In March we took part in the The Midcounties Co-operative 1Change campaign. We saved all our single use plastic and were horrified by how much there was. When we were invited to take part in the second part of the challenge we were really keen to take part again. It really helped us to change our shopping habits and we now try avoid using single use plastic as much as possible.
1Change in 1Minute campaign
This time the Midcounties Co-operative is challenging members, including those who made a 1Change pledge earlier this year, to demonstrate that time is not a barrier to making 1Change. It is doing this by encouraging people to make 1Change in 1Minute to help reduce single-use plastics and mobilise its co-operators, customers and employees to take part in the challenge in reducing single use plastics.
This time we have just 60 seconds to make a difference. How much can we change in one minute?
60 Second Snacks
I spent a couple of days trying to think of what we could do. I really loved the idea of doing a litter pick after Halloween as so much rubbish was dropped. Then I was washing up the girls lunch boxes and I saw how much single use plastic there was. I have got into a few bad habits including buying the girls pre packaged snacks for school. The twins are allowed to take a fruit snack for break time and while I try to give them a banana or an apple, I will often buy them some ready cut mango or pomegranates as a treat. This always comes in a plastic container.
I set aside a minute on Sunday night and got everything ready. I put out lots of different containers and then got the children to help me fill them, giving them only a minute. They really enjoyed packing their snacks and lunches and it meant they were keen to eat them during the week.
In the pots we put: blueberries, raisins, carrot sticks with hummus and tomatoes. On the other days we will have hard fruit like pears and apples. Next week we will have, grapes and strawberries and have celery and hummus for variety.
DIY Lunches
One of the things the girls are always asking for a ready cheese snacks like lunchables. They love the idea of little snack boxes where they can make their own fun sandwich. The only problem with these is that again they come in single use plastic. We decided to have a go making our own. I wanted to make a slightly healthier version while I was doing it, so instead of using cheese crackers I cut up some pitta bread.
We wanted it to be fun so had small pieces of cheese and pepperoni. The girls loved these fun lunches. We also used cheese biscuits and a small pot of spreadable cheese. The girls really enjoyed making mini sandwiches and they ate far more of their lunch than normal.
We also made an after school snack box for the days I’m busy at staff meetings. In this we put some strips of pitta bread, some tomatoes and a little pot of hunts. This will definitely keep them busy and will fill them up until dinner. The best thing is we can use the pots again every week.
For a big treat I made the girls bread sticks and chocolate spread. These were big hit although we wouldn’t be able to take them to school due to nut allergies.
Super Easy Soup
While the kids were filling their snack pots, I quickly chopped some vegetables to make soup for my lunch. I tend to have soup most days and have fallen into the habit of buying ready-made soups which come in single use plastic containers.
It only takes a minute to chop up potatoes and leeks and I have soup for the week. Of course it takes longer than a minute to cook the soup but once it’s in the pan with some lentils and stock it really does take no more effort.
It was really simple to get our lunches and snacks ready for the week. We will definitely be doing it again. In just one minute we were able to drastically reduce the plastic we used. It was also healthier and saved us money as well which were added bonuses. I loved the opportunities to get the children involved in helping to save the planet, if only in a small way.
Disclaimer: In paid partnership with The Midcounties Co-operative.