Natural Living Carnival on Ethical Shopping

Welcome to the October 2012 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Ethical Shopping Choices This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. This month our members have written posts about how they make purchasing choices.

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When I think of Ethical choices in shopping I first think about waste of food and waste created from not recycling.  By definition Ethical is "pertaining to or dealing with morals or the principles of morality; pertaining to right and wrong in conduct".  With so many children going hungry in the US and around the world, I find it sad to waste food.  What ways can I reduce waste and make good decisions through my grocery purchases. 

One of the biggest complainants I here in Nutrition is about the amount of food wasted.  Understand, It is not just those making the change to healthier eating, its everyone.  People just notice more if they bought something specific for a healthier meal and then never got around to using it.  I myself have been guilty of throwing food in the garbage.  I makes me so mad at the extra waste and the amount of money thrown away.  So how can you avoid this problem? 

Start with Making a List and Menu.

Look at your schedule in detail.  When I schedule my menu I take into account if we are going to be running to activities, if the husband is working late, if we will have guest over, even if we are traveling.  I don't want to make a huge meal if a few family members will not be there to eat it.  Or if family is missing you can still make a larger meal, but make sure to save for left overs the next night.  The problem is a majority of people do not like left overs.  Get creative in your left-overs, to make it fresh again the next day.  Thinking about what to make on certain nights will help keep you from wasting food and buying only what you will needing.  This actually helps people to use what food they have bought, resist buying food that is not needed, and to save money on their groceries.  Have you ever threw something in the cart and did not know what you would use it for?  Maybe you thought it was a good deal or that you would throw it in something at home, only for that item to go to waste.  These are impulse buys, things you don't need but get anyways.  I highly recommend making a menu and shopping list before you head out to the store!

Resist the Urge to Eat Out.  

 We have all had those days were things did not go as plan.  Maybe you got behind, now your tired, and then you come home and say "whats for dinner?"  You look at the Kitchen and the clock thinking, "I want to eat now not in 30+ minutes", then you pick up the phone and order out.  Maybe your errands ran later than you thought knowing you are going to be making it home late, so what's the first thing you think-Restaurant!  I am not saying eating out is bad, but what about your menu and groceries waiting at home?  Now you have an extra night of food that you will possibly end up throwing away.  Now you have bought those foods, and then you spent money on dinner.  How much did that night end up costing you?  If you know that a food item is being rescheduled for later and it is freezable, than freeze it right away.  Don't let any food spoil and become wasteful.  If you are tired and tempted by order out, look at your menu one more time and find some energy to make that healthier meal. 

Package Your Food Correctly and Stay Organized.

Packaging your food correctly will save you money and save you from wasting.  For the pantry I recommend investing in glass airtight containers.  I prefer glass over plastics because I like to see what I am storing.  We are a family of 6 and a Costco membership works great for us.  We can typically use all of our food withing two weeks, but there are a few items that I buy in a large bulk that last for months.  Rice happens to be one of the large bulk items.  I buy NonGMO products from Costco and they are usually LARGE packages.  (PLEASE read why buying GMO is so important.  I will not support companies who bully farmers and push them out of business so they can make a crop that is dangerous for out health.)  Before I invested in airtight containers I wasted half a bag of rice.  Last year, I looked in my rice package to use it and I had bugs!  This could have been avoided if I stored all of the rice, but I only stored half of it for easy reach.  I threw the bag away and got another 5 gallon jar for my rice.  If you can not store the bulk items correctly, then resist buying bulk.  My flours, rice, grains, and cereals are all in glass containers.  Why Glass?  I like glass because most plastics are dangerous for our food and health.  Another reason I use glass is to see what is in that container.  How many times have you stored something and forgot about it only to buy more.  On the other side, maybe you thought you still had that item only to open the container and its not enough.  If you can see what is in the container, than you know what you have and what is needed.  Another side note, be sure to keep your pantry organized.  You want to be organized so you know what is needed for your menu planning.  Take the time to store your food and organization to reduce wasted food and money. 

Use the Most Perishable Foods First.

 Some foods spoil faster than others.  Berries are high on the spoil quickly list.  A couple years ago, there was an amazing deal on strawberries.  I got 3 lb containers for 88 cents.  My daughters love strawberries so I got four packages of them.  I was thinking strawberries in yogurt, pancakes, and snacks, but we like to rotation food in our house to keep from creating allergies. This helps us get a variety of foods and keeps you from eating the same foods day in and day out.  I was so upset when half way through the second week the strawberries were going bad.  I quickly cut off the spots starting to go bad and threw the saved berries in freezer.  I should have froze half right away for shakes later instead of letting some go to waste.  It was a great deal, but I should have thought ahead and froze what we would not be able to eat right away.  Using up your left overs is included in perishable foods.  When you have an item that perishes earlier than others, than change the menu to use that item first, or wait and buy when needed.

Do Not Over Stuff Your Fridge.

A few problems happen when the fridge is over full.  First it makes the refrigerator have to run higher to keep everything cold, which runs up the electricity.  Wasting electricity is a HUGE waste of money and resources.  The second problem would be forgetting whats in the fridge.  When filling your refrigerator try not to stack food on top of each other too much, and make sure you can see around items.  If you can not see everything in the fridge items get lost and spoil.  

Keep a Journal.

I love journals because it's a record of thoughts, accomplishments, and mistakes.  Keeping a kitchen journal is great for recipes you make and change, for staying organized, and for keeping track of menus and purchasing errors.  It would be beneficial to remember what you threw away, what you needed more of, and things you wish to try.  Life gets crazy, hairy, and out of control some times.  We can not remember everything, and a journal is a great reminder of those events.  I highly recommend keep a journal on how often you eat out as well.  Most people honestly believes they eat out less than they really do, until they start to track it.  It can become a waste of money, and I believe that eating our regularly is negative for your health.  The portions are too big, you have no idea what ingredients are being use, and how fresh is it?  Those are all things you can know and control in your own kitchen.  Have a kitchen journal to help you stay on track becoming a more Ethical Shopper.

Drop the Plastic Bags and Carry Your Reusable Bags.  

I have become a huge advocate for carrying your own bags.  In May of last year I took the Challenge to not use a single plastic bag for ANY purchases.  That was grocery, and departments store.  Any place I am taking a new item home, I had a bag in my purse for it.  Plastic bags are becoming a huge problem for our oceans.  They take too long to degrade and polluting the environment.  Taking a few conscience steps to reduce these waste can make a difference.  Remember to please recycle your waste.  I am pretty proud of my recycling container.  Because our family tries very hard to recycle and reduce waste, are trash can is hardly ever filled.  Our recycle receptor gets pretty full at times though.  A nice payback to bring your own bags is that some stores give you a discount for using reusable bags.  Since we are talking about recycling a bit, I want to ask for you to consider just skipping can products completely.  They lack digestive enzymes, because they have been stripped in processing, which causes digestive issues.  Cans usually contain a toxic BPA chemical that leaches into the food, causing health problems as well.  Canned goods have higher amount of heavy metals that can cause a multitude of health problems.  See my post on non-foods here.  Please remember to recycle and take steps to be a conscience consumer.

This could sound like a lot of things to do or change, but with gradual changes you could be making more ethical shopping choices.  We have become a consumer society.  We buy a lot of processed foods, we buy more extras, and we are a fast pace society.  I encourage you to relax, take time in your decisions, and make some gradual changes to a Healthier Greener Lifestyle. 

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Visit Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival! Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:  

Disclosure: I am not paid for my reviews, post.  These are my personal thoughts and opions that I share to help others know about companies, lifestyle, and products I am passionate about.