Brown Baggin’ the Green Way

My very first email address began with treehugger; I created cards to pass out to my friends in high school in celebration of Earth Day, but I’m not the greenest mom on earth. In fact, I drive a beast of vehicle that will probably be banned if the EPA cracks down on emissions. But my goal here is take the green journey with you, step-by-step. I’ll give you my honest feedback if I’ve tried a product that was life-changing or if I created a cleaning solution the smelled more like a feminine hygiene product then the fresh lilac I was trying to achieve. So come along with me to try to green up our lives while simultaneously keeping our kids healthy and safe and most importantly, preserving the only planet we have for our children.

In honor of the beginning of the school year and the fact that some of our school lunch programs seem to be failing our children, let’s explore the brown bag. My son is in preschool and I pack his lunch. I was new to the game and I had no idea what to pack or how to transport it. I didn’t want to use a resealable plastic bag mainly for cost and of course for the fact that it would be thrown away after only one use. (Although, when I was younger my mom used to wash and reuse them!) Here are some products I’ve found or bought that eliminate waste completely when packing your little or big tike’s lunch.

LunchBots– Only food-grade stainless steel—an alloy made of naturally occurring elements—comes into contact with your food. No linings. No toxins.

My Notes– LOVE this product! I am in the process of purchasing mine now. I would even suggest buying a few so that each morning you don’t panic when you realize you forgot to throw it in the dishwasher the night before. That will save you precious minutes getting out the door! You’ll have to buy this one online because they do not have any official retailers in Jacksonville. Boo!

Lunchskins– Environmentally friendly reuseable sandwich bags.

“They have been certified as lead, Bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalate-free. The very thin layer of polyurethane has also been tested and found not to migrate into food or leave a “plastic” odor behind, thus meeting EU requirements for food contact.”

My Notes– I have three of these in various sizes and use them in place of resealable plastic bags. They work great for on-the-go snacks and lunch bags. The Velcro is very durable. This type of bag is not leak-proof but is dishwasher safe which wins points with me! You can buy them at Target in the sporting goods/cooler section but if you want a wide array of designs I would suggest visiting their website. If you are crafty you can totally make your own reusable snack bags too! There are a million tutorials on Pinterest. I’ve pinned one on our Pinterest page.

Now if we could only do something about all of that wasted food we were so proud of making that our kids never ate! Never fear, I’m working on that problem in an upcoming post. Stay tuned!

Are you using a green, re-usable product in your child’s lunchbox? Share your thoughts and opinions here!