I have been working hard to fix 2 things in my life. 1) Eating whole healthy food that will nourish my body. 2) Eliminating plastic use in my life (ok well and technically 3) learning Norwegian – but that is a whole ‘nother complicated mess of a story).

In some ways these 2 compete with each other, but not how you are thinking. I am not trying to split my time between them like 2 friends wanting to hang out with me but not liking each other. No. They just kind don’t like each other. Sadly. You see the thing is that I want to be able to buy certain products/foods that I know will make me healthier – but I am unable to find them plastic free. So for example, then I have a decision to make: Don’t buy Spinach, because it comes in plastic.Therefore you will not get this amazing nutritious dark leafy green that you need and love because there is plastic. OR, Buy this yummy and vitamin packed powerhouse green and have 1 plastic bag in your collection. (ps. My home town – Alma Arkansas – is the spinach capital of the world)

Most of you probably think I am crazy for even having to debate this. I really REALLY am rather equal in my quest on both issues. But I have to say that I am finally to the point that I am picking nutrition. I am very good about not collecting plastic. We have 100% bamboo toothbrushes (finally just got them, post coming soon!), we use a bar of soap that comes in paper for our teeth, the shower, our hands and the dishes (obviously all different bars in those areas), we take our own shopping and produce bags to the store/market, our own bags when normal shopping, we store all our food in glass, I now make our own ice cream so avoid the plastic box and be healthier, ect, ect ect. We have a great plastic recycling program here in Norway- so that is nice to know it is helping keep the plastic we do make out of the dump!

So I have been a rebel to the plastic cause these past few weeks. I have bought a few vitamins that I have been wanting. I learned that we are just not getting magnesium anymore in our food from the earth, so I decided that it was time to get nourished (Read about that here and here). Since I have moved to Norway (read: since I meet Ole) I have started to think differently about supplements and medications. I moved here with a ‘arsenal’ as Ole called it. But now, I prefer to heal naturally and to get my vitamins from foods the natural way. But those articles really convinced me about the magnesium. And it makes total sense, we don’t respect the earth anymore in the way we grow. We just throw chemicals at it and go about. The same is true for K2, we just don’t get enough pastured animal fat – if you are interested in that read this and this. So every month, for my healths sake, I am buying a bottle of magnesium and a bottle of K2 – guilt free. The brand of K2 I am ordering is the best and it only a plastic bottle. I am searching still for a glass bottle of magnesium – share if you know a good one!

[Side Note: Selection sometime is limited in Norway on things like specialty vitamins. The best brand of K2 in my opinion is a Norwegian brand called MenaQ7, but hilariously I can not buy it on it's own here. I can buy in only mixed in a multi. So I order mine from iherb.com. If you are looking for a good source for vitamins, I really recommend iherb. I have been hearing about them for ages and just thinking it was silly, but they are great and fast and have good service. I have a coupon code that you can use your first time to get $5 off - SOG981 - and if you use my code I get to build up rewards, so that is why I am telling you this ]

There is a middle ground of course, I am not going back to buying my ground beef in plastic of course. I know that is bad and bad ground beef and leaching chemicals from the plastic. I still feel strongly about the fact that when I someday have kids that I want them to be plastic free too – glass bottles, cotton bed, wooden or silicon toys, ect. No funny face plastic dinner plates here! However, those are areas that the plastic is avoidable. I think I am writing all this more in a way to say to you – If you are like me and trying your hardest to avoid plastic but have let your health go to the wayside because of it .. then take a step back and have a good think about it.

So I still have a goal to make out own potato chips. We have some unnecessary plastic consumption there. That is one I obviously can cut out and it will not hurt our health – surely it will help us since we will be cutting out the last place we get industrial oils. We have the occasion chocolate bar, but I have just found this yuber yummy brand that is in foil and paper – I think they are worth the switch. They were a tiny bit more expensive, but they have better ingredients too! Basically now, nutrition is taking the front seat and plastic is going to have to sit in the back – and I am ok with that!

In September Ole and I became home owners. We are really thrilled with our new place. We live 500 feet from the harbor now, which is great because we can walk into town to meet friends for drinks and it only take 5 minutes to get there. The harbor in Stavanger is in the middle of down town, you can see out house where the pink star (lower right) is in the photo above. This is making us walk more, which is good for us.

Over the summer and through the move we have stopped tracking our plastic. Between traveling and packing and settling it has just been busy. I think we will pick up in the new year, and Ill randomly post the results. Of course back in May we had only 579 grams of plastic, so the goal is to have less.

I have started brewing kombucha. Someday Ill write a more detailed post about it. I currently have 4 litters chilling in the basement. I also finally splurged and got my Kenwood KM020! It is great, I am so excited about all the things I can make with it. It is great to have a proper egg beater/whipper now, since I use alot of whipped egg whites in my cooking. I am going to buy the ice cream attachment and the food processor attachment. I want to control what is in our ice cream and not have the plastic box it comes in. I really hate seeing all the weird stuff that is added to ice cream these days. Check out this video, I can not find the clip anywhere else – you will be so shocked at what is in your ice cream. I have been scouting lots of recipes to try when I get the ice cream attachment for my Kenwood! I have had to come to a middle ground on buying stuff that comes wrapped in plastic. I started to feel really guilty. But over time I realize that buying this machine was going to make my life much easier and yummier and save load of plastic from being used by us.

The hygiene update – We are still brushing our teeth with pure soap, with the occasional baking soda scrub. I am still not washing my hair, just water and a good scrub. However occasionally there is abit of a build up so then I take a bar of pure castile soap and scrub my scalp with it. I am have really been learning about how we need to allow the oils our skin produces to stay on our skin. They are there for a reason, and just like your hair if you over wash and strip the oils off your skin will overproduce. Why do you think so many women who wear lots of makeup and wash their face daily have a oily skin issue?

The health update – During the summer I took myself off my thyroid meds (synthyroid) and cut out gluten+grains and mostly all sugar. I went in this month to get blood work done to see how my thyroid was doing. I was abit worried that my doctor was going to be furious with me and my number were going to be bad. Well, my doctor was shocked at how great my numbers were. He really could not get over it! He wants to bring me back in for another test in 3 months to make sure it is not a fluke – I know it is not – and go from there. So on my next round of test I am going to let the doc know why my number are so good. *I still hope he is not upset. I have tons of energy and feel great. I have lost 7.5 inches from my hips without really working out at all. I can just imagine that if I were working out the results would be so much more! If you are not aware of the dangers (even if you are not allergic) of gluten, read this article and this one too if you are really interested!

The food update – We are still buying all our meat from Idsøe, the local butcher. They know to wrap our meat in paper now without us even asking. I love it! The farmers market is starting to thin out, I am bummer about it. I really dislike that they shrink-wrap the paprikas (bell peppers) here when you buy from the normal store. I have learned on trick that is worth sharing. When you buy chives or green onions, keep the roots. Plant them or put them in a cup of water and give them plenty of light. They will continually grow, all you have to do is cut them down to the stem and enjoy not having to buy them ever again (ok well I am sure at some point!). If I am not going to be using the green onions, I still cut them off when they are ‘full grown’ so they dont wilt and I freeze them for later.

Vaccinations are getting lots of heat, and they should be. In one of the States they have made a vaccine a child’s choice or not to get it, they administer them at school.. people are getting sick and getting brain damage from the vaccines. Read about it here. I have never been a fan of vaccines, I think that there are a few worth getting. But the way it is back home in the States, I feel like there are 100′s of vaccines now. Well there is a new movie out I want to see called The Greater Good. Check out the trailer for it below. And if you are interested in more about vaccines and their dangers check out the great info on Kelly’s blog here.

Crazy isn’t it! Let me know what you think.

I read Real Food, what to eat and why back in May and it was a wake up moment. I have been on a ‘kick’ as some would call it about eating healthy, bpa/plastic free food from sources I know.

In the book she goes food group by food group. A main point with her is eating local and seasonal. Local meaning the food was made/grown 150 mile / 240 kilometer circle around your house. The goal is to try to get as much of the food can this way. It has a few benefits 1) When it is local, it has not sat in a plane and on 5 trucks to get to the general store down the street from you – which means fresher and less pollution and 2) you have just put your money to good use in your area, not back up to the big companies. I get that everything you need cannot be made by you, but when you can give your money to farmer Joe and know that it is helping his family that is great. But when you can’t buy local, find a smaller store that maybe is family run and support their jobs. For me there are a few things that I need that are just not local like Olive oil, coconut oil, olives, some spices, coca powder.

Another thing in the book she talks about is whole fat dairy. Why are we modifying something so natural. Your body needs to absorb the nutrients in the milk – but shocker (and with all nutrients) you need fat to adsorb them. So when you think you are being healthy downing that glass o skim milk, it is just wasted. Butter also, not margarine or fake butter – get the real stuff and slather it on. This is where I can not explain or I would just have to copy chapters of the book here.. read the book for the real evidence of why the fat is good .. it does not cause heart and health issue. She also talks about ferments and sprouting. Go on read it!!

So since May we have switched even more to local food, and whole foods like butter, whole milk, whole yogurt with out all those sugars or preservatives. Every Saturday we go into to town, we go the the butchers, farmers market, sometimes the organic store and then the ‘normal’ store for the final things .. in that order. I love knowing I am supporting the locals.

In the book she mentions the Weston A. Price foundation (WAPF). So being the nerd I am I looked them up. There site is abit drab, so I looked around to see who was blogging about it. I found The Healthy Home Economist, Kelly the Kitchen Kop, and Cheeseslave. Through them I have been learning about good fats, traditional food preparation and eating nutrient dense foods. I could go on and on, but the best is if you are intersted in this ‘real food’ stuff then check out those blogs, watch there videos and get them in your rss – they are just a huge source of wisdom.

Dont’ worry, we are getting to the Paleo part. My thyroid is not up to par, as some of you may know. I found out that many people with a bum thyroid do not tolerate gluten. So through WAPF and those blogs mentioned, I found out about GAPS. Basically, GAPS is a program to heal your gut lining. Your gut is very important, when a child is being formed, the egg splits into two – the brain and the gut. Your guts bacteria can go bad if it is not take care of well and cause a slew of problem from diseases to heartburn. If your interested in more about GAPS or know someone that could benefit from it, read this article for an overview. Over the summer, I have been playing with the thought of going on GAPS starting in August. So on gaps there is no gluten for some time, so leading up to August I tried to cut as much gluten and grains out – instantly I felt better. I was shocked, I did not realize how much they made me feel like crap.

I got to googling around trying to find some grain free meals, taking away pasta, bread, oatmeal ect was going to take a mind shift. In time I came across Mark’s Daily Apple (MDA). Mark has a book out called the Primal Blueprint, and a blog full of great articles plus a forum with a great community of people to chat with.

Paleo (Primal / caveman / grok) is eating our ancestors would have way back in the caveman days. MDA has a great Primal 101 page full of the most important articles to get going, so I started reading through the majority of them. This also of the sudden just made perfect sense to me. You eat lots of vegetables, fish and meats, some fruit, some nuts, little dairy (which is debatable, but I do) and lots of fats! You are basically eating what was around in nature all those years ago – the time before hospitals and medicine cabinets – the time where people still lived and the world went on. You also are to exercise as they would – they have given ‘they’ a name, Grok. So you are to exercise and eat as Grok would have. I am working into the exercise part, but we go the food part down. A typical day for me now looks like this – Breakfast, bacon with 2 eggs fried in bacon fat. Lunch, massive salad of lettuce, olives, cheese, chicken, avocado, a soft boiled egg and some olive oil with a cup of whole milk. Dinner, large piece of meat or fish and a large serving of sautéed veggies in butter. Then dessert, I have chocolate banana ice cream (recipe will be coming) or a piece of dark chocolate or fruit. Snacks, hand full of nuts or some fruit.

I think that this video below is a nice overview of the primal life. However, as I mentioned before I am a dairy consumer. I think that it is on of the best things. The only thing I don’t agree with in the video is that he says we can’t process dairy. I get that some cannot. But I do not believe that raw natural dairy causes disease ect – I think the opposite, whole milk heals and nourishes. (and of course I am never going to get into religion or evolution on this blog, so just take the video for it’s facts)

So now I am living a Paleo + Traditional (Real Food + WAPF) way of life.. not a diet. I’ll have meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and whole dairy such as yogurt, whole milk, cheese plus ferments that are pro-biotic – like kefir, kombucha, fermented vegetables, and sour cream ect. I feel great and am so happy to have found this path, I am looking forward to the results that come from it which should be better health and a longer happier life.

[I'll be posting soon about the dangers of gluten, even for people who don't think they are sensitive to them! Stay Tunned.]

How true is that! Just like Barbie gave me unrealistic expectations about my hips and thighs… but that is another story. Today, we talk about hair.

So another cat is coming out of the bag. I do not wash my hair. Yes, you heard (*read) that right, no shampoo or conditioners go on my hair. Just good ol’ water. If you have been following along, you know that earlier this year in attempt to get away from the dangerous chemicals in shampoo and conditioner, I switched to a natural alternative. I could not bear the idea that those chemicals were seeping into my skin! Read more about that here, it is a great option in my opinion – I just wanted to take it to another level.

So in March I decided to go ‘unwashed’. I read a series of articles (here, here and here) and as is typical with me, I decided to jump in and give it a go. Autumn, at the Beheld, was kind enough to give me some advice. And answer my many questions along the way. The first few weeks I kept my hair up, as I had been warned it was going to be an oily ‘break in’ period. Many people always say that their hair gets oily the next day, so they cannot imagine a week.. or even 2 days without shampoo. I thought the same thing too, growing up I was notorious for having greasy hair – My Dad can attest to it, it was always ‘Fonda wash your hair’ or ‘ Fonda, when was the last time you washed your hair’ or my favorite, ‘If you cannot remember when you last washed your hair it has been too long, go shower now’. Poor Dad, but maybe I was on to something as a teen : P.

You see, when you strip the natural oils off your hair everyday .. or every other day.. your scalp thinks that it needs to produce x amount of new oil every day to keep it healthy. So, you have to break your scalps habits. Which takes around 5-8 weeks – mine took 5 ish, while I have heard people say that theirs took more. There are a few tricks that I have picked up along the way.

• For your ‘break in’ period, ponytails are great (and now that it is summer, you have a great excuse). If you wear your hair down it is going to be chunky – sorry I am not sure of another way to explain it, chunky seems to work best in this case. But that does go away with time..
• Brush your hair as much as possible, every day if you can. Use a boar bristle brush, and work from the roots down to the ends. This helps distribute your oils and also massages your scalp. I have had two different boar bristle brushes. Make sure to test some out if you are not impressed. The first one I got was highly reviewed online, but I found it was not stiff enough to get through my hair, it just flattened on my head. But then my friend traveled to the UK and surprised me with a Diane brush, and it works so much better.
• When you are having oily days, take some baby powder in your hands and run in into your scalp. Some days that are extra oily, I have sprinkled it right on my head and rubbed it (like a shampoo). I suggest to check this at night, then any ‘white residue’ while wear off in the night. If not, and you apply in the morning – just make sure you rub well or else you will appear to have greys. Oily days will continue even after the ‘break in’ they will just not be nearly as bad. Now I find most days are not oily.
• Try to go as long as possible between rinses/washes. When you do ‘wash’ just do like normal but without the shampoo or conditioner. Scrub your scalp well, you do want to clean it and take care of the dead skin (sorry). I now try to ‘wash’ every 10 days. The reason I wait so long, is the day after a wash your hair … ok my hair.. freaks out. I think that my hair has gotten so used to the oils sticking around that when it gets ‘washed’ that it loses its bounce and looks icky – it is like it needs to dry out even after it is dry. I chatted with Autumn about this too, she agreed that it needs some breathing time after a wash. I find that it takes around 8 hours to do so. Also, I have found that it is much less ick if I ‘wash’ with warm and not hot water.

There are some great benefits to letting your hair go natural and take care of itself.

• No more buying products that make tons of claims and drain the bank account. Water is free.
• When your hair is naturally oiled up, you have this natural mouse like texture in it. It is rather hard to explain, but if you have long hair then think of the best mouse you have ever had in your hair. It is like that. If I want my hair to by curly, then it holds a curly. If I want straight hair, then it is straight. Without any products. Thats another thing Autumn over at The Beheld agrees with me about, she had the same realization too! I generally wear my hair down, wavy with abit of curl. I never need to do anything to it, it just stays and is light and airy. I think it is best described now as beach hair. But of course everyones will be different.
• My hair is so healthy now, it feels healthy and it looks healthy! I would imagine yours would be too!
• There is so much time saved. Not shampooing, no conditioning and waiting for the conditioner to soak in. No oil treatments. And, No getting up early to style – this obviously would not work if my hair did not have the tiny bit of curl I like and needed to curl my hair. But then again, that would be another world for me.
• You use less water in the shower. Better on the hot water bill!
• If you dont brush your hair for a few days (I tend to go like 5 sometimes, especially if I am really loving how it looks) you will be so surprised at how easily it brushes through. It is amazing. I always have had tangely hair, but now the natural oils keep it all apart. It is really great to just easily brush through it.

Then there are the cons, which I feel to be fair I need to point out. These don’t really bother me, but might bother you.

• Your hair will smell like hair. Gasp! If you want a sweet or flowery smell, you can make a spray with some essential oils, but I have no desire too. For the first few weeks I had Ole regularly smell my hair (thanks for putting up with me!) and he said it is fine. He has been informed to say if it ever smells. So far 3 months in, no stink.
• Yes, it can be greasy. Some days are more than others. But really just a bit of baby powder goes a long way. Apply it, brush it through if need be and the shiny oil is gone! Poof!
• It is not exactly an easy or open topic to chat about. Kinda like with my ‘I don’t use toothpaste’ choice, you will get some odd looks if you talk about it. But really, who needs to know (unless like this post and you think it will help or inspire people).

This is definite something to consider. I am thrilled that I am not using chemicals and that I am saving loads of money. But if it is not for you, consider a more natural hair cleaning approach to avid the harsh chemicals – read this idea about ACV and Baking Soda. I will post an update in the future, in the meantime however- feel free to ask any questions you might have!

Week 1 we used/collected 26 items equaling 229 grams / 8.07 ounces total.
Week 2 we used/collected 12 items equaling 138 grams / 4.8 ounces total.
Week 3 we used/collected 11 items equaling 109 grams / 3.8 ounces total.
Week 4 we used/collected 6 items equaling 103 grams / 3.6 ounces total.

Month of May Total: 55 Items equaling 579 grams / 20.4 ounces.

I am rather proud of our efforts, and I think it is good to have a new goal. It was interesting to see out plastic count fall every week My hope is that at the end of June we have went from totaling 20 ounces to 15 – at least.

The things that we continue to buy in plastic will be candy, ice cream and chips. I do plan to make our own ice cream sometime in the future, but need to wait till I get a full fridge and out of my dorm sized fridge. We will have some beer wrappers too.

In this have learned to make some of my own things to avoid plastic. They are:

• Tortillas
• Sour Cream / Crème fraiche
• Yogurt – regular
• Greek yogurt
• Cottage Cheese
• Pasta (this is on hold until I buy a proper roller)
• Cooking Syrup
• Deodorants

I am also learning to make some things, that will take some time to master

• Cheese (Swiss, cheddar, Parmesan)
• Ice Cream

I have learned to really watch if I am buying something packaged. When buying fresh fish for example, they always try to slip in a plastic bag inside the paper – now I know to watch them like a hawk the whole time. Or even if I buy something in a paper box to shake it around to see if I can hear plastic. Ole and I are always laughing at ourselves, we know we must look crazy while at the grocery store. I have also come to realize, that if I can get a good quality used product I should – but when that is not an option to not beat myself up over buying new and gaining tons of plastic wrapping.

I have now also stopped buying the oil I was before. I just read ‘Real Food: What to eat and Why” by Nina Planck – I highly recommend it! Ok well not all oil.. but I am buying only cold pressed organic Olive Oil in glass, Coconut Oil in glass and then we have butter and lard. The Olive Oil is easy to get with a metal lid and no plastic spout, so I am excited about that. But I guess that is a whole other post.

You too can join the Show you Plastic Challenge here! I challenge you to do it for at least one week, week all the plastic that you use – you will be amazed at how plastic is everywhere! If you need motivation, read this to learn about the health dangers of plastic – Plastics: The Sixth Basic Food Group – and watch this.

Part 2: The Cost

If you recall from the May Challenge post:

We will be keeping tack of all the money spent on goods. Not just a general we spent this amount, but a we spent XX on bread, XX on fruit, XX on toilet paper, ect. … We have looked back into our bills from October to see how much we used on these items then, when we were only shopping at the regular grocery store and the liquor store. We have been working to put our money to better places then big business, and now we are buying I think 80% of our goods not at the regular grocery store.

Now I am not sure if that 80% organic is correct, I am not sure of the exact percentage but I know we try to always get the ‘good stuff’ over the commercial stuff. When I compare the numbers of October food bills, our food spending has only went up 6%. Which is not bad, as in the summer months we eat lots of ice cream and Popsicles (no A/C). Personally for me it is really nice to see exactly where this money has went too. I kept a detailed list, but in the end simplified it. For me it broke down into 11 categories: Meat & Fish, Fat & Oil, Fruit & Vegg, Grains, Milk & Eggs, Spices & Sauces, Juice & Drinks, Desserts, Alcohol, Toiletries, then a few Odds & Ends.

It is nice to know that I am trying to send my money to smaller more local business’. We are shopping at Idsøe – local butchers, Økologiske Dagligvarer – local organic store, Stavanger Torget – farmers market, and a commercial regular grocery store. Now that summer is coming the Torget will be open more, I am very excited about that. Also, I am still working to try to get out of the regular grocer but I think that we will still have to go until I can have a small plot to grow.

I am challenging myself to buy my fish from the local fish market sometime in June, I have been avoiding it because I am worried it will cost to much. We have just bought a house that is in the Sentrum of Stavanger (downtown) and move in September, and the fish market and torget/farmers market will be just a 5 minute walk from my house – so I will have no excuses.

Have you been more aware of your plastic intake/use since hearing about this? I would love to hear if knowing about the plastic dangers has got you to thinking!

Research links pesticides with ADHD in children! Ekk! Children may be especially prone to the health risks of pesticides because they’re still growing and they may consume more pesticide residue than adults relative to their body weight. More reasons to know your farmer, or be your farmer Read the article here, and why take the chance with those chemicals!

Once you get in baby articles, you get stuck Give this article a read, it is about the chemicals that we are exposed too and how they are in babies umbilical cords. In the month leading up to a baby’s birth, the umbilical cord pulses with the equivalent of at least 300 quarts of blood each day, pumped back and forth from the nutrient- and oxygen-rich placenta to the rapidly growing child cradled in a sac of amniotic fluid. This cord is a lifeline between mother and baby, bearing nutrients that sustain life and propel growth. Chemical exposures in the womb or during infancy can be dramatically more harmful than exposures later in life. Substantial scientific evidence demonstrates that children face amplified risks from their body burden of pollution. Prepare to be shocked – read it here.

Over on ‘The Zero Waste Home‘ this week, there was an article that sparked some discussion. You see, Bea and her family have been living with zero waste, and doing a great job at it. Her blog stands as a source of inspiration to declutter and consume less, therefore wasting less. You see the issue is that she has a very modern style, which I love, but some people feel she is trying to push it on them. People are accusing her of saying you can only live zero waste in a white and empty house (this is her house picture, I love the style!), but she is just showing how she has decluttered. I have never herd her say you need to paint everything white or give decorating advice. She runs a blog about reducing the impact we have on the earth, not a decorating blog – I am saddened that some people are not able to see past that and have to go get defensive and therefore miss the real point she is trying to make. Give her reply to the [rude and confused] comments a read and chime in with your opinions here.

I have just read Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck, and gosh I loved it! I will be doing a full post about it in the future. If you care about what you are eating, where it comes from and if it is truley good for you then I strongly suggest picking up this book. It is great since she goes back to what our forefathers ate and really digs into the facts and science of it in a way that is super easy to follow.

[If you know me, you know I really do not like reading books often. And if you dont know me, now you know that I tend to dread pick up a book, then I do remember it is not all that bad to sit around and read. However it does normally take me ages to get through a book. But this time I picked up Real Food, and it was the hardest book for me to put down. I wanted to know everything she had to say in it right away. I am so passionate about wanting to eat right and this book was the perfect answer for me to be able to have answers to many questions I have been having. Now I am excited to eat traditional and healthy food. It seems so obvious after reading the book that this is what we should have been doing all along, and where until the industry wanted to make a fast buck.]

OLD PLASTICS
none, all is new

NEW PLASTICS
Ice Cream box
magazine sleve
packaging from butchers meat
chocolate bar wrapper
hair brush cover
chips bag

I have submitted our results to the My Plastic Free Life: Plastic Trash Challenge. Beth, of My Plastic Free Life, ask some questions when you submit your weeks tally. Here are my answers below.

What items could I easily replace with plastic-free or less plastic alternatives?
There is a store that sells chocolate bars in paper, I buy them sometimes – but they dont have many flavors.

What items would I be willing to give up if a plastic-free alternative doesn’t exist?
Magazine Cover, I don’t ever remember ordering it nor have I ever gotten it. But it made it to me from the States so I guess I did order it.

Brush cover. I had been looking for a boar bristle wooden brush. I bought one, then a friend who knew I had been looking for one brought one back for me from her vacation. Was nice of her, but now I have 2 brushes

What items are essential and seem to have no plastic-free alternative?
We could nix the snacks (chocolate, chips and ice cream), since I do know how to make them all.. but at the moment we are to busy. I am going to try to make our own ice cream soon though.

Meat, sometimes the butcher has packed it down to smaller bags

What lifestyle change(s) might be necessary to reduce my plastic consumption?
I have a new house now (yay, but dont move till September) so that means I can get a deep freeze. We are going to look into finding a local farmer that would sell us 1/2 a cow and 1/2 a pig. Then we can get it all in paper and freeze it!

What one plastic item am I willing to give up or replace this week?
Not sure that there are any this week that we would give up.

What other conclusions, if any, can I draw?
We have decided to drive up to the other butchers just outside of town next week to check out there meat selection. I am hoping that they will have less plastic. (I also hope that since they are smaller they will have more time to talk to us. I really want to know exactly where my meat is from, not just a ‘yeah its local’ response.)

So what do you think? Are you ready to join in the challenge?

OLD PLASTICS
cooking syrup container
prescription for thyroid
cheese wrapper
spaghetti wrapper

NEW PLASTICS
Knife packaging
Ice Cream Lid
4 paprika/bell pepper shrink wraps
Packaging from new handmixer

I have submitted our results to the My Plastic Free Life: Plastic Trash Challenge. Beth, of My Plastic Free Life, ask some questions when you submit your weeks tally. Here are my answers below.

What items could I easily replace with plastic-free or less plastic alternatives?
Spaghetti – but I have trouble rolling it thin enough, so I have promised the man no more homemade spaghetti till i buy the proper machine. Saving time!

Ice Cream – Need to save for this machine too. I would love to make my own ice cream and know what is in it!!

Cheese – we have a dorm sized fridge, but are getting a bigger one soon(ish) so then I can buy a whole wheel of cheese! Plus I am learning to make my own!

Cooking Syrup – this is from a stash I have from making marshmallows over Christmas. I have since though learned to make my own, which is very easy!

What items would I be willing to give up if a plastic-free alternative doesn’t exist?
this week we are somewhat down to the line, I guess I could have bought my new mixer used.. but i wanted a warranty with it.

What items are essential and seem to have no plastic-free alternative?
Thyroid medication – over the last few years my thyroid has went kapoot! So now I have to take meds I am trying to / hoping to fix the problem with better foods though.

What lifestyle change(s) might be necessary to reduce my plastic consumption?
This week I did make it to the farmers market, that helps alot. I just need to be more disciplined to get up on saturday to make it before they close.

What one plastic item am I willing to give up or replace this week?
cooking syrup – especially since i know how to make it now

What other conclusions, if any, can I draw?
After watching what we were taking into our house for so long before joining the challenge, I am still shocked at how much we have every week. I really had thought we were doing so much better, glad for the challenge since it has opened my eyes to the reality.

So what do you think? Are you ready to join in the challenge?

OLD PLASTICS
Lotion Bottle
Whole Grain Rice bag
Cheese Wrapper

NEW PLASTICS
2 Ice Cream Lids
1 6 pack local beer packaging
1 mail sticker backing
3 fresh veggie wrappers
2 meat wrappers
Box of packaging from shipment (not pictured, but all have Recycling #’s)

I have submitted our results to the My Plastic Free Life: Plastic Trash Challenge. Beth, of My Plastic Free Life, ask some questions when you submit your weeks tally. Here are my answers below.

What items could I easily replace with plastic-free or less plastic alternatives?
Lotion: I’m not buying lotion anymore when my stash runs out, I plan to make my own!

Rice: I have found boxed rice now, We are just working through our stash

1 mail sticker backing: Ordered some books from Amazon and the receipt had this with it.

What items would I be willing to give up if a plastic-free alternative doesn’t exist?
We plan to make our own cheese and beer once we have a basement or storage area – which we hope will be soon! I will also make our own ice cream once I can afford the machine.

What items are essential and seem to have no plastic-free alternative?
Beer, which does have an alternative. We are looking to get a growler and fill it from our local brewery, but like I said above -we plan to brew our own in the future.

Ice Cream – summer came early in Norway, even though it has only been in the 70′s to us it is hot (read: no air conditioning in house, work, or car)

My local butcher has started pre packing down the cuts of meat we buy. They used to just have then sitting out in the counter, but now they are already in a baggie. Since it was for the food I am buying I tell them to leave it in the bag, so I can add it to my count. There is another butcher abit out of our town, someday we might take a road trip and see if they have better plastic free alternatives.

What lifestyle change(s) might be necessary to reduce my plastic consumption?
I am hoping that our farmers market gets better hours, they are the only place to buy bell peppers, cucumber and lettuce without plastic.

What one plastic item am I willing to give up or replace this week?
I feel this week, they were all ones without alternatives in my new section. The beer, ice cream, meat and veggies are going to have to stay. If I can find better alternatives I will use them, as I am always on the lookout.

We did replace some computer equipment this week, and I can confidently say that that is a once in 5 years thing – so we can skip that next week for sure.

So what do you think? Are you ready to join in the challenge?

Have you heard of meat glue. ICK! Makes me want to live on or next to a far to get my meat direct! It is so sad that our meat is abused like this.

Mint&Chilli is SO sad to hear that Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution has been replaced on ABC Family with Dancing with the Stars. What a low blow to Jamie, he is just trying to help the children. I am very disappointed, they say it is because of ratings – but ratings don’t have to rule. I hope they will stick to their word start it up again in the summer.

Have you seen when Jamie tries to explain to American children what is in there ‘chicken’ nuggets and they still want to eat them. It is so sad. I know this is video overload, but give them a watch.

Boulder Weekly has a great article called “A life less plastic” where they interview Beth Terry, check it out! Also in Boulder news, I read today they are considering a city wide ban on plasitc bags! Nice!

The “Toxic 10”… everyday products you should avoid – check it out

Check out this video (10 minutes): Eben Bayer: Are mushrooms the new plastic?

I just have to say that I am loving Farmama. She runs a great blog about her and her family living on a farm and working toward being self-sufficient.

The Real Reason Why Coca-Cola Isn’t Ditching Bisphenol A – Read why here

Great article over on 30 Day Waste – GMO & The Future of Food