Going green at the Grocery Store

There’s a lot of talk around “going green” and choosing to be more mindful of the decisions we make on a daily basis.  Solar panels are popping up everywhere, and businesses are cutting back on straw usage, to name a few recent developments. People are interested in ways to have a more sustainable way of living that makes less of an impact on the environment.

One of the best ways we can approach this is to consider what we do daily and weekly, those repetitive things that we do and will always do, such as grocery shopping. We can make several tweaks to our grocery shopping routine to make an impact over time, and I’d love to share with you today some of my favorite ways to do just that.

Make a list

Going into your grocery shopping experience with a list will save a lot of extra waste in the long run.  When you enter the supermarket without a game plan, many additional items will inevitably end up in your shopping cart.  This common mistake causes extra spending and an overflowing pantry.

Even better, downloading a grocery shopping app to your phone is a fantastic way to keep a list.  Especially for households — you can share an account, so each person in the home can place items on the grocery list that will show up on everyone’s device.  If you don’t already, begin a mindful routine about keeping a grocery list that you use upon your shopping outings and see how much less waste you have going into your trash.

Bring your own

Bringing your reusable grocery bags has been a popular practice for quite some time now, and at some grocery stores, you have to bring your bags or be forced to pay for them at check-out. Getting reusable totes to carry your groceries home is a significant step, but have you considered bringing your produce bags and bulk items containers as well?

You can look on Amazon for some eco-friendly mesh bags that are great for produce, these are my favorite so you don’t have to use plastic bags on your grocery trips for fresh foods.  You can also invest in some reusable ziplock bags these are my go-to for bulk items such as dried quinoa, nuts, etc.

The bulk isle

You can save a great deal of money and cut down on wasteful boxes, bags, and packaging by shopping on the bulk aisle.  Here you can find your grains, legumes, spices, and more.  More so than the money you’re saving, these items are going to be fresher than the same things you find pre-packaged on the shelves.

Head to the bulk aisle as you first walk into the store with your list in hand. Peruse the area, finding everything you can from your list in the bins before heading to the other sections in the store.  You may not be able to locate everything you’re looking for there, but checking it out first will help you to lower some of the pre-packaged items you may need to buy.

Storage at home

This practice also bleeds over into how you store your grocery store items once you get home.  When you’re shopping, think about all of the things you’re purchasing and what they’re packaged in.  It’s convenient to pick up a bag of pre-packaged almonds or a jar of almond butter — I understand that.  But instead, scoot over to the bulk aisle and grab your almonds there with the bags you bring, and fill a mason jar with fresh almond butter from the nut-butter station. Try my nut butter recipe.

Mason jars are remarkable to use.  They’re clear and easy to see in your storage area at home without opening boxes or digging through a mess of things.  Store as much as you can in these reusable containers that you can toss in the dishwasher instead of the trash. These jars are amazing!

Small changes

Making sure you have your reusable bags and containers in your vehicle will ensure that you never forget.  Making small changes turns into a significant impact, even if you implement only one of these steps at a time.

These eco-friendly reusable grocery bags and mesh bags for produce are incredibly inexpensive and can be found on Amazon very easily.  Pick one or two of these to begin executing immediately, and make this next trip to the grocery store fun, mindful and eco-friendly.

In good health,