the last day was the wurst (part 2)

3 comments May 19th, 2008

on sunday afternoon, i went to my neighborhood logli’s. i couldn’t take any pictures like i did at the meat market because the managers said i needed approval from a higher authority.

anyway, normally at the store, i spend about 1 hour and $150 to $200.

today, it was 40 minutes and $55. … because there was so much i couldn’t buy when i was trying to avoid plastic.

buying produce was easy for the most part. i just plopped my apples, potatoes, bananas and such in the cart. i couldn’t get any spinach or baby carrots, though.

buying bread was easier than i expected. honestly, i had a loaf in the freezer, so i didn’t need any but saw i could get a white loaf in a paper bag if i had wanted. i also asked for six brat buns in my own paper bag at the bakery, and the clerk obliged.

there were many things my daughter wanted that i could not get: fruit snacks, cereal, yogurt, crackers, juice, namely.

on the subject of milk: i went in thinking i’d get oberweis, since it comes in glass containers, but i did see that the lid was plastic and the price required an additional 85 cents for deposit. i ended up finding 2 percent white and vitamin d chocolate milk in cartons without plastic spigots from muller-pinehurst.

so below, except for 2 12-packs of sode, is the sum total of what i bought. pretty sad. my goal is to make it all week without having to buy what i bypassed (except milk, since we go through a bunch).

the last day was the wurst (part 1)

Add comment May 19th, 2008

i knew trying not to buy things in plastic would be hard, but in any given week, the only major thing i know i’ll buy is groceries.

since i figured most meat at the grocery store comes in styrofoam and plastic wrap, i headed to countryside meats and deli in rockford. i’ve been meaning to head there for a long time, but now i had a purpose.

i truly appreciate meat markets (hold your jokes). my godmother and her husband have owned a small-town meat market for years, and as a child, i was spoiled by their summer sausages, hot dogs, brats and other fine meals.

so i enjoyed seeing all of the choices of steaks, sausages, marinades and spices.

i chose 6 brats, 2 chicken breasts, 4 majorly thick porkchops and 1 pound of ground sirloin. total cost: $30. sounds like a lot, but at the grocery, the price of meat is just part of everything else. at lunch i made the chicken breasts with lemon and rosemary (see below at the very bottom). at supper, i grilled the brats for a kids’ night at my house. thanks to geno edwards for all of his help at the store (he recognized me from the magazine and my friday tv gig at wrex).

second-last day of the experiment

Add comment May 19th, 2008

on saturday, i didn’t buy anything. only went to the gym with the kids with my reusable water bottle.

but i did wonder why there are some products that wouldn’t seem to need plastic, like pasta boxes with the little windows (must make it better if you see REAL pasta) or tissue boxes.