- Since I haven't been back here for four years,
since I've been zero waste, I'm having a lot of anxiety.
And it's coming up
that I didn't really realize was gonna happen.
This hurts my body and soul because I know
that I can get this package-free somewhere else,
but for the challenge, I know I gotta make this work.
Hey guys, I'm Stevie, and I'm a sustainability activist
with a focus on the zero-waste mindset.
And today I'm gonna go to Trader Joe's
because I'm gonna see if I can make a meal
without creating any plastic or trash.
(upbeat orchestral music)
So what I'm gonna be trying to make today
is a scalloped potato dish.
That's just gonna be a nice little casserole
with scalloped potatoes,
and then it's gonna be really creamy.
I'm excited and a little nervous.
Okay, so first thing and foremost,
I'm looking for potatoes.
We have a lot more options that I thought.
Okay, so I got some gold potatoes, some russet potatoes.
I'm gonna go ahead and opt for the russet.
Got asparagus, we can throw that in too.
I thought there was only gonna be apples and onions,
but we got a nice hardy selection.
I'm just gonna grab some garlic, some onions.
I've already knocked off the main ingredients
(laughing) on my list, so that's good.
This hurts my body and soul because I know
that I can get this package-free somewhere else,
but for the challenge, I know I gotta make this work.
So I might just get it.
(groaning) I don't know (laughing).
Every time I look at it, I'm like, it's on this earth
for 1,000 years.
I'm gonna put it down, and then we'll come back to it.
I gotta think about it (laughing).
So Trader Joe's has been under a lot of scrutiny
because a lot of customers have complained
that they have a massive amount of plastic.
They made a couple changes.
The changes that Trader Joe's have already implemented
are no more single-use plastic bags.
They have completely opted out of Styrofoam
and have more recyclable options.
And then they wanna offer more compostable
or biodegradable options.
A lot of waste haulers won't accept the compostable
and biodegradable material, because these materials
don't actually breakdown in their industrial compost.
Since I know I can get cashews plastic-free,
I can't physically get myself to get the cashews
in the plastic, so I'm just gonna compromise
and get the organic coconut milk.
I'm gonna try and make the flavors work.
I'm gonna get garbanzo beans just in case.
Then I could use aquafaba maybe for the creamy mix.
I couldn't find the nutritional yeast without plastic
but they have one down here
that I'm probably just gonna go ahead and get.
That can be in my little 10%.
I have a 10-90 rule.
So 10% I can waste, and 90% I can try my best
to be zero waste.
And this just gives me some leverage
so I don't beat myself up.
But I feel like if everybody adopted that rule,
I think our world would be a lot cleaner.
The last thing I need is herbs,
and we'll see if that's without plastic.
I probably don't think it will be,
so we'll see if I can make that work.
Nope, not gonna do it (laughing).
I don't think I can do it.
I don't need herbs, I can make do without.
Salt will be nice (laughing).
Since I haven't been back here for four years,
since I've been zero waste, I'm having a lot of anxiety.
And it's coming up
that I didn't really realize was gonna happen.
I think there's just so much plastic,
and this goes in nowhere.
This goes past our children's children's children.
So the fact that its almond butter
that you eat for two weeks, but it lasts forever,
it just isn't worth it.
I don't know, I'm having a moment here.
I started the zero-waste mindset
because I started getting obsessed with mushrooms.
And mushrooms are really cool because they pretty much
are the neurological network of the forest.
And they recycle and do all these really cool things.
And I think that humans can also be a symbiotic part
of the world.
And then I wanted to see how I can reduce plastic
in my own life.
What I have so far for the potato scallops
are the onions, the garlic, potatoes.
I got the asparagus, the coconut milk.
I couldn't bring myself to buy the cashews in the plastic
just 'cause I know elsewhere there's a lot of access
for me to get it in bulk.
And then I got the nutritional yeast
because there really was no other option.
And the creamy flavor really does depend on it.
First, to start the potato scallops
I'm gonna go ahead and just cut the potatoes
and then cut the vegetables.
And then I think I'm gonna work on the sauce after.
And usually with this recipe,
it's kind of like a vegan Alfredo, then I would use pasta.
But I think potatoes are gonna work this time.
I think it'd be hard to find pasta plastic-free
at Trader Joe's.
And now I'm just gonna store all the potatoes in here.
Other really easy zero-waste snack, I don't know
if you've made this, potato chips,
where you just slice it like this
and then pop 'em in the oven with salt.
It's a game changer.
And so I'm just gonna put also asparagus on the top,
and I think that's gonna be pretty yummy.
And these are just gonna be intermittent layers
for the casserole.
This is gonna be the easiest dish ever.
Getting some carbs, you're getting some vegetables.
And now I'm gonna set this aside,
we're gonna layer this later.
I'm gonna do the onion.
I can't even deal with onion, I'm gonna cry uncontrollably.
So I'm gonna save all the food scraps for my vermicompost.
To be honest, this is one of my favorite things
is to feed my little worms.
And I actually have a bin in the house.
It's in a wood bin, and I give them all of my food scraps.
And it's actually cool to think that you're supplying food,
and you have a little eco system in your house.
I really like that idea.
This is just an easy way to divert food scraps
from the landfill.
Food scraps in a landfill is suffocated,
therefore creating methane, which is a greenhouse gas.
I'm gonna throw that in right now,
give it directly to the worms.
And I'm just gonna caramelize the onions first and foremost
with the garlic, and then we're gonna make the cream sauce
based around the caramelized onions.
And now I'm just gonna cut the garlic.
I'm moving these onions, 'cause I'm gonna have a,
I'm having an episode.
Oh, my God (chuckling).
I just get so choked up
when I'm making potato scallops, you know?
Yeah, I'm ready.
Okay, so after this, it's pretty much ready.
I'm just gonna start the sauce.
I usually use cashews to make a really nice cream sauce.
I didn't have that because the cashews were packaged
in plastic, and I couldn't do it.
Instead, I bought coconut milk and garbanzo beans
to see if I can create that creaminess that I want.
So I'm just gonna pour a little bit of coconut milk
in my food processor.
I got this food processor secondhand,
and you can find so many things secondhand on Ebay.
I am gonna be doing the garbanzo beans in there,
but I'm gonna go ahead and pour the aquafaba in here,
which is just the garbanzo bean juice.
This is just a really good egg replacer
for any sort of recipe.
I pour half in, and then I'm just gonna see how it goes.
And we'll blend it.
I've never done this before,
so this is gonna be really interesting.
(loud whirring) All right.
Actually, they really did thicken it up.
I'm pretty impressed with that.
Now we have a source of protein, look at that.
So this is literally the only big thing
that I got on plastic, and it really hurts my heart
because there's lot of ways that I can get it plastic-free.
But I'm gonna use it, and I'm gonna love it
and treat it so well for the life that it's had.
And then I'll reuse it for a poop bag or something.
I'm gonna be pouring the nutritional yeast
in the coconut milk and garbanzo bean mix.
And now I'm gonna do the salt.
I coulda boughten it there, but I have plenty,
so I assume that every household has salt as well.
A little bit of white cooking wine.
I'm gonna mix it all up and then taste it.
Mm, not half bad.
I think this is really close to the cashew mix as well.
I'm not gonna be able to tell until I actually taste it hot.
Right now it just tastes like watery garbanzo mush.
I'm gonna caramelize the onions.
I'm gonna throw the onions in the pot with olive oil.
And I'm gonna use a little maple syrup
that I already had, any sweetener will do, and then salt.
(onions sizzling) Oh, that's really nice.
Okay, now I'm just gonna throw the garlic in last.
Let that simmer a little bit,
and then I'm gonna go ahead and throw in the cream sauce
to make everything stand out with the flavor.
I'm so impressed with myself (laughing).
This looks really good.
I'm gonna try this.
Mm, I've honestly never done the garbanzo
coconut milk mixed together, so I was a little bit nervous.
It's so bomb.
So now that we've got the cream sauce base,
and we have the vegetables chopped,
it's a perfect scenario to pour all this together.
Gonna do the first layer, put these layers on.
I'm gonna sprinkle the asparagus after the potatoes.
And now I'm just gonna keep pouring back and forth.
I'm gonna pour the cream sauce,
and then I'm gonna add another layer,
and then pour the cream sauce and then add another layer,
and then back and forth.
I'm gonna get a little fancy.
Look at that!
I'm gonna pop it in the oven.
It's on 400, so I'm just gonna do that
for probably about 45 minutes to an hour.
And all of it should culminate.
And this is totally uncovered, does not need to be covered.
And the sauce actually should be even thicker
after the hour.
Boom, boom, I did it!
This looks great.
Okay, I'm gonna put on the bottom rack.
It's at 400, wow!
So I just took it out, and now I'm ready to cut into it.
I'm a little worried that it's too watery,
but we're gonna figure it out.
Okay, so actually it doesn't look too bad,
hope the potatoes are ready.
Now I'm gonna dig into this.
Mm, this is so good.
It's actually a different consistency
than it would be with the cashew cream,
but I like it a lot.
It's super flavorful, really creamy,
and it has a good body to it.
I am into it.
Super buttery, it's way more buttery than the cashew cream.
I think that had to do with the garbanzo beans.
I love this dish.
As far as trash goes,
I'm actually really impressed with myself.
I just did the nutritional yeast.
I have this asparagus tag, and then I have two rubber bands
that I got from the asparagus that I'll go ahead and reuse.
This is my rubber band bin.
And then I also, with all the food scraps,
I put it in my vermicompost, so none of that's going
into the landfill.
So overall, I think that Trader Joe's has a ton
of work to do to minimize their plastic use,
but I am really impressed with how affordable
and convenient it all was, and I really hope
sometime soon have way more options that are sustainable,
yet affordable and convenient for everybody.
(upbeat ethnic music)