As I shared in last week’s update, the Plastic Free July Challenge is definitely a lot more difficult than I thought. I am learning a lot about how pervasive plastic is in our lives.

In the first 10 days, I came close a few times but I wasn’t able to get through a single day with no plastic. Will this be the week? Let’s find out.

July 11

Today, we are finally getting some much needed rain after a couple of weeks of extremely hot, dry weather. My vegetable garden is very grateful for the rain!

For breakfast this morning, I had yogurt with fruit and granola for breakfast. I have been doing very well finding replacements for yogurt in my smoothies but I really enjoy my yogurt parfaits on the weekend. I don’t think I will be able to give up yogurt completely but if I can go from two large tubs a month to one, that will be good progress.

Tonight, the whole family was home for dinner so I decided to make a roast beef dinner with Yorkshire pudding and mashed potatoes. As I was preparing the meal, I noticed a few more plastic items that I hadn’t given much thought to before.

• I use Bisto to brown and thicken my gravy. It comes in a box but there’s a plastic bag inside the box.
• When I took the carrots out of the fridge, I noticed they were in a plastic bag. I always buy carrots this way, even though I use my produce bags for my other fruits and vegetables. This isn’t something I had ever paid any attention to before.
• I love Yorkshire pudding. To me, a roast beef dinner just isn’t complete without it. It’s a difficult thing to make but I have a great recipe that usually turns out well. But, the recipe calls for a drop of cooking oil in each of the muffin pans. And I haven’t been able to find cooking oil in anything but a plastic jug.

So, although we know packaged foods have a reputation for creating waste, it turns out even home cooked meals are tough to do without using any plastic.

July 12

Another day when I came so close to a plastic-free day. My only slip up was the mayonnaise on my sandwich at lunch. Condiments are definitely a problem that will be difficult to solve.

July 13

Today is my birthday. My favourite gift was a Rocketbook – a reusable notebook. It’s pretty cool and I’m really excited to give it a try. The unfortunate thing is it came packaged in plastic. Why would a company that sells a product designed to reduce waste do this? This is the kind of thing that makes me shake my head.

Since restaurants here still aren’t fully open, my birthday meal was takeout pizza. Pizza is the best kind of takeout. No plastic involved!

Today’s little win

Today’s win was my daughter wrapping my birthday gifts in newspaper. Very nice!

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July 14

I did well again today until dinner time came around. My daughter and I decided to have some frozen samosas. Like many frozen foods, the samosas are packaged in a plastic bag inside a box.

July 15

Today, I gave in to temptation and enjoyed some potato chips. There was a bag already open and I just couldn’t resist grabbing a handful as an afternoon snack. If someone could package chips in something other than plastic, I would love them forever.

For dinner tonight, I had a barbecued hamburger. This was a double plastic fail. Not only are the buns in a plastic bag, but the hamburger patties are also in a plastic package inside another plastic bag. I know I could make my own burgers but, since I’m the only person in my house who will eat them, it just doesn’t make sense.

I know…excuses, excuses! Honestly, when it comes to food, I am not sure I will ever be able to go completely plastic free.

July 16

Once again, everything went well today until dinner time. We barbecued chicken breasts. Like all meat from the supermarket, they were on a plastic tray and wrapped in plastic.

I really hope the world gets back to normal soon and I can start looking for more eco-friendly options for bread, meat and cheese.

July is now half over and I still haven’t had a full day with no plastic. It’s hard not to feel discouraged. This evening, I got another encouraging email from the Plastic Free July Foundation.

It’s important to remember the plastics you have managed to avoid and not focus on what you can’t, and celebrate small wins. A small win is still a win!

Plastic Free July Foundation

July 17

It’s Friday again! Once again, I made it through the day without using any plastic until dinner time. Tonight, I made chicken parmesan with frozen chicken breast filets. Interestingly, even though frozen prepared foods have a bad reputation as far as waste is concerned, the frozen filets had less plastic packaging than the fresh chicken breast I made for dinner last night.

Today’s little win

On a positive note, we had fresh green beans from our garden. This is the first yield from the garden this year. They were delicious.

Plastic Free July – Week 3 Wrap Up

We’re almost two-thirds of the way through the month and I still haven’t managed a single fully plastic free day.

I’ll try again next week.

Are you doing the Plastic Free July Challenge? Tell us how you’re doing below.