1 Week of Plastic Free Meals (in Japan)

Since embarking on my zero waste journey, I’ve cut back on plastic waste all over the household. However, the one place that produces the most plastic is in our kitchen. During my No Plastic Week Challenge, I decided to keep a meal log to share some recipes that you should be able to make without consuming any plastic (regardless of where you live).

If you’ve been following along with my Instagram (@littlesustainablesteps) or my blog’s Facebook page, you know that I recently challenged myself to one week without any plastic.

I wrote a separate post about my day-to-day sustainability wins and losses that you can read here. I also go into a little more detail about my experience experimenting with new kitchen recipes.

A few things that made this challenge easier…

I did allow myself to use items I already had in my kitchen that came in plastic, but still tried to keep them to a minimum for the challenge’s sake. For example, I don’t have a bulk food store so I have to buy split peas in a plastic bag. Cheese also pops up in my meal log intermittently, which I already had in our refrigerator.

I did go out to eat three times, which made things a little easier on me. You won’t see any recipes for those meals, but I needed a good reason to get out of the house with my daughter!

To be honest with you, this isn’t a fancy or glamorous meal log. It’s not fancy, but it is plastic free.

I jotted down my meals daily so that I could share my recipes and some ideas with you. Challenge yourself to living a week without any plastic! If I can do it, so can you. I have faith!

Here are some meals to make it easier for you.

Sunday:

Breakfast: Hard boiled eggs, banana waffles (I like this recipe) and sliced oranges

Lunch: Butternut squash soup with side salad (whatever leftover veggies you have in your fridge can be used here!)

Dinner: Spaghetti with veggies, garlic toast (zero waste bread recipe here)

Monday:

Breakfast: Home fries with green peppers and onions, top with an egg if you’re not vegan.

Lunch: Vegetarian chili with avocado on top

Dinner: Tortilla de patata (Spanish omelette) and mashed turnips

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Half of a grapefruit, fresh squeezed OJ, banana cinnamon oatmeal

Lunch: Vegan jackfruit tacos (cooked in veg broth instead of adobo sauce so they weren’t too spicy for my daughter) with homemade tortillas. Which are SO easy to make! I swear by this recipe.

Dinner: Pasta salad & leftover butternut squash soup. Pasta salad is an easy way to use up leftover veggies in your fridge!

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Fried garlic rice & apple slices

Lunch: Grilled cheese with avocado and tomato, side salad

Dinner: Cucumber and tomato salad, black bean & sweet potato skillet.

I tossed cucumbers and tomatoes together to freshen up my plate of leftovers. Bonus: my daughter really loves cucumbers and tomatoes.

Thursday:

Breakfast: Avocado toast, kiwi slices, scrambled eggs

Lunch: Ate out at a bread buffet restaurant

Dinner: Pasta skillet with veggies

I tossed rigatoni pasta with diced tomatoes, green peppers, onions and mushrooms. I added lots of basil, oregano and pepper. A squeeze of lemon juice (you often don’t need salt if you add lemon juice instead!) and we were all set.

I also made coconut chocolate chip cookies for a book club I was hosting–recipe can be found here.

Friday:

Breakfast: Toast with homemade vegan butter, fried eggs, and apple slices

Here’s the butter recipe I use.

Lunch: Potato & corn soup,

Dinner: Black bean and corn tacos with homemade tortillas

Saturday:

Breakfast: Avocado toast, fresh squeezed OJ and scrambled eggs

Lunch: Sandwiches with homemade hummus, avocado and tomato slices

Dinner: Split pea coconut curry with rice. Top with cilantro or chopped ginger for extra flavor

Well, there you have it. One week of plastic-free eats, delivered straight to you. Let me know if you try any of the recipes I have linked in my meal log and tell me what you think!

Until next time, my friends ✌