Check out my progress on Re-Usable Bags—“Green” but Grimy
Over the past few years, I’ve accumulated quite a collection of re-usable bags. Indeed, in the spirit of eco-consciousness, I’ve permanently switched over to bringing my own bags when I go grocery shopping. As it turns out, this little habit may be protecting the planet but presenting harm to my health.
According to a recent study, re-usable bags have been shown to be downright disgusting, exhibiting traces of mold, bacteria, and yeast. Such grimy interiors may pose a hazard to your health—whatever foods you carry in those bags pick up various spores and cause food borne illness or other bodily infections.
Ick. I’ll be honest. I have never cleaned my bags. It never even occurred to me that my bags would be bacterial playgrounds. I took a look through my collection, and I did notice some less than pristine interiors; an onion skin here, a celery leaf there. I can only imagine what kind of microscopic monsters lurk there as well.
I guess I need to bust out the bleach!
Does this news disturb you as much as it did me? Or, do you routinely clean your shopping bags?
Let’s get onto the fun stuff—the food!
I had hoped to make a batch of my Orange-Blueberry Protein Pancakes this morning, only to discover that 1) I had no plain almond milk, and 2) I had no orange. Damn. So I improvised and made a chocolate version, using the carton of chocolate almond milk I found in the back of my fridge. The end result was insanely delicious—sometimes limited resources breed culinary creativity:)
Lunch was another re-do, in that I had planned on making Ellie’s Pesto Potato Salad again but ultimately I made up my own combination. I used up some of the colorful potatoes in my pantry and dressed them with Goddess dressing and fresh herbs. Yum!
The highlight of the day was the arrival of my new patio set. As I was making dinner, Seth was kind enough to assemble it for me so that I could take my photos outside and harness the beauty of the natural light. Aside from the giddiness brought on by my new furniture, my meal was pretty pleasing too—I topped it with a pureed avocado sauce that ended up being like a guacamole-sauce hybrid.
Happy Friday to all! I’ll be back later this weekend, perhaps with a video post!
Filed under: Meals
Caroline Yoder, dietitian-to-be and all-around foodie.
That avocado looks simply divine!
Check out my dim sum post at
http://hongkongintern.wordpress.com/2011/06/17/having-lunch-in-good-company/
I have been known to put my bags (I gotta million) in the dishwasher…which is not very eco-friendly by the way! Either way when they get past their prime it is recyle bag time. They make good recyle bins.
I have cloth bags that I wash, but wow I didnt even realize! thanks fo the tip
I actually wash my bags every few weeks
I never knew reusable bags accumulate bacteria– I guess you learn something new everyday
I’d love the recipe for your tortilla soup!
Eww, I’ve never washed mine either. Looks like they’re going in the next load of laundry I do. Yuck.
I would love your tortilla soup recipe! I have never made it before, but it sounds incredibly right about now.
That’s interesting to learn about the reuseable bags.. I’ve never washed mine (but will… like pronto probably haha)
I always just throw my bags in with the laundry once a week. Unless you use plastic reusables…then that would be a bit trickier!
I use light colored cotton or linen shopping bags, so it’s easy to tell when it’s time for them to land in the laundry.
owww- a new patio set- how exciting!! We are going to have a screened in porch added to our house, so I will be in the market for some outdoor furniture soon too
. Eh- the bacteria doesn’t freak me out. Everything is protected in its packaging and the fruits and veggies that aren’t are heavily washed before we eat them. Great looking pancakes! Yum!
We clean our bags about once a month in hot water, more if one had raw meat in it.
Those pancakes look amazing! Did you just replace the orange juice with the chocolate milk?
BroccoliHut Reply:
June 21st, 2011 at 12:40 pm
The original recipe just uses plain almond milk, so I used chocolate almond milk instead; I also omitted the orange zest and added a scoop of dark cocoa powder.
Oh my! I so need to wash my bags! What a great reminder! Thanks