It's Plastic Free July and each week un_rap is focusing on a key area to give up plastic.
Week 2: Food & Kitchen -How do we reduce plastic in the kitchen?
Refills
Refill shops have been popping up across the UK since 2017 in response to the amount of plastic pollution being discovered across the globe. Refilling containers that you already own is a great way to avoid plastic packaging on food.
un_rap stocks a vast range of foods:
Grains, Pulses, Oats & Cereals, Coffee bean & Loose Leaf Tea, Dried fruit, Nuts, Flours, Sugars & Baking Goods, Herbs & Spices, Chocolate & Snacks, Oils & Vinegars.
New Products
To get excited about reducing plastics on our food and in our kitchens, we have lined up some exciting new products...
Crisps - that's right. Plastic free crisps. Sent to us in a large tub that is sent back to be refilled. They are made with British potatoes, sunflower oil and salt. Bring in a sealed container to refill, or pop some in a paper bag and enjoy immediately!
Chickpea Fudge - a new innovative sweet snack that has been flying out the door. Not as sweet as regular fudge, but it has a great texture. It is vegan, gluten free and made with just 4 ingredients. Available falvours are vanilla, raw cacao and coconut blossom sugar.
Toasted Sesame Oil - also sent to us in a large container that we sent back to be refilled. Bring any container and spice up your dinner.
Storage Containers - we have a few new glass storage containers for the kitchen that have very attractive bamboo lids. Available in 2 sizes.
Coffee Scoop & Clip - a new coffee scoop to help measure the correct amount of coffee (reducing waste), but the scoop is also a clip, ensuring the coffee stays fresh and does not go to waste.
Storing Food
Avoiding plastic packaging on food can mean rethinking how to store food.
Food wraps - Beeswax or soy wax food wraps are cloth covered in wax, designed to replace cling film. They are slightly sticky to ensure they can cover a bowl or wrap a sandwich. They can be washed in cool water and re-waxed when they are worn out.
Containers - Investing in some large jars or hunting in charity shops or on Ebay is necessary to have somewhere to store your loose food at home.
Reuse - Seeing any container as an asset is a great way to reduce plastic. Cleaned out empty food jars, empty ice cream tubs, Christmas chocolate tins, are all valuable containers when it comes to refilling.
Produce Bags - Investing in or making your own produce bags makes carrying home refills and veg much easier. Produce bags are lightweight and stack easily, making them easier to carry home.
Cooking & Baking
There are some food items that are very difficult to find without plastic. Over the years we have found solutions...
Crumpets - we love crumpets. Always have, always will. The only solution was for us to learn how to make them and freeze them. We make them with oat milk and they work just fine. We invested in crumpet rings, but you can make them without. Here is the recipe we use: Recipe
Cakes, - if we aren't found in Stones bakery, we are at home baking. un_rap stocks 90% of all the ingredients we need, including baking powder, bi carb and cocoa powder. We always slice up our bakes and put them in the freezer. We can then take out a slice for lunch, or we have things prepped if people are coming over.
Instant Pot/slow cooker - healthy organic wholefoods are great for the planet and for us to. We are very busy running a business, so the solution for us to regularly access beans and rice that take a long time to cook, was an Instant Pot. It is a very innovative high pressure cooker, meaning we can have risotto in 8 minutes and dried beans ready to eat in 26 minutes (no soaking). We recommend looking them up. Alternatively, if you have a slow cooker in the back of your cupboard, dust it off and refill on some delicious pulses to soak over night and eat after work.
10% Discount this Wednesday on all 'Food & Kitchen' products
Throughout Plastic Free July we are running a discount day on Wednesdays on all products relating to the weekly theme. This week on Wednesday 14th July all 'Food & Kitchen' products will have a 10% discount. This includes: ALL food refills, food wraps, food jars and produce bags!
~ Competition Time ~
Be in for a chance to win this gift box of plastic free solutions worth £70!
How to enter?
> Subscribe to our Newsletter
> Comment on our social media post advertising the gift box and tell us your favourite Plastic Free swap. Instagram and Facebook
Competition winner will be announced on 31st July. If you do not have Facebook or Instagram, drop us an email telling us your favourite Plastic Free Solution and we will enter you into the draw (inclusivity is important!).
The prize includes:
un_rap reusable coffee cup, tote bag, reusable cutlery set, 2 x produce bags filled with pasta and mango, oat milk chocolate bar, biodegradable washing up brush, bamboo toothbrush, plastic free tooth floss, natural deodorant and dissolvable laundry sheets.
Habits & Routine
Changing food shopping habits can be overwhelming. Supermarkets do a great job of making everything convenient. Refilling will take more time, but the benefits are huge...
In contrast to convenience, we offer a friendly, calm atmosphere with great music. We offer a fun, interactive shopping experience, with innovative machines. We offer carefully sourced food that is good for the planet. We offer knowledge on products, solutions and recipes.
>We offer home delivery and click & collect boxes for those who do not have time.
>We can refill your containers for you if you drop them off with labels and come back later to pay.
>We can hold onto your refills and you can pick them up on the way back to the car.
If you visit un_rap on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, there is a market on The Moor that offers fresh local veg, cheese, fish, etc. And Stones bakery is round the corner for all your bread needs. Many of our regulars enjoy this circuit every week.
As we mentioned last week in our blog, supporting local businesses, slowing down and living more mindfully are all hidden benefits of avoiding plastic.
