Green Options » groceries

Take Plastic Bag Bans a Step Further

Amanda Peterka — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:42:54 +0000

China. The UK. Ireland. Germany. Australia. San Francisco. Malibu. The list of countries and cities eliminating or considering banning plastic bags continues to grow. Some prohibit them all together, while others charge a fee to carry away groceries in that plastic that often finds its way to landfills.

Along with the plastic bag bans and growing concern over their lack of decomposition, grocery and all-purpose stores like Wal-Mart have offered shoppers a new choice: eco-friendly bags that can be used over and over again. The bags are usually symbolically green and can be seen around the entrances of most major stores. You can also probably find even more eco bags in the accessories sections of stores, sporting earth-friendly phrases. I have one myself, from my mom, telling everyone to “give green a chance.”

This does imply that shoppers are switching over to the reusable bags (though I rarely do see anyone here in the United States refusing plastic in check-out lines or bringing his own).

But how I see it is that there is absolutely no need for the cheap green bags to replace plastic bags.

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Recession-Proofing Your Home is As Close as Your Kitchen

Gennefer Snowfield — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:35:34 +0000

According to James Poterba, Head of the National Bureau of Economic Research, we are officially in a recession, so it’s more critical than ever to start cutting expenses wherever possible.

One of the biggest areas in which you can reduce spending — especially in households with children – is right in your own kitchen. Here are some helpful tips for meal planning, food preparation, and grocery shopping that will reduce the strain on your wallet while offering some significant health benefits to boot.

Put on your Planning Cap

Planning your meals at least a week ahead will drastically reduce waste, and keep you from the trap of randomly tossing items into your grocery cart. Figure out what your menu will be and buy only those key items. And be sure to stock up on non-perishable goods that have longer a shelf life so that you’re armed with the right ingredients for each meal — dry and canned foods (rice, pasta, tomatoes) and powdered milk.

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Thrifty Thursdays: Tips for Eating Green on Little ‘Green’

Megan Prusynski — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:30:33 +0000

With the holidays approaching and the economy on the downturn, I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels the pinch in my wallet. There’s not much you can do to lower rent or mortgage, utility bills, or car payments, so your food budget will likely be what gets cut back. If the thought of eating nothing but rice and beans for your holiday meals scares you, don’t worry! You can trim your food budget while still eating well and keeping it green. In fact, there are many ways to lower your grocery bill while helping the planet out at the same time.

Following are some of the ways I’ve tampered my food spending, but please comment with your money (and earth) saving ideas!

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Tangled Up in Green: The Dangers of Using Food for Fuel

Ranjit Arab — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:49:58 +0000

Who knew Stephen King was a prophet?

No, I’m not talking about the demon-possessed hot rods (I think we all saw that coming). I’m talking about America’s zombie-like loyalty to a certain cash crop — one that has turned our entire nation into the children of the corn.

Lately, of course, you can’t watch, read, or listen to the news without someone touting the benefits of corn ethanol and how it’s the key to leading us on a path of energy independence.

There might be a *cough* kernel of truth to that argument, but… (sorry, I suffer from a cousin of Tourette’s that requires me to uncontrollably shout out useless puns)…

Seriously, corn is not the answer. It’s not even a major part of the answer. In fact, it’s a major part of the problem.

What do I mean? Well, lend me your *cough* ear (jeez, the medication is wearing off quicker)…

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We remembered!

serenity_ii — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 15:41:58 +0000

We remembered to take our bags to the grocery store last night and to use them! The bagger thought we were buying the Halloween ChicoBags and tucked them into a different bag *eyeroll*, but other than that things went decently. We ended up with two or three plastic bags in addition to the two canvas bags and two ChicoBags. My mom says she’s planning to make bags for me, too. And our Annie’s bag with Bernie on it is currently holding my yarn, but I hope to remedy that situation soon.

I’ve added bags to my Christmas list, also. And a compost tumbler!

Pumpkin

serenity_ii — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:50:46 +0000

Sadly, our little green pumpkin that was doing so well deflated and turned yellow. "Where’s my pumpkin go?" my poor son asked. The plant hasn’t stopped blooming, but I don’t know if I expect more pumpkins or not. Our raspberries look like they’re doing okay despite the fact that little bugs attacked the leaves this year. We got maybe an ear’s worth of popcorn.

We’ve been kind of neglecting the farmers’ markets. Sometimes they’re as much garage/bake sale as veggie market. . .there was a guy with an "edible lawn" sign last time, which intrigued me, but we just haven’t gotten back. Bill never seems inclined to buy anything there, so it seems a bit pointless sometimes.

We have been buying more organic and local food, so that’s good.

One of our flood lights went out the other day. I figured we’d get an LED flood bulb, but Bill’s talking about replacing the whole fixture, so I guess we’ll see what happens.