk!)

- Foil wrapped candies: search bulk store options for foil candies that don't come in plastic bags. Make your foil pieces into a large ball over time for more efficient recycling
- Chocolate: did you know that candy must either be wrapped in foil and paper or plastic? There are still chocolate bars out there that are wrapped in foil and paper, both of which can be recycled. Check out Lindt, Ghiradelli, Green & Black's, and Chocolove to name a few. You can also go to a candy store and take your own box to pick up some fancy individual chocolates

- Glee Gum: most of their gum options come wrapped in paper or in small cardboard boxes AND their gum is still made from real chicle instead of synthetic plastics. This gum is available at several local stores


What are your favorite plastic free candy options? 


BTW remember that contacting companies and letting them know you would prefer they don't use plastic packaging is never a bad idea. Persistence is key!

In honor of National French Fry Day (which was on the 13th) I thought we should talk about food this week! So lets kick the week off where most of the food fun in our lives comes from - the kitchen!


How do you keep your kitchen plastic free? Here are some of my favorites:


- Bees Wrap

- Produce bags

- Reusable towels

- Dropps for my dishwasher

- Bar soap for washing dishes

- Brushes or natural sponges

- Silicone bags for all kinds of storage

- Cloth bags for snacks and sandwiches

Just in time for Plastic Free July, check out these awesome new paper 4-pack rings from Commonwealth Brewery!