When you find yourself in Winnipeg for two days, in my case to celebrate Passover with my fiancé and his family—how do you keep zero waste?

Winnipeg, a city located smack dab in the in middle of Canada in the prairies, is known as much for its harsh winters as for its thriving music scene. If you have the time, there’s plenty to keep your itinerary full: a new Human Rights Museum, numerous professional sports teams and many small venues for music and art. Despite being the largest city in the province of Manitoba, Winnipeg has a small town feel with friendly locals happy to share their recommendations.    

With two days, and a tight schedule of family get-togethers and seder dinners, we were only able to scratch the surface. That said, we enjoyed a few shops and eateries in the family-friendly Wollesly neighborhood and up-and-coming Exchange District and compiled a list of recommendations:

Organic Planet: Small neighborhood co-op with fresh and local organic produce, a small bulk section, gluten-free goods and natural health and beauty products. They also have a juice and smoothie bar, a vegan deli and a small case of homemade treats. They are happy to take your reusable bags and jars for zero waste and plastic-free grocery shopping.

Verde Juice Bar: Beautiful space with natural lighting and organic juices, smoothies and coffee. They also offer acai bowls, salads, toasts and raw snacks. We stopped in for the Quick Fix smoothie with banana, peanut butter, oats, chia seeds, cocoa, espresso, maple syrup, cinnamon and almond milk. Bring your own reusable cup and straw to go plastic free.

Fourth: A minimal and spacious coffee shop where you can set up camp and enjoy your beverage while getting some work done. They roast their beans in-house and have a small curated shop with Chemex coffee pots and copper pour over kettles. I recommend the London Fog—Earl Gray Tea with milk of choice and raw honey.

Clementine: Great place for breakfast in an intimate, funky interior that seems conducive to a poetry reading. The kitchen is exposed behind large glass windows where you can view kitchen staff clad in vintage baseball hats baking bread from scratch. I recommend the coconut chia seed pudding with rose and date syrup, raspberries and granola. The fried brussel sprouts with barberry relish and pumpkin seeds are also delicious.  

Deer + Almond: Casual, but chic restaurant with a minimal aesthetic and creative dishes. We went for lunch and had two different salads—a grilled heart of romaine with cashew dressing and roasted garlic and an arugula and buffalo mozzarella salad with crispy grains and green goddess dressing. We also had our eye on their mouth-watering sandwiches, but somehow restrained ourselves.