9 Things You Can Stop Buying at the Grocery Store

9 Things You Can Stop Buying at the Grocery Store
by Carol Charron

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/08/08sep22f.cfm

Juice - It's healthier to eat your fruit whole. You get necessary fiber from the
skins and the flesh. Stop paying for packaging and do it right. If you need to
drink something, squeeze it from whole fruit one glass a time.

Microwave Popcorn - I had no idea how far removed we had become from the real
thing until I recalled memories of my dad shaking the old pot on the stove to
make real popcorn to my kids. I thought it would be fun to share that experience
with them. When I made it, my kids loved it so much they won't let me buy the
microwave stuff anymore. I now have a jar of kernels that I keep next to the
stove near my bottle of oil. Yeah, it has real butter/margarine and real
honest-to-goodness salt, but I control how much. It's a lot cheaper than the
packaged stuff, and the taste will drive you wild. You'll wonder how we ever
became converts to packaged microwave popcorn. You won't miss it.

Vegetables - You should be buying them locally at the Farmer's Market to support
your local farmers and local economy. We are simply slaves to our grocery store
habit. When you grow it yourself, you can use everything. Recycle cuttings to
make soups, and what you have left over you can compost, supporting next year's
garden. If you don't have land, make a potted garden.

Cookies - The sky is as limited as your pantry and your Betty Crocker Cookbook.
Make them from scratch. Your kids will like your cookies better than the
packaged cookies.

Spray Cleaners - You could pay $3 or $4 for that spray cleaner. That said, check
the prices on vinegar, ammonia and bleach (not to be combined with each other,
of course) at your local dollar store. Most of the time, when you buy a spray
cleaner, you are getting the same ingredients in better packaging. Save your
spray bottle, and when it's empty, you can clean it and refill it with these
money savers.

Bottled Water - By now, you have heard how awful all that packaging is for the
environment. Here's another case of paying for convenience. Buy some portable
bottles and save a bundle by doing it yourself.

Herbs - Most of us only use four or five herbs in our kitchen. From seed, you
can have herbs fresh and ready to cut in just a few weeks. My basil plant is
thriving.

Bread - Like the chicken in the oven, throwing four or five ingredients into a
bread machine is the easiest thing in the world. Do it at night before you go to
bed and wake up to fresh bread the next morning. You can even make use of the
dough-only function to make a pizza.

Trash Bags - If you buy fewer packaged foods, you will have less trash. If you
compost your fruit and vegetable stems and peels, you will have even less trash.
If you recycle your cartons, milk jugs and egg cartons, you will have less
trash.
We've been sold a lot of imaging and branding through advertising that has
convinced us that we need to buy this brand, that bag, this carton. What we
really need to do is live less expensively, eat healthier, and be more
environmentally responsible.

Take the Next Step:

It's a win-win-win situation! You can be friendlier to your waste, wallet and
earth all at the same time. Start with the list above. Is there something here
that you're willing to stop buying? Give it a try. You'll love the rewards.