This summer…

When you leave your house. When you least expect it, snack ATTACKS! (This film not yet rated.)

OK, sorry guys. My toddler decided to join us in bed, followed by a kick-a-thon, last night and I’m running on fumes. But let’s paint a common picture. You leave your house, then suddenly your blood sugar dips and the need to refill starts rearing its ugly head. Perhaps you have what I get. What my sister affectionately has termed “her hangry sister”.

At this point, it’s really too late to be rational and definitely too late to be ethical. You grab the nearest food source. It might be fast-food, an energy bar, a bag of chips or a full-on raid of the nearest gas station or vending machine. There are a few common denominators in these quick fixes, but for our purposes we’ll focus on one: they’re all wrapped in consumable and frequently non-recyclable plastic.

Today, I add keeping zero-waste snacks stocked. I will keep one in my purse and others in the cabinet or fridge for my family members.

This isn’t really that exciting of a zero-waste challenge (especially since my new produce bags have arrived and I want to test drive them), but I think you’ll agree that it is an important habit to form. Because, y’know, the drive to snack can ATTACK!

How About You?

Do you think preparation is the best form prevention? What snacks do you take with you? What system has been helpful for you? Let me know below.

One Year Later

This is another habit that didn’t stick. Food is the trickiest thing for me as I have multiple GI conditions and my eldest (who had to get some of his stomach removed from his intestines) is allergic to most nuts. Both the boys show signs of following in my genetic footsteps. I wish they had inherited their Dad’s iron stomach!

Suffice it to say, that after tackling diapers, food waste is our most significant barrier to going zero waste. Some foodstuffs we regularly buy I have no idea how I’m going to replace. When something is well-liked and well-tolerated by everyone, I tend to give it all kinds of leniency. Example, frozen fruits and veggies.

Back to snacks specifically. My husband and eldest leave the house most days of the week. We tend to pack snacks and lunches for them every morning. These will reflect the level of whole or low package food we have adopted in our home. Sometimes, I buy a box of Clif bars for my husband for when he is working later than usual. My eldest is back in time for lunch from pre-school so he doesn’t need a special stash.

I work from home and watch the kids so I have access to the kitchen most of the time. It is only occasionally that I leave to run errands, get some research done, or to do some activity or other. In these times, I rely on my favorite bar, lemon-flavored Larabars. They’re vegan, kosher, gluten-free, and have very few ingredients, all of which I recognize. They’re also not zero waste and, truth be told, possibly responsible for flare ups as cashews and dates are often problematic for IBS sufferers. Having a snack when I’m pregnant is absolutely crucial because when my blood sugar falls it falls even more rapidly and this becomes a safety issue.

So, it seems to me that I need to find a replacement for our Clif bars and Larabars. The obvious solution is for me to learn to make my own. I can even benefit from choosing ingredients I know are safe for me. Watch out for the recipe section of this website as you’ll soon see successful attempts posted there. (I will probably need to locate my first recipe and buy the ingredients before I give this a shot.)

I will probably begin by drawing on the recipes and directions from Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life by Brendan Brazier because that appears to be a treasure trove.

Until next time, keep that talk walking!