How I Shop Clean

So, I'm going to be completely honest, shopping clean and package-free requires a bit of preparation. There's a learning curve, and it is much easier to slowly ease into the process instead of diving right in. Check out my previous post for the story of my first grocery trip trying to go package-free... to say the least, I was NOT prepared.

I have a really bad habit of going list free and just buying whatever looks good.

That being said, you are going to want to have a sort of meal plan in mind as going package-free means you will be cooking your meals and snacks. I'm a big snacker and my first week trying this was a bit of a challenge because all my usual snacks were packaged in plastic or some other form of questionable packaging. Bye bye Belvita snacks and fruit snacks. Time to learn to make my own!

On the bright side, this is a whole new way to approach healthy eating since most of the bad stuff comes in packaging! Go figure!

THINGS YOU WILL NEED:

• Reusable grocery bags - I tend to grab these at the grocery store when I forget mine in the car. Needless to say, I'm developing quite a collection.
• Reusable produce bags - These aren't 100% necessary as I have been annoying the cashier at my grocery store for a while now by not bagging my produce. BUT if you are looking for bags, I like these from Package Free Shop.
• Containers! - I tend to use mason jars or other form of glass container. Downside is that the large, quart-sized jars are too heavy and require manager approval when checking out.
• Masking Tape
• Permanent marker (I know, I know... plastic.)
• Grocery list

Before leaving home...

Make sure all your jars/containers are washed and dried completely. I put a strip of masking tape on the lid of each container. This is for Guest Services. At most stores that sell items in bulk, you will need to stop by Guest Services when you arrive to get the "tare weight" of each empty container. This allows the cashier to charge you for only the weight of the items in your container.

Once I've had a container weighed, I write the tare weight on the bottom in permanent marker to save me some time in the future.

I'm still trying to find the perfect containers to shop with. Like I mentioned before, when I use my large mason jars the cashier has to call a manager over to approve the tare weight as it is too heavy. So I tend to just take lots of pint sized jars.

Now that you have your tare weights on your containers, you are ready to fill them with all the goods!

Whole Foods, Central Market, some Krogers and HEBs (can you tell I'm in Texas?) typically have a bulk foods section. This aisle is GOLD. You can buy all your baking ingredients (flour, sugar, spices, chocolate chips, etc.) as well as mixed nuts and various trail mixes and candies should you have the munchies.

Bonus: you can also find local honey, EVOO, coconut oil, and fresh nut butters in the bulk section!

So now I'm sure you're wondering, how to you buy other items like meat, cheese, and milk?

I'm glad you asked!

I haven't quite perfected buying cheese yet. Which is a problem, because I LOVE cheese. But some cheeses do come wrapped in paper, which is much more forgivable than the plastic wrapping. Or you can always try taking your own container to the deli. I haven't tried this yet though, so I'm not sure how it keeps over time.

I don't really drink milk, so this hasn't been an issue for me yet. Short of buying a dairy cow, you could always steer towards milk in the cardboard cartons or just promise to recycle your jug. Hey, nobody is perfect. And I'm open to suggestions.

Now for the meat lovers... This method has been tested, because I need my protein. I take my large mason jar (the one that is too heavy for bulk goods) to the meat counter. You can usually find anything you want at the counter or you can ask them to cut something for you. I usually get ground beef or chicken breasts and just ask them politely to put it in my jar instead of their plastic wrapping.

They will ask you why. And this is your chance to tell them your story. Or at least the short version if there is a line.

99% of the time they kind of giggle at you but are secretly intrigued.

THINGS I STILL NEED TO LEARN

1. Buying cheese and other dairy products. Because, lets be honest, we can't avoid cheese and butter forever!
2. Lunch meat.
3. How to make my own croutons.

For now, I've made it almost a month slowly transitioning out of packaged goods. I feel great. I eat great. And I'm learning that Pinterest is a haven full of other people's stories and ideas on how to tackle this lifestyle!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

P.S. I'm working on adding a page of recipes I've been trying out to make my own snacks, breads, etc!