Meet the Team: Katie from Mundaring & Bassendean

Meet our newest member of the Mundaring team, Katie🌻

Hi! My name is Katie, I started shopping at the Wasteless Pantry in March 2020 and joined the lovely WP family in December 2021.

I love going for walks and camping in nature. I play the violin and am looking forward to training as a Veterinary Nurse in the future. I was born and raised in London, UK. Living in a big, busy city, I was concerned with the amount of waste I was contributing to but didn’t find much support around waste-free living. When I came to Perth, I heard about the Wasteless Pantry, where the team showed me how easy and possible it is to go waste-free!

My favourite WP product is the bokashi one bucket and bran. It helped make my journey of composting so much easier! I was amazed to find out the majority of my waste at home was compostable! Advice: if you’re wanting to reduce your waste, a little bit goes a long way. E.g. recycling, composting, choosing the plastic-free veg in supermarkets. Even just doing one thing that reduces your waste makes a difference and remember to congratulate yourself every time you make a change!

Our team at Wasteless Pantry are always happy to have a chat and answer any questions or concerns you have 🙂

Healthy Snickers Alternative Snack Bar

Want a healthier version of a snickers bar?

I love the combination of chocolate, gooeyness, and peanut crunch which can be recreated with a few healthy ingredients bought package free from Wasteless Pantry. Plus it is gluten-free and dairy-free!

Pick up the following from WP:

* Medjool dates

* Peanut butter

* Dry roasted peanuts

* Dark choc bits

* Desert salt flakes

Slice the Medjool date on top & remove the pip. Add some peanut butter to the inside of the Medjool date and sprinkle some peanuts on top for a bit of crunch. Add the melted chocolate bits, then sprinkle a tiny amount of desert salt flakes over the top & you’re done!

Package free Easter

Well, it’s almost that time of year again for a Package Free Easter… Time for Chocolate Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns, package-free of course!

Any day now we will have your favourite milk and dark (vegan-friendly) chocolate Easter eggs available. Locally made, palm-oil free, and absolutely delicious!!

But why bother forgoing the packaging and shopping at Wasteless Pantry? Isn’t cardboard and foil recyclable?

Whilst cardboard is recyclable (so long as you don’t rip it into little pieces), it needs to be transported far and wide to be recycled. With the cost of fuel going up, the value of this recycling may go down. As for the foil, you need to get enough together to make a fist-sized ball otherwise it may get lost in the sorting machine at the Materials Recovery Facility. Then there is palm oil, which many cheaply made chocolates contain, that has negative impacts such as rainforest deforestation. And I think we all understand how important buying local is nowadays.

Make a better choice and grab your Easter eggs at your local Wasteless Pantry.

Pop your package-free, plastic-free Easter eggs into a jar that you’ve decorated with ribbons and Easter-themed decals. Then organize your own Easter hunt!

Plastic Free Muesli Bars

Muesli bars come individually wrapped in plastic, an easy way to avoid this is to make your own

125g butter

¼ cup golden syrup

1 cup Rolled Oats

½ cup sultanas

½ cup sweetened dried cranberries

¼ cup diced dried apricot

¼ dried apple

½ cup self-raising flour

½ cup brown sugar

3 tbsp pepitas, optional

1 tbs sesame or chia seeds, optional

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and Line a 20cm x 30cm slice tray with a reusable baking mat

2. Combine the butter and syrup in a small saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring, until the butter has melted

3. Place dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine

4. Add the butter and syrup mixture to the dry mixture and combine. Press into the base of your prepared slice tin

5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Allow the slice to cool in the tin completely before cutting it into slices (these are also able to be frozen, to consume later)

Zero Waste Summer Living

Don’t you just love the possibilities of the New Year!

“This is the year that I will…”

No matter what comes next, the excitement of new journeys to be taken or new skills to be learned are what makes life fun! If you are thinking of going waste less or up-ing your waste-free game then maybe consider these ideas for Summer:

Switching out disposable water bottles for reusable. It is a small change that will save you money in the long run, plus if you get an insulated option like those we have at WP then you will always have a cool drink handy on those hot days of Summer.
Take package-free snacks and goodies to your picnic so there is no litter left over.
Make your own icy poles, iced coffee, and iced tea – you can control the sugar content and reduce waste.
If you are getting into smoothies, get your additions like cacao, mesquite powder, maca powder, bee pollen, spinach or spirulina powder, and protein powders in the quantity you choose rather than packets. That way you won’t have bits taking up space come winter.
Make your own salad dressings! A few herbs, vinegar, and quality oil mixed together is the base of most and you can suit to taste will minimal experimenting.

Summer is a great time to relax, get outdoors in nature, and appreciate this wonderful place we call home. Your action to help keep it beautiful makes it that much more enjoyable too.