As you know, I repeated the same new year’s resolution for 2013 as I had in 2012 because I did such a terrible job of cutting back on plastic and disposable items the first time around. It was a surprisingly difficult resolution! I’ve made a few specific goals to help me be more successful this year. One of the goals is that when I run out of paper napkins and plastic baggies, I’m not allowed to buy new ones and have to start using cloth and reusable containers. A couple of weeks ago I ran out of snack baggies. That day I went to Facebook for suggestions on good reusable lunchbox containers. I was flooded with ideas, on my blog’s Facebook page as well as my personal page.
Today I wanted to share two of the products that I’ve tried out so far and really like!
Little Green Pouch: I love the convenience of the applesauce pouches that have popped up in recent years and my kids love having them for snacks. BUUUUUT…the packaging is incredibly guilt-inducing for me. Those super-handy pouches are the perfect example of one-time use items that can’t be recycled, exactly the type of thing I’m trying to eliminate from my life. Enter the Little Green Pouch! I am beyond excited about this product. They are reusable pouches that are free of BPA and pthalates, freezer safe, and dishwasher safe. They’re perfect for storing and freezing homemade baby food, applesauce for snacks, and even yogurt (frozen overnight and thrown in the lunchbox for later that morning). I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about these pouches! You can order the pouches here.
LunchSkins: One product that was recommended by many of you over and over again was LunchSkins. I love them. They are dishwasher safe, free of BPA, lead and pthalates, come in three perfect sizes for various lunch foods, and they’re cute to boot! You can order LunchSkins online. Target has also started carrying LunchSkins2, which includes 1 sandwich and 1 snack bag.
P.S. I have many more products to try and will keep you posted on what I think!
P.P.S. Big thanks to Little Green Pouch and LunchSkins for sending me product to try out. They may have given me the product, but all opinions are my own and I really do love their stuff!
P.P.P.S. Stay tuned for some giveaways!
P.P.P.P.S Be sure to check out my article on Babble yesterday fitting in with today’s theme: 11 Ways to Green Your Kitchen TODAY
Hi! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and count on you to share yours! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
It never occurred to me to throw the lunchskins in the dishwasher! Brilliant! Shall try that today!
super handy! if only my dishwasher was working right now. 😉
I love that you can use the dishwasher for reusable lunch sacks. I got to review a few different brands years ago and was hooked. Personally we love the cloth ones over the oil cloth but that is just us.
will have to check out the little green pouch.
do you have a link to any blog posts of your reviews? would be interested in checking that out!
Love these ideas! I decided to do the same thing and stop buying bags when my stash runs out. So I’ve been adding to my containers. Glad to know about the lunch skins!
Thanks for the info. I just ordered the lunchskins. I like that they can go in the dishwasher. Maybe I will get to cloth napkins some day!
OK, so I’m loving the little green pouch idea. However, do they seriously come clean when you wash them? I’m picturing a lot of applesauce and yogurt getting dried out and stuck inside and in the spout… I also love this idea because I hate spending the money on the pre-filled pouches! Would much rather have the option to fill my own and help the planet. Win! Win!
so far I haven’t had any issues with cleaning them. I think the key would be to make sure you cleaned them out each night so there isn’t a lot of time for food to sit around and get stuck, but I haven’t had any issues!
Ok – I’m totally going to try these! Thanks so much for making me aware of them!
you’re welcome! 🙂
I bought my son the lunch skins at target when he decided he hated the hot lunch at school, suddenly…I thought they were fairly expensive, but they are holding up and we have been using them off and on since Christmas. I am curious if you had this issue: the first time he used the sandwich bag his sandwich picked up a plastic smell/flavor. I had to wash that thing 5 times, rubbed it down with some lemon and aired it out for a week (inside out) before the smell disapated enough to use. I was disappointed mostly because I had picked up some very inexpensive ones (at Old Navy) which have been used now going on our 2nd school year and have had no problems with them (in case you are wondering they are pink and polka dotted my son won’t even touch them and I have never seen them at old navy again to buy).
cate hasn’t said anything about a funny smell or flavor. I personally haven’t eaten anything out of the bags, just cate, so I can’t say from experience. I am grateful to know that they are for sure free of all the nasty chemicals, so it’s worth it to have to wash them a fe times with that peace of mind. anyway, my comment isn’t very helpful except to say we haven’t noticed that! 🙂
Nice! We have loved lunchskins so far.
Are lunchskins just for sandwiches and snacks? Or can you put leftovers/salads in them? I usually have leftovers/salads for lunch and have been trying to think of a way to get rid of all my gross plastic Ziploc containers.
hi alley! I have only used it for sandwiches and snacks thus far, so I contacted LunchSkins to get the scoop. here is what they said! 🙂
“Yes, you really can put anything in them, it’s just a matter of how you want to eat it out of the cloth bag. I’ve put in fruit, pizza, wraps, etc. LunchSkins can really work for anything other than a liquid. I just don’t know how easy it would be to dig into a salad or pasta in the bag itself. But they do wash up well in the dishwasher!”
I’m looking for a good well insulated lunch box for my son. He is preschool age. And I’m definitely getting the green pouches today!