Weekly Grocery Roundup

Kale, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, cream, beets, and chipotle peppers are all the things I need to use up this week. Our shopping trips were staggered, so I only managed to get an image of our trip to the Co-op. I added the yogurt, which I had been getting from the farmstand, produce, and feta for a total of $94.

Brown bag full of discount produce and a clearance pie crust the store was cleaning out.

Here's what I plan to do with it all:

• Monday - quick kale sweet potato curry
• Tuesday - curried beet soup with tandoori chickpeas
• Wednesday - black bean burgers!
• Thursday - another sweet potato curry, to use up chickpeas
• Friday - Thai peanut soup, pita, and beet tzatziki for a potluck
• Saturday - Greek stuffed peppers with roast potatoes and green beans
• Sunday - 1-pot red lentil chili

Once I knew I was making burgers, I wanted to plan a combination of warm curries and winter staples for a warm and fuzzy week of food. I doubled most of the recipes so that even with the husband eating leftovers for lunch, we could try to put some extra in the freezer.

Weekly Grocery Roundup

After an exciting trip to the grocery store with dancing, chasing, and melting toddlers, we're ready for a whole week of Indian food! I cannot wait! I'll use the rest of the beet pesto tonight and then make naan tomorrow. I even have mangoes for lassi's!

I used vahrehvah.com to source most of my recipes - if you have a favorite version, please let me know! Here's the rundown:

• Palak paneer
• Bagara baingan
• Matter paneer
• Malai kofta
• Navrattan Korma
• Sweet potato curry

It's another even $30 at the Farmstand and $75 at the Co-op. I picked up a cotton produce bag to use and to show at Wasteless presentations.

Why not?

A friend challenged me this week. If you care so much about the environment, why not be vegan? Why stop at being vegetarian? I gave some answer about evolution that I regret, because it's a question that stopped me. If I care so much about packaging, why am I blind to the impacts and animal suffering created by my eggs and cheese?

Because I can't do everything, and I don't try to. That's why I prefer "Waste-Less" to "Zero Waste." It's about practice, without worrying about perfection. We don't have to send nothing to the landfill, just a lot less. We don't have to stop producing, just produce less.

On a quick side-note: as much as I hate seeing an abandoned sock working it's way through the gutter, I hate the abysmal working conditions and child labor that is used to produce so much so fast - this article from the NY Times talks about how factory managers go to lengths to dodge inspections. Our excessive collection of stuff is a pollution issue, a social issue, and an environmental issue.

Most of the trash I pick up on 1-mile round trip to the gym is cheap plastic. Candy wrappers, straws, soda lids. Produced, shipped, used once, and discarded. Plastic itself is a relatively modern invention, only making it's first appearance in the late 1800s, and becoming more ubiquitous after around 1950. Around the time global warming really took off.

I'm not entirely sure if being vegan is better for the environment. I live in the Pacific Northwest - we don't grow coconuts, cashews, or almonds locally, which means they have to be shipped from elsewhere. Milk and yogurt are produced locally, usually on land not suitable for crops, but are part of an often abusive industry with its own set of waste products. Since animals also need a world to live in, I prioritize environmental issues. Any information you have about comparisons would be welcome in the comments.

Weekly Grocery Roundup

Ah, toddlers. This post is at the end of the week instead of the beginning. I started with beans, pizza dough, do chua, a craving for Indian food, and a dream.

• The actual best black bean burgers.
• This simple, colorful pizza. De-cheese this to go vegan.
• If you have time, roast your beets to make a pesto.
• Banana walnut bread for something snack-y.
• Bahn Mi because...you don't need a reason, this is delicious.
• Here's the do chua recipe from last week.
• I have been waiting all winter to make naan.
• Which means it's curry time! Vegan/Paneer Tikka Masala.
• I want to try more chickpeas this year, including this chole.
• My husband would eat only onions every day if that's what I would cook. Today, it was.

Farmstand loot (from Jay's Farmstand): $30
Bulk goods and refills: $75
Packaged items (it's faster this way): Sriracha, ketchup, and buns. The coconut macaroons are actually coconut flakes.

Snack items:

• Avocados
• Bananas
• Bell Peppers
• Mandarin Oranges
• Way too many apples
• Raisins

Weekly Grocery Roundup

Brussel sprouts, butternut squash, black beans, burger buns; besides all starting with the letter "B," these are the goods that need to be used this week. Oh, and some red curry. So, here's the game plan:

• The best black bean burgers you'll ever have with roasted brussel sprouts.
• Butternut squash soup. Wait for it....
• Butternut squash ramen bowl! Welcome to the Asian inspired half of the week.
• Thai Red Curry with Jasmine rice
• Vegan Bahn Mi
• Lo Hon Jai Stir Fry, maybe

Plus, granola bars and banana bread to nosh on.

Along with standard refills, I spent $29 at Jay's Farmstand. There's a jar of yogurt hiding behind the cucumber. It's embarrassed to cost so much. There's also a $2 jar deposit. The produce I find at Jay's is always amazing and the prices can't be beat! This week, I also rescued a bushel of bananas from the discount bin.

Then it's off to the bulk goods store! $75 refilled our breakfast needs, plus tofu, cashews and cheese. All of the containers were refilled, including the egg cartons. I added water to the tofu before putting it into the fridge.

ReSolution 2017

It's 10 minutes to midnight near the end of 2016. I'm sitting at my kitchen table wondering: what now? I shop in bulk, I compost. I refuse and reduce. I have a set of to-go boxes, thermoses, and bamboo-ware. I make my own sauces and cleaning products. Most of my cooking is from scratch. What else can I do? Scott Pruitt has been appointed to the head of the EPA. Since he has sued the EPA on behalf of the fossil fuel industry, I think we can agree that things are not looking up. It's like putting a toddler in a candy store. What else can I do? What else can we do? Pipelines are going up everywhere. We blocked DAPL, but does that lessen the demand?

We have to use less, produce less, be less hard on our resources and stop wasting the ones we have. Just me won't make a difference. Maybe I can motivate you. Maybe I can give you one more tip from what I've learned. Maybe I can celebrate success. Maybe I can be the reminder that you're not alone!

You've found my Zero Waste blog. Now let's do this together.

The New Normal

I've been told that "Zero Waste" is a hippy, crunchy lifestyle for people who make their own kombucha. That my Facebook posts are off in the deep end of the left side of the pool. I've been in meetings where I've said, I want to teach people this and met with awkward silence.

Two generations ago, in WWII, thrifty living was the norm. Everything could be saved and repurposed: flour bags for dishcloths, kitchen scraps for livestock. A teabag could be used twice if you were really dedicated. Disposable utensils and plates were not in circulation yet, so every plate was "reusable." Somewhere between WWII and now, "normal" changed and we began to use more plastic and move towards convenience. Now every party has disposable plates, single use catering bins, cheap decorations, and balloons. Do the details matter? In all the convenience, resources ceased to have value.

Can you say that you are connected to where things come from and where they go? Do you know the story of your toothbrush? Can you see the future of your fondue pot?

The more I learn about ocean plastic, resource destruction, and climate change I realize just how important it is to be mindful about my own consumption habits. I am one person and I can make a difference - however, that difference would be much bigger if other people did the same. If we redefined "normal" again. If we stopped hiding for the comfort of those around us.

So I flash my to-go containers as it they were shiny new iPhones. I highlight my bulk containers on the home tour and I always tell somebody when my daughter is wearing consignment. I'm an early adapter and I have to think that's pretty cool.