Skip to main content
October 11 - October 25, 2017
Sarah Kunz's avatar

Sarah Kunz

PCC Sustainability

"I would like to do my part to make less of an impact on this great world we call home. "

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 116 TOTAL

Sarah's actions

Simplicity

Track my Purchases

I will maintain a record of all my purchases.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use Reusable Bags

I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Watch a Documentary

I will watch a documentary film about food with family and friends and talk about what we learned.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Weekly Meal Planning

I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu, only buying the ingredients I need.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?


  • Sarah Kunz's avatar
    Sarah Kunz 10/24/2017 8:50 PM
    As the eco challenge is coming to a close I am reflecting on what I would like to become a habit. 
    Meal planning was a huge success. With my boyfriend and I's busy schedule it was so nice to have already thought of food. Or in case of the Black Bean Q's (See meal plan post) we have been able to just pop in already made food. I think it also helped my boyfriend get behind the vegan diet more, if the food was already prepped/planned out. 
    Using reusable bags was such a little thing that I could do to seriously reduce my waste each week. It felt good, especially because my boyfriend and I don't own a car and reusable bags are a lot sturdier than the plastic or paper bags. We found a reusable cart bag thing at ikea for when we need to haul a lot of groceries home, its perfect. 
    Tracking my purchases was kinda hard because a few times during the two weeks I would forget my book which I would track my purchases. But otherwise I think it was good! Really big eye opener on how much I spent on unnecessary items.
    I think ending this challenge with the documentary was a perfect way to tie the whole projects together. 

  • Sarah Kunz's avatar
    Sarah Kunz 10/24/2017 8:36 PM
    My boyfriend and I watched a food documentary called...

    It was so good! I really suggest it to anyone and everyone. It talks a lot about what people are eating and all the diseases that are coming from it. They talked about what effects of the poultry industries on the health of the world. The gentleman interviewed a man with type one diabetes, and another woman with osteoporosis, they talked about the medication they were taking. Each person was taking 8-10 different medications to treat their symptoms. They switched to a fully plant diet, and they lost weight and for the most part went off all medications.

  • Sarah Kunz's avatar
    Sarah Kunz 10/22/2017 9:59 PM
    I got a weird look today at the store turning down plastic bags. I thought that stores in Portland stopped doing plastic bags? 

  • Sarah Kunz's avatar
    Sarah Kunz 10/21/2017 10:58 PM
    At first I was having a hard time remembering to bring reusable bags, because I have a different bag for school versus work. So I would grab my bag and be out, and realize I didn't have a bag. Luckily most places I can either not use a bag or get paper. But I found these great reusable bags that are hooked on a keychain, that I can keep in each bag. Thank goodness for reusable bags!
    Also doing some research on reusable sandwich/ snack bags. There are some great options that you can choose from rather than using plastic. 

  • Sarah Kunz's avatar
    Sarah Kunz 10/21/2017 10:48 PM
    This week I tried to not only meal plan, but also create meals that are vegan with local veggies. 
    So for Monday I planned to do a Pumpkin coconut soup, and went out and got my own pumpkin to use for the puree. If you are interested in making your own puree from pumpkins I found a great recipe at http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/make-your-own-pumpkin-puree/. 
    For tuesday I am planning a Hearty Black bean Quesadilla with vegan cheese. I got this great recipe from Budget bites. When I went to pick up my pumpkin I also bought fresh corn, and onions for this recipe! This recipe is also great if you are food prepping. You can make this, pop it in your freezer and easily reheat it. 
    Wednesday I am making vegan cauliflower hot wings with aioli. My boyfriend is a big wings guy, so we will have to see how they fair up.
    Thursday is Vegan Chickpea curry with potatoes. Now I am a real sucker for curry. The recipe calls for white rice, but I am going to use brown rice to try and stay healthy. 
    Friday is Vegan Pizza night. I found really delicious vegan pepperoni, that I am going to spread over some vegan cheese and peppers. I usually have something going on friday night, so I like to keep it quick and relatively painless. 
    Saturday is going to be left overs night. This is when that Black Bean Quesadillas come in to play. 
    Last night of the week I am planning a veggie pasta with a vegan mac n cheese. This is really fun to make, you can use a cheese substitute with potato. That makes a really great cheese sauce!