We’ve all been there. You look at the clock and realize you’re running late, but oh no, you haven’t had a chance to eat yet. So you run to the cupboard and grab something to throw in your bag before you head out. That something is usually a quick plastic wrapped snack to hold you over to the next meal. That’s why, this month, we’re going to focus on getting snacks without plastic packaging.
These days that quick something I grab, as I’m heading out the door, is usually jerky and fruit leather. Before that it was protein and granola bars. So this month’s challenge is going to be a difficult one for me. Because I still need snacks but how do I get them without all the plastic packaging?
Yes! We can get snacks without plastic packaging!
Your snacking list and habits might be different from mine and that’s totally fine. If the following strategies seem useful, go ahead and use them. Otherwise, you can try my Challenge Worksheet to help come up with a snack strategy that works better for you.
There are actually several strategies to go plastic-free with snacks once I start to think about it. The strategies might require substitutions, but that’s okay. As long as the substitutions fall into the same food group categories as my usual snacks. (Fruit replacing fruit, protein replacing protein, and so on.) And I still need the snacks to be quick grab-n-go items.
My strategies revolve around figuring out – what can I buy bulk? What are some very quick and easy recipes? Are there any craft items I can make to cut down on snack plastics?
Why we should try to get snacks without plastic packaging?
The type of packaging used for single serve snacks is usually not recyclable. So it just goes straight into the trash or worse, by the roadside. When I look at roadside trash, it tends to consist of drink cups, snack wrappers, and random papers – all things that can easily get blown by the wind. Plastic bags used to be more prevalent but I haven’t seen as many since Colorado started the plastic bag ban in 2024).
Other types of snacks in daily life
Not all snacks are for grab-n-go, sometimes I just need … a snack, basically.
For me, these are foods that I usually have while at home. Things like popcorn, potato chips, or crackers with cheese. Because I eat these at home it will likely give me more options to cut down on plastic.
A breakdown of the snacks for this challenge
Before we come up with strategies for plastic-free snacks, let’s take a closer look at the snacks themselves. Again, this is my snack list so feel free to adapt it to your own preferences.
- Fruit leather (fruit) – a grab-n-go snack
- Beef jerky (protein) – a grab-n-go snack
- Popcorn (fiber/grain) – at home snack
- Crackers (grain) – at home snack
- Chips (veggie?)- at home or a grab-n-go snack
- Protein bars (protein) – a grab-n-go snack
- Granola bars (fiber/grain) – a grab-n-go snack
Now that I know what I’m specifically looking for, let’s see what options we have…
Strategies for snacks without the plastic packaging
Strategy #1 – Buying snacks from the bulk bins
For the bulk bin strategy, we need to first explore what snacks we can get at the bulk food stores. This is my preferred strategy because I’d rather not have to make everything from scratch. Its also one of the best ways to reduce single-use plastics when you bring your own container to the store.
I know that the bulk food stores already carry snack-able foods in their bins like – nuts, seeds, sesame sticks, dried fruit, and granola. So I should already have several things I can use as replacements for my single-serve snacks. But I would like to further explore my bulk food options.
Strategy #2 – Crafts to help reduce snack plastics
As I was looking into possible crafts for this month’s PF challenge, I came across several ways to make microwave popcorn without plastic :). There were 2 options for DIY popcorn bags. So I look forward to trying those and sharing the results with you!
Strategy #3 – Recipes for homemade snacks without plastic packaging
For recipes, I’m going to put together a list of shelf stable foods that can be made at home for quick grab-n-go snacks. Foods that come to mind are baked goods like muffins, homemade granola bars, and biscotti. I also want to come up with snack “kits” that can live in the cupboard preassembled and ready to go when needed.
There are lots of options for snacks without plastic packaging in the recipe strategy, but I plan to keep it simple and storage friendly.
Thats the plan for this month!
Let me know in the comment section below what you do for plastic-free snacks!
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