Racing Through the Market, While Still Reducing Plastic Waste ;)

Hey folks!  I don't know what it is about Fridays, but they always seem to be jam-packed!  I missed last week's #marketfriday, so I didn't want to let another week go by without supporting the wonderfully gracious host @dswigle.  I had to make a quick stop to grab some items for a little girls' night in anyway, so snapped some pics as I zipped through Kroger.

I also think @livesustainably has a great thing going this week with getting folks to submit ideas on how to reduce their plastic waste, so I wanted to also share my quick tip on how I try to do that at the grocery store or farmers market.  It is really easy to end up with so much extra wasteful packaging when you are buying groceries, so every little bit helps!

I'm sure most people know about re-usable grocery bags.  I keep my car stocked with a stash at all times.  It's exciting to hear of other cities or even individual stores that don't even allow plastic bags anymore!

Did you also know that you can just as easily find mesh produce or bulk bin bags?!  I get comments on mine almost every time I go to the store.  They can be a little bit of a pain since sometimes the employee at the cash register has to open them up to see what is inside, but most of them don't mind at all and are usually curious about where I got them (thank you Amazon--they really do have everything on there).  I buy tons of produce, so they have really saved tons of those cheap plastic bags that they have at the store that most people use once then throw away.  You can also toss them in the washing machine when they get dirty.  I have had mine for years and haven't had any tear or break yet.

I try to opt for open stock produce as much as I can instead of pre-packed.  They have lots more options for leafy greens that way anyway.  I was shopping at Publix for a little while, but got frustrated with how much of their organic produce was way over-packaged.  Thus, when I can't hit the farmers market I'm back mostly at Kroger and Whole Foods because they have beautiful rows of minimally packaged produce like this...

I also wanted to share a picture of my store's gluten-free and bean-based pasta section.  I posted a recipe about a week ago using edamame pasta and a few people were curious about it.  This store has a great selection of lentil, chickpea and quinoa pastas.  Some are a little pricey, but I am always on the lookout to stock up when they are on sale!

I hope you guys get out your re-usable bags and have a great trip to the market today, too!  Have a fantastic weekend!