I am a student at San Francisco State University. For lunch I usually stand in line at Rosso Cafe to buy the bagel special #5 (which is hummus, falafel, tomato, and sprouts on a bagel of your choice. Strange I know but actually really good). Yesterday I decided to take a walk to the closest store to my school instead, Trader Joe's. I used to shop there a lot as it is convenient. When you walk in everything is friendly looking, the cute signs that look (might be) handmade, the people are amazingly helpful and interested in assisting you to their best ability! Anyways Trader Joe's products are generally packaged in plastic, sometimes even individually wrapped. This is why deciding to see what I could buy for lunch that is plastic free, or unwrapped was so interesting.
I grabbed a basket and started from one end of the store and systematically went through all aisles. I walked through the produce section first. I could buy apples, pears, peaches, and lots of other fruits as they are sold individually. Some of their fruits are pre-bagged in plastic and some are in plastic boxes such as strawberries and grapes. I decided to buy two bananas from the organic section. In the vegetable section there were loose bell peppers of all colors, onions, potatoes, and other vegetables. I found the avocados here as well (I never know if it is a fruit or vegetable) I wanted to buy an organic avocado but they were all in mesh sacks with a plastic seal. I ended up buying a non-organic avocado. While I bought these I glanced over to the refrigerator wall that had sliced fruits in containers, salads in bags and boxes, all plastic of course. There was nothing I could buy so I just kept on walking. Next I arrived at the yogurt wall. All of these items were in plastic (This is one of my biggest sorrows...I'm still looking for a solution to eating yogurt!!!) I wanted to buy some sort of bread for lunch so I went to the bread aisle. At first my heart sank because all the breads and tortillas were in plastic bags. Then I found this stand that had Trader Joe's baguettes and breads in paper!!! As I grabbed one I saw that there was a plastic strip down the front so you can see the bread. I put it back. I than walked around the side to find victory! There was a Semifreddi's baguette in a "just" paper bag! I snatched it up before anyone else could.
While avocado and bread are a great meal I really wanted to eat cheese as well. As I approached the cheese case I knew this was a lost battle, but figured I might as well investigate. I almost got excited about a sharp cheddar that looked as if it were wrapped in wax paper but as I examined the edge I could see that the part facing the cheese had a plastic coating. Heartbroken (not really, but I had my hopes up to eat cheese) I moved on. I found the peanut butter and jelly area. All of the peanut butter jars that were glass had plastic tops. I settled with Fig butter as it is in a glass jar with a metal top. Also it does not have a plastic seal around the top.
I ended up getting a mac and cheese for a trip I am going on this weekend I hope the cheese is in a paper bag, we will see.
Below you can see what I actually ended up buying after a half an hour non-plastic lunch run "mission".
The lesson I learned from this trip is that I can find things to eat on the run. BUT they may not be exactly what I want. It also takes time to find non wrapped items.
I grabbed a basket and started from one end of the store and systematically went through all aisles. I walked through the produce section first. I could buy apples, pears, peaches, and lots of other fruits as they are sold individually. Some of their fruits are pre-bagged in plastic and some are in plastic boxes such as strawberries and grapes. I decided to buy two bananas from the organic section. In the vegetable section there were loose bell peppers of all colors, onions, potatoes, and other vegetables. I found the avocados here as well (I never know if it is a fruit or vegetable) I wanted to buy an organic avocado but they were all in mesh sacks with a plastic seal. I ended up buying a non-organic avocado. While I bought these I glanced over to the refrigerator wall that had sliced fruits in containers, salads in bags and boxes, all plastic of course. There was nothing I could buy so I just kept on walking. Next I arrived at the yogurt wall. All of these items were in plastic (This is one of my biggest sorrows...I'm still looking for a solution to eating yogurt!!!) I wanted to buy some sort of bread for lunch so I went to the bread aisle. At first my heart sank because all the breads and tortillas were in plastic bags. Then I found this stand that had Trader Joe's baguettes and breads in paper!!! As I grabbed one I saw that there was a plastic strip down the front so you can see the bread. I put it back. I than walked around the side to find victory! There was a Semifreddi's baguette in a "just" paper bag! I snatched it up before anyone else could.
While avocado and bread are a great meal I really wanted to eat cheese as well. As I approached the cheese case I knew this was a lost battle, but figured I might as well investigate. I almost got excited about a sharp cheddar that looked as if it were wrapped in wax paper but as I examined the edge I could see that the part facing the cheese had a plastic coating. Heartbroken (not really, but I had my hopes up to eat cheese) I moved on. I found the peanut butter and jelly area. All of the peanut butter jars that were glass had plastic tops. I settled with Fig butter as it is in a glass jar with a metal top. Also it does not have a plastic seal around the top.
I ended up getting a mac and cheese for a trip I am going on this weekend I hope the cheese is in a paper bag, we will see.
Below you can see what I actually ended up buying after a half an hour non-plastic lunch run "mission".
The lesson I learned from this trip is that I can find things to eat on the run. BUT they may not be exactly what I want. It also takes time to find non wrapped items.
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