My Attempt To Be Less Trashy, pt. 2: Eating and Drinking

This is another installment of my series "My Attempt To Be Less Trashy" where I share things I have and do to try and curb my environmental impact. Like I've said before, even though I'm not the best at zero- or low-waste living, an attempt to be mindful is better than not trying at all. 

One part of life that I know I still need to improve on is in the realm of eating. Something like 40% of food is wasted in the US, and fast food packaging makes up something like 10% of total packaging waste globally, but I'm just as guilty as anyone of forgetting about spring mix in the fridge and grabbing Taco Bell. However, I have made some changes to improve on my impact with dining, and maybe these along with not opting for Crunchwrap Supremes when I get tired of digging through the cupboards will help reduce my impact in the realm of food and drink:

My Hydroflask

I love my insulated water bottle. I found it secondhand, and using it instead of buying bottled water has been an easy solution to reducing consumption of single use plastics. I have a small collection of Nalgene water bottles too, and while they work well enough my Hydroflask is both insulated, which keeps my water cooler when it's roasting here in Southern California, and made of steel, so it's virtually indestructible. It has a few dents and scratches but I know this bottle will last forever, whereas Nalgene bottles can break after awhile and single use bottles get thrown out as soon as they're empty. Any reusable water bottle is an easy first step toward using less single-use plastics (and a great way to remember to hydrate!) but I love my secondhand Hydroflask. A new one can be a little pricy, but it pays for itself with how many bottled waters you don't have to buy.

A stainless steel lunch box

When I'm working I like to pack a lunch, mostly to resist the siren song of Doordash and help spare my poor wallet, but also to prevent more food packaging from being unnecessarily wasted. I've used plastic containers for years to transport my workplace lunches, but they crack after awhile and end up unusable, so awhile back I invested in a stainless steel lunch kit. It holds my peanut butter sandwich and trail mix just as well as any plastic container has, and like my Hydroflask it's also virtually indestructible. Paired with coffee from my $2 Klean Kanteen and a cold drink with my stainless steel straw and I have myself a fantastic workplace meal kit that will last me a lifetime.

French press/cold brew coffee

Admittedly, while I used to be a coffee snob, I'm cool with drinking store-brand big-tub coffee from a drip machine. However, one way to reduce waste from an already impactful drink is to make coffee via press or by the cold brew method. French pressed coffee, while also delicious, doesn't waste a paper filter, and when I make it I throw the grounds into my compost pile. While cold brew normally uses a paper filter it makes a concentrated coffee that can keep in the fridge for days, so instead of using a new filter every morning for a pot of coffee you can use one filter for a batch that can last a few days you can enjoy hot or cold (that also is delicious, but be warned; dilute it because it is potent and, if you don't, you'll bounce off the walls and crash hella hard). Plus-- you don't need me to tell you-- even making coffee at home with expensive locally roasted beans is cheaper and less wasteful than buying a cup from Starbucks.

Keeping it local

Transport of produce can be a carbon-heavy endeavor. By going to a local farmers market (if you're lucky enough to have one in your vicinity) you can get your fruits and veggies from places you know, and actually meet the people who grow them. In my experience, produce is generally about the same price as at a big box store and way fresher and, in my opinion, way tastier. Also, if there's a brewery near you, you can get a growler fill of a tasty beer to share with friends instead of a 6-pack if you're going to a party, and since growlers are reusable you can BYOB again and again without having to throw out any packaging-- with the added benefit of knowing who made your beer and where it came from. I like my insulated steel growler because, like my water bottle and lunch kit, it'll last forever, and it keeps my beer cold without having to carve out room in the fridge.

Being full of beans

Every day at work for years I had the same lunch of beans and rice at work. While I don't suggest you eat nothing but beans and rice for dinner every night for five years like I did, reducing meat consumption is one way to reduce your carbon footprint. I had heard a statistic that claimed if cows were their own country they'd be the third largest producer of greenhouse gasses (imagine a country populated by nothing but cows, how awesome would that be?) I'm not vegan, and I'm a pretty terrible vegetarian at best, but I do what I can to curb the amount of meat I eat by getting protein from beans. It's easy to sub black beans for meat in items from Taco Bell, which I think dramatically improves Crunchwraps. I still eat meat a few times a week, but generally most of my meals are bean-based. 

Growing your own food, eating raw vegan, and eating your homegrown raw vegan food at home instead of dining out are other, maybe more extreme ways to dine responsibly. Being intentional with what you're buying, eating/drinking, and throwing away are good to keep in mind too if you're not quite ready to go with a full-on self-sustaining raw vegan drum circle hippie commune lifestyle.

Stay tuned for even more swaps and habits I've tried to make myself less trashy!