This month’s Hormel Extended Family Food Blogger post centers around something that should be near and dear to our hearts – the earth! I suppose you could say I celebrated earth day since I ran a half marathon, but I’d like to think I do a little bit every day to help try and keep us here, and enjoying what we’ve got. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I contribute every now and then to part of the problems, but for the most part, I try not to!
Since I’ve started running more, I’ve come to appreciate nature more. It’s still not my absolute favorite (I’d much prefer a hotel over camping on most days), but with simple views like this on my morning long runs, how could I not want to keep it alive?
So, what do I do to try and keep nature beautiful? First, my husband and I always try to bring reusable shopping bags when we go to the grocery store. Some groceries even give you a little cash back (5 cents) for each bag you use! I’ve been collecting a few here and there, and of course have two obligatory cupcake related bags. Those usually bring a smile to the cashier’s face. The hardest part about using reusable bags? Remembering them.
While we’re at the grocery store, I try not to buy too many prepackaged foods, mostly because they’re more expensive. But in terms of the environment, they help keep excess papers and plastics away as well. I was happy to learn from Hormel that they try to use as little packing as possible. I love that their Natural Choice packaged deli meats come in recycled packaging! It also helps that it’s delicious.
Equally as important as bringing reusable bags to the grocery store, and buying products with less packaging, in my opinion, is the reusable water bottle. I’ve been using them for years, ever since Nalgenes became all the rage while I was in high school. I grabbed a purple Loyola College bottle on a visit my senior year of college, and I still use it today. The folks at Hormel sent me an awesome Camelbak bottle that I’ve used before and after two long runs and also after this past weekend’s half marathon. It has a straw that only lets out liquid when you bite it, like their backpacks. This feature is much appreciated since the wide mouth of the Nalgene usually results in water dribbled down my chin.
While you can’t call me “Mother Earth,” I’ve been making a conscious effort more recently to try and not only appreciate the earth and everything we have more, but to also make sure I’m not actively contributing to it’s problems. I’d have to attribute the majority of that to my husband who is a big fan of good ‘ole earth. I certainly have room for improvement, but I’m working on it!
Disclaimer: Hormel Foods sent me Camelbak water bottle as a member of their Extended Family Food Blogger program in order to blog about Earth day and the Hormel family. The opinions in this post are my own.
Foodosaurus Rex 