Ideal for EatingEating ethically while eating great!

When we ended the 40 Days of Earth Day experiment of collecting all of our food packaging for 46 days, I made the following commitments:

• I will bake my own cookies, muffins and other sweets.
• I will switch to whole-bean coffee in my drip machine (instead of using my Senseo on a daily basis).
• I will use a reusable mug or cup at coffee shops.
• I will take a reusable (stainless steel) bottle of water out with me so that I won't need to buy bottled water.
• I will buy more from the bulk bins at Right by Nature or Market District.

How have I been doing with these commitments over the past 3 weeks?

I bought a box of Back to Nature ginger cookies for my husband for our anniversary. He loves me. He travels for work A LOT. He really appreciates thoughtful, little acts like that. So I did it.

Otherwise, no boxed cookies for me or the kids. I baked some amazing cookies a couple of weeks ago. When I bake them again (probably this weekend, now that all the kids are out of school for the summer), I'll post pix and the recipe.

I switched to whole bean coffee in my drip pot. I've bought a few different varieties of beans, and it's been so wonderful to drink some really tasty coffee that's also fair trade and more environmentally friendly. My husband really misses the Senseo. He questioned how environmentally friendly our drip pot is given all the water we have to use to clean it out (it's a combo grinder and coffee maker). I couldn't mind much info online about the environmental impact of Senseo pods vs. my type of coffee maker. My own sense, and from what little I found to read, is that our coffee maker is more environmentally friendly than the Senseo. While we definitely have to wash out the grinder and the filter after every use, I try to use as little water as possible. Senseo pods are not recyclable. They don't make a reusable, fill-it-yourself pod. So we're adding to the landfill. Plus you have to figure in all the water and power that go into manufacturing the pods.

[We had a similar exploration of cloth vs. disposable diapers when our son was born. After much research, we chose cloth -- the kind you wash yourself at home.]

I have been good about taking my stainless steel water bottle with me every time I leave the house. I also take my reusable coffee mug or cold beverage cup when I suspect I'll be going to a coffee shop. The couple of times that I've ended up at a coffee shop because one of my daughters wanted to go, I have not bought anything for myself if I don't have my reusable mug/cup on me.

I haven't found the occasion yet to buy more in bulk. I had a bunch of lentils bought in bulk, and I'm still using those. The kids are still eating boxed cereal. I'm not at the point of getting them to change their habits yet. When I need more olive oil, I'll use the bulk bin at Market District. Nuts I always buy in bulk.

Going to the grocery later today. But most of the items on the list are produce.

I'll let you know when I bake those cookies again!