20 Tricks To Help You Break Up With Plastic
Plastic chemicals can leach into your body and cause all sorts of damage... So here's how to protect yourself.
1. Give up bottled water
When you drink directly from plastic bottles, you are exposing your body to hormone-disrupting phthalates. Also, all those thrown-away bottles pile up somewhere (often in the world's landfills and oceans — taking up to 400 years to decompose).
Better choose a reusable, refillable, glass or stainless steel bottle instead.
2. Carry a stainless steel travel mug
Start drinking your morning coffee from one of these, and it'll become your new adult security blanket.
6. cut out plastic-bottled beverages entirely
Not just water, but bottled sodas, juices, and smoothies as well.
3. Carry reusable shopping bags
They're stronger and more stylish anyways!
4. Carry your own containers
What's worse than eating your lovely lunch out of flimsy, warm plastic? Get yourself some nice glass containers — they're healthier, easy to clean, and far more pleasureable to eat out of.
You can use these for leftovers, office lunches, and even request them for take-out food.
5. Carry reusable utensils
Plastic sporks are useless and break all the time anyways. And there's nothing cooler than whipping out a French picnic knife at lunch!
7. avoid plastic produce bags
Don't you hate it when your bananas get all sweaty inside a thin, plastic bag? Well, you don't need to live like that anymore.
8. stop consuming frozen convenience foods
And definitely never reheat anything while it's still in a plastic container (doing so increases chemical leech-rate by up to 55%).
9. Buy fresh bread
Choose bread that wrapped in paper, or select unwrapped bread and wrap it in your own reusable cloth.
10. Make your own condiments
Those sauces sit in plastic bottles for months, if not years. Cook them at home and spice them just how you like instead, they'll be so much tastier!
11. Keep your own reusable foodware at the office
You'll also know exactly how clean it is.
12. Carry lunches in reusable cloth bags
The Japanese have turned this into an artform... It's stunning.
13. Avoid non-stick cookware
Learn to cook with cast-iron, and you'll never look back.
14. Learn to preserve foods without plastic
Reusable glass containers work just as well.
15. Compost food waste
Cut down on your plastic garbage bag use, and create nutrient-rich, healthy soil at the same time!
16. Clean with vinegar and water
You can avoid bottled cleaning products entirely by making your own cleaning solution at home. You will be astonished at the fantastic uses of vinegar!
17. Wear natural fibers
It'll save you money, and mean you'll be consuming less plastic.
17. Stop Using Microbeads
Microbeads don't wash away and go to heaven — the end up in your rivers, your lakes, and your oceans... And eventually they end up in the fish that you eat.
18. Use bar soap instead of liquid hand soap
Bar soap has been around for centuries: it's beautiful, smells great, and does the job. Look to the wisdom of the ancients!
19. Stop Using Disposable Razors
Your grandfather used one razor for years, and it gave him a better shave. Consider switching to a razor with a replaceable blade, or a straight razor.
20. Repair things when they break
Polyester, acrylic, lycra — these are all plastic fabrics. Opt instead for natural fabrics, like cotton, wool, silk, and linen. They're better for your body, pollute less, and are more comfortable.
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Chef Tips and Tricks
These Spanish empanadas are little hot pockets of delicious!
INGREDIENTS
- 2.25 Cups of flour
- 1 Egg, beaten
- 3 Tsp. of lard
- 1/5 Cup of warm water
- 5 Tsp. of olive oil
- 1 Onion, minced
- 1/2 pound of ground beef
- Salt and pepper, to season
- 1 Tsp. of chili powder
- 1 Tsp. of cumin
- 2 Garlic cloves, diced
- 1 Can of diced tomatoes
METHOD
- In a bowl, combine the flour, beaten egg, lard, warm water, and olive oil, and mix thoroughly.
- In a hot pan, pour a little olive oil and sautée the onions, until tender. Add the ground beef, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic and diced tomatoes. Cook until beef is no longer pink, and the flavors have incorporated well.
- Roll out the empanada dough, and cut out circles with a ramekin.
- Cover a baking tray with a piece of parchment paper, and place the dough circles on top.
- Fill with meat mixture, fold in half and press with the edge of a fork. Brush with egg yolk to glaze.
- Cook at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden.
- Remove from oven... and enjoy!
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