Sustainable Food: Buy Spices in Bulk

Cooking your food instead of buying it at a restaurant or pre-made at a store is a great way to make your diet eco-friendly. However, the level of greeness in your kitchen all depends on the packaging of the ingredients - if it's all individually wrapped in plastic you might as well go out to eat. One way you can cut down on waste is to buy food in bulk, including spices.

We've all been there - you start prepping to make a new recipe and discover that it calls for a bunch of spices that you don't currently have in your kitchen, and perhaps kinds that you never plan to use again. But most spices are only available in relatively large containers, and after using a pinch of them they sit unused in the back of your cupboard for years until you finally toss them out. This is a waste of money, food, and packaging materials. But there's a great way around this - go to a store that sells spices in bulk.

Some natural food stores, like co-ops for example, offer spices in bulk, allowing you to only buy the amount that you need. They provide little plastic bags, or you can bring your own containers/reuse old spice jars. Measure out the amount of spice you need, weight the container, and mark the weight and product code down. When the cashiers rings you up you won't believe how inexpensive the spices are!

Co-opportunity in Santa Monica, CA is a great example. They have almost every spice imaginable, exotic ingredients, loose tea, and common kitchen staples like baking soda. Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco (also a co-op) is even more impressive with their bulk section - it takes up a whole wall of their big store and offers everything from spices, to olive oils, to tofu, to tea. There are co-ops all over the country - click here for a list from National Cooperative Grocers Association. If there isn't a co-op near you, check with your local natural grocer to see if they offer spices in bulk, and if they don't, ask if they will!

Whitney Lauritsen is a filmmaker, environmentalist, and vegan who promotes healthy living on her site www.ecovegangal.com. She shares tips on how to be kind to your body and the earth via video, photography, and writing. You can find her talking about being healthy and green on Twitter and Facebook.