Answer: not a lot.
Over the last two weeks, I have cut out shop-bought bread, fish, all Quorn products, almost all fruit, vegetables, nuts, hummus, cereal bars, orange juice, chocolate bars, crisps, ice cream, sweets, most salad, coffee, pasta, rice... The list of foods coming fully wrapped in plastic or containing at least some plastic in their packaging goes on and on.
My breadmaker has been a handy thing. I've made two loaves every day, which has the fortunate additional feature of concealing the stench of the cat's litter tray (it has a lid, which means we can't see all the little poos and so forget to empty it) with the more inviting smell of freshly-baked bread. I'm hoping that this, in turn, will lead someone to make an offer on our house, which is currently on the market at the bargain price of £199,950. (If you would like to come and view it, please call Youngs RPS.)
Other things I've been able to eat are: eggs, peppers sold loose at the market, baked potatoes, butter, lettuce from the allotment, corn on the cob that my partner found still in its leaves in Tesco (it was much, much nicer than plastic-wrapped stuff because the leaves kept it fresh), teriyaki sauce and apples and plums kind friends have donated from their gardens. I have mostly turned these into crumbles, which has gone some way to compensating for the loss of chocolate, although I can tell you now that serving it without cream is a massive apple crumble compromise.
At the beginning of the month, I switched from coffee to tea because I had tea left over from years ago. I went off it last time I was pregnant and tea and I haven't ever fully resumed our old affair. Anyway, then the teabags ran out, so yesterday, with some trepidation, I went to buy more. Here is the teabag aisle of my local supermarket:
Plastic everywhere. I hunted and hunted and at one point I began to fear I would have to resort to some sort of herbal shit that is simply NOT FUCKING TEA, no matter what labels the manufacturers of Rabbit Shit and Sustainably-plucked Hedgehog Prickle teabags shove on the packaging of this absolute bollocks.
But in the end, somewhere towards the bottom shelf, I found it. Good old Twinings (although they do also make herbal shit). Just a plain box, on its own, with no unnecessary plastic addition. Look at this:-
I was a little nervous, though, that I might arrive home, whip open the box and find the dismal spectacle of 50 teabags contained in a plastic wrap but no. This is what I found instead:-
Look at that little beauty. A 25-bag high stack of conjoined teabags. I performed the Dance of the Happy Living Without-Plasticker and made a giant mug full.
But overall, these two vessels have been my saviours for the last two weeks. One is a water bottle, the other is a reusable coffee cup. On the days when I go to work, I get up at 5 for the long commute to Lincoln University. I'm sure it's ethically all wrong, but I love Costa lattes and those take-away cups they supply are evil in every way. So I take my own and they fill it for me and then they give me some extra points on my reward card for being so sanctimonious.
And the water bottle. Well, it's a water bottle. I fill it with water from the tap, carry it with me and never get thirsty. It's magic, and takes a little bit of business away from the bastard Nestle.
They were easy changes to make and ones I will continue forever. The reusable, washable cup. Simple in every way, and yet movingly brilliant at keeping plastic out of the sea.
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