Sam Dare

For this week’s eco challenge, I’ve decided to turn the faucet off while I scrub. This is a minor inconvenience and a reasonable adjustment that could add up over time. I’m proud of the changes I’ve made through my meal prep project, and I do not want to overwhelm myself with too many big commitments at once. The more I repeat these new behaviors, the more natural they will become, and the easier it will be to notice other habits I may want to improve.

I’ve seen some improvement with the addition of electrolytes in my routine, but I’ve also noticed the waste from drink mix packets increasing over the past couple of months. Each packet is a single serving, and 16 packets come in a cardboard box. I’ve been pretty faithful about using electrolytes in the mornings and at night, so I replace the box every 2–3 weeks. It has recently occurred to me that I could make my own electrolyte drink mix instead. This would not only help me reduce the packaging waste I’ve been producing, but also give me a little more control over what I’m putting in my body. My current electrolyte recipe is 32 oz of water in a reusable water bottle, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of honey, 2 tablespoons of maltodextrin, and 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and I've been getting my potassium from an organic banana every morning. The honey is mixed with a little warm water at the bottom of my water bottle, then blended with cold water and the rest of my ingredients. I may pick up some cane sugar to see if it improves taste and mixability.

I have been making my recipe for the last few days this week, and it has been going ok! In the past week, I've managed to prevent the waste of at least 8 electrolyte packets. That number will continue to increase as I continue to mix my own electrolytes. The biggest challenge so far has been finding a version of my recipe that tastes as good as the packets I've been using and feels satisfying enough to replace them while I focus on minimizing my waste. Since I usually want something sweet in the morning and tend to be dehydrated before bed, I needed it to feel like a real replacement rather than just flavored water. The current mixture sustains and hydrates me, but the taste still doesn't quite compare. It's not terrible, but it's not ideal. I'll continue consulting friends and doing my own research to refine my recipe and get it closer to something I look forward to. The reward has been that it gives me more control over what I’m drinking, helps me stay hydrated, reduces the amount of packet and box waste I’ve been creating, and it has also saved me some money! It also complements my food systems project as another way to show myself that even something as small as a drink mix is part of a larger system of packaging and consumption.

To boost protein intake without relying entirely on additional animal protein, I added black beans, which are generally a lower-impact food choice than many meats, especially red meat. The turkey is not necessarily a low-impact ingredient, but it is generally less emissions-intensive than some of the animal proteins I have made a habit of eating in the past. The broccoli I used was frozen and had already been in my freezer for a few weeks. While frozen broccoli is packaged, one sustainability benefit is that freezing can help prevent food waste. Now that I have a system for meal prep, the likelihood of wasted ingredients decreases, so next week, if my recipe calls for it, I can buy produce like broccoli more confidently without worrying as much about it spoiling before I use it. The black beans are similar in that, although they come in a can and create packaging waste, they also offer the advantage of being shelf-stable and less likely to spoil.