Another day of co-op hopping! Well, I only went to one this time...so I didn’t quite hop, I guess. I had a specific recipe in mind, and it called for cauliflower. The cauliflower at Trader Joe’s as well as the cauliflower at Linden Hills Co-op was wrapped in plastic. No can do! Luckily, the co-op had romanesco, which is similar enough. I also filled up on cashews, but i was bummed because they didn’t have the pieces, just whole cashews. That means they’re more expensive, but they were on sale! I also snagged some agar agar powder for vegan cheese making experiments. I’ve been dying to try some sliceable recipes!
All of the jars I purchased are glass and the egg carton is recyclable.
I am also super stoked about the little mesh ball guy i got for making tea. I’ve already brewed two quarts of tea from one scoop of the loose leaf English Breakfast tea that I’m now hoarding in my pantry (never running out again!!)
I also picked up some compostable bags. Upon further examination, they are only compostable in industrial facilities. My apartment building doesn’t support the composting program in Minneapolis, so this was a blunder, but I feel better about using these for trash bags, I guess.
It’s still really hard to shop when I can’t buy plastic. The bulk bins are great, but if what you need isn’t offered, you’re SOL. I love that they have brown paper bags in addition to the plastic bags they offer, so if I forget jars or don’t have enough, I still have a non-plastic option.
Things that are still tough: bread and tortillas.
I eat Gluten free bread, typically the Trader Joe’s brand, and that comes in a plastic bag. It would be awesome if I could easily find a great option for fresh baked bread in an earth friendly vessel, but no luck thus far.
Corn tortillas are always in a plastic bag. I looked into recipes for making them before i went to the store, but couldn’t find masa harina at the store. So, i went home with the tortillas in a plastic bag.
I usually use bread bags for foraging in the spring and summer, but I have so many, it is unlikely that I’ll ever use them all!
