Hey, Green Junkie!

How confident are you in your lunch packing abilities? 

Are you always struggling with finding new ways to lessen food and packaging waste?

Lunch can be riddled with green living difficulties from pre-packaged food wrappers, to vegetable and fruit peels, to water bottles and plastic containers – it can be hard to eliminate the waste that comes with our daily lunch.

So that’s what this episode is all about. Helping you get more creative without having to spend a  bunch of money. I’m sharing all the things me and my family do and tips and tricks on how you can easily have a lower waste lunch. 

Here’s what to expect:

• Easy, green ways to store and wrap your food
• My favorite brands for holt and cold beverages / food
• Tips for using what you already have at home
• A creative alternative to napkins
• What to pack your lunch in
• How to greenify what goes IN your lunch box
• Best way to reduce your household waste

You’ll discover that and so much more in this episode.

By the end of this episode, Green Junkie, you’ll be able to pack your lunches more efficiently all while creating less waste.

If you love this podcast be sure to leave a review and share a screenshot of this episode to your IG stories. Tag @greenjunkiepodcast so I can shout you out and publicly say thanks. 

Thanks for listening and being here.

Your green bestie,

Xoxo Stephanie

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Episode #16: How to Green-Up Your Clean UP

Episode #18: The Importance of Connecting with Our Earth

Episode #20 6 Ways to Detox Your Home

Sources

https://www.goodgirlgonegreen.com/how-to-create-a-zero-waste-lunch/

https://wholefully.com/zero-waste-school-lunches/

https://wildminimalist.com/blogs/news/3-easy-tips-to-help-you-pack-a-zero-waste-school-lunch

https://www.superhealthykids.com/top-10-waste-free-lunch-tips/

https://www.goodgirlgonegreen.com/5-zero-free-lunch-packaging-ideas/

Here is a tutorial from wholefully.com on how to make your own homemade snack baggies from cloth! Clean cloth snack bags by turning them inside out and rinsing them in cold water.

Resources: 

Lunchbots stainless steel containers

Abeego beeswax wraps

Eco-Ditty snack bags

Hydro Flask water bottles and insulated containers

Klean Kanteen water bottles

PlanetBox lunch box

Snag 1 on 1 Eco-Conscious Coaching with me

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Come join the Green Junkie Facebook Group

Become a Green Junkie Insider and gain access to bonus content

Listen Below

Episode 21 Transcript

0:07
Hi, Green Junkie. I'm your host Stephanie Moram and today I'm sharing eight simple ways to create a low waste lunch. Whether you're sending the kids to school with a lunch, planning a picnic, or trying to live a little more low waste, things are usually made of plastic, and it contains all sorts of nasty chemicals, from PVC to BPA to phthalates, which have been known to seep into our foods when we're eating them. But the good news is that there are plastic free and low waste alternatives available just for you. And you might already have some of these items at home.

0:43
Simply start by being conscious of how much prepackaged food you're purchasing, and continuously seek out low waste alternatives when available. There's so many fun and creative products on the market to make it easy and fun for you and your family. Take baby steps and try just one thing at a time so you can gradually work your way to living a more low waste life when it comes to storage and creating lunches. If you love learning new ways you can reduce your impact and the on the environment, please subscribe to my Green Junkie Podcast on whatever platform you get your podcasts. That way you will never miss another green living episode. Now let's get started.

1:28
Number one, start your lunch prep by choosing what containers you're going to put your food in – your sandwiches, your different snacks etc. And be sure to use what you already have at home. There's no use running out and getting something new to store a sandwich in. If you have Ziploc bags and have a box of them, use those until you have nothing left. If you have a plastic container and you feel comfortable putting your food in a plastic container, use that. But if you're looking to use different materials like stainless steel, stainless steel is my to go containers. I've had them for at least 10 years. I've had these stainless steel containers and they're awesome.

2:11
My favorite go to one is lunch bots. I love them. I can't say enough about them. They're perfect for sandwiches, fruits, veggies. And best of all, they don't break like glass, drop them and they'll get maybe a little bit dented. But that's about it. They're sturdy, lightweight, and they're not heavy like glass. And the top of the container is relatively sealed. Again, don't put liquids in it or anything like that. You will have your soup all over the place. But they do stay pretty sealed. Like I said not leak proof if you turn them upside down, so don't do that.

2:47
If you're looking for something to replace plastic wrap – again, if you have plastic wrap at home right now or you have aluminum, just use it till you have nothing left. Then go out and make your investment. I use beeswax wraps I love them. Beeswax, tree resin, and Jojoba Oil is infused with hemp and organic cotton, all you have to do is press and you bend the wraps as you wish. So if it's around a sandwich, you kind of just you know, wrap it all up and the heat from your hands is what's going to make it stick together. They're perfect. I love them. So I would say two great options for like sandwiches and stuff like that would be getting some sort of beeswax and then stainless steel containers.

3:27
Number two – snacks. Snacks are a big deal in our house.Anytime, we go on an adventure or an errand comes up in the house and we have to leave, I need like 5 million snacks. They won't eat those 5 million snacks when they're at home. But if we're leaving for an hour, we need to be prepared. Which is just totally hilarious to me. But anyways, so sometimes, you know, bringing those stainless steel containers can be bulky, you know, bringing them in the car and everything like that. So another option would be to have snack bags, and I like Go Diddy, hopefully I said that correctly. You can go to the show notes and you can click on the link and you can see what I'm talking about. So I like this particular brand because they're made in the US they're made of organic cotton and they don't have a plastic liner. So with that said since they don't have a plastic liner, they won't keep your food necessarily as fresh long term. So we don't recommend that you use these bags as like long term food storage as such as crackers might get stale and stuff like that. But they are great if they're you know sending snacks for your kids to take to school or putting snacks in it you know for like a day trip and stuff like that. They work perfect. I love them. But like I said not for long term storage.

4:45
Number three, let's talk about reusable stainless steel water bottles. Individual juice boxes and disposable water bottles are totally unnecessary and just plain wasteful. Instead, purchasing a reusable water bottle can be one of the single biggest moves you can make to living more waste free. And a bonuses. If you have small stainless steel containers. You can use them for applesauce or yogurt. So they can act as a water bottle and also as a container for other foods. If you're looking to keep stuff really, really warm, or cold, like really, really cold like a liquid and you want it to seal I would suggest using a thermos for those types of things like soup, my daughter tends to take spaghetti to school and stuff like that, I would use a Hydro Flask. I think I've talked about Hydroflask on almost every one of my episodes because I really do love them. I have two of their tea mugs. I also have some of the water bottles as well, but they keep stuff really, really warm. So I would suggest getting some sort of thermos insulated bottle for those types of things. And stainless steel is such a great material for kids since glass can break and plastic water bottles can leach toxic chemicals into whatever you're drinking. And this specifically comes for when things are warm. I don't worry so much if my food is touching something that's cold and it's for a short period of time like plastic is what I mean if I'm putting food in something that's plastic for a short period, but when it comes to heat, I don't put anything that's heated in plastic at all. So this is why I opt for stainless steel.

6:27
Another great brand if you're looking for a brand of stainless steel water bottles there is clean canteen, by light Klean Kanteen, they also offer water bottles, stainless steel and bamboo so you can reduce your plastic consumption that way as well. So those are a couple of options for water bottles. If you already have water bottles at home and they work perfectly. You don't have to go in and buy new ones. Again, use what you already have to create your lunches.

6:55
So let's talk about cloth napkins and cutlery for number four. So having reasonable napkins and cutlery will reduce your household waste and divert any kind of single use plastic, like forks spoons, disposable napkins from going to your to landfills. When packing lunch, I usually grab some of my own stainless steel cutlery from home. And to be honest, I tend to misplace our cutlery, and spoons and forks, it's not the end of the world because I go thrifting and I buy extra forks and spoons and knives to have on hand for if I do misplace something. It's not the end of the world. Right? You don't have to go in and buy those (You know if you could see me right now I'd be doing quotations) “Fancy bamboo cutlery” that's marketed to you. You already have cutlery at home, use that. My kids, get a knife and fork or or spoon from home. I don't buy any special knives and forks for them. So like I said, use what you already have when you are creating your lunches and especially when it comes to the cutlery when it comes to napkins.

8:00
Cloth napkins are great because you know you don't have to have the waste of a regular napkin when you if you are buying a disposable napkin. If you can compost them, compost them and get unbleached cotton as well. And then just throw them in the compost. And when you go out and buy stuff do you ever get like sometimes a huge stack of napkins, like the person's like, oh here you bought like this really small ice cream cone – But here's 5 million napkins. You're never going to use all those napkins. So bring them home with you and then you now have napkins that you can put in your kids lunches or your lunch and then you're not wasting them and then sort of in the compost when you're done with them.

8:39
Number five. Now that you've gathered your containers and your snacks are ready to go, what are you going to pack your lunch in, be creative, be creative when you with what you're using as your lunchbox. Most lunch bags are laced with harmful chemicals like Phalates, PVC, BPA and they can be toxic to kids and us as adults and the planet. But before you run out and buy a lunch bag. I'm pretty sure you have a bag of bags, a bag of cloth bags, use those. Grab one of your cloth bags and put your lunch in that you don't have to run out and buy a fancy one. Just like with the bamboo cutlery you don't have to go out and buy fancy bamboo cutlery to live low waste. The most sustainable thing that you can do is to use what you already have and then buy what you need at a thrift store or buy new. So if you have cloth bags, use those before running out to buy your lunchbox. But with that said I did invest when my kids were in kindergarten and bought planter box. They're amazing for kids. They are stainless steel. They have small compartments, you can put your sandwich and different snacks and then it comes with a bag that you put it in that it fits perfectly. But I invested becauase I knew that we would use it for a really long time. My kids are in grade five and grade three. We've been using them since kindergarten. And guess what surprise, they're going to be using them in high school too. They don't know that yet, but they will be. Or I can donate them to a family that will need them as well. So I know the investment was a high investment, but it was worth it. But if that is not what you want to do, the bags you have at home already are going to be perfect for packing your lunch.

10:28
Number six. When you're thinking of what foods to put in your lunches, I get it it's not easy to avoid processed and pre packaged foods. Especially when you're busy. You're a busy parent running around with little ones taking care of yourself and your kids. Sometimes reaching for pre packaged individually wrapped foods is just more convenient. But it's also wasteful. That said, to be honest, I buy good granola bars for my kids, they love them. They love them. And I've tried to make granola bars at home and it is not working out for anybody. They don't taste as good. So I do buy them. But my kids bring the wrappers home to make sure we dispose of them properly. But when it comes to other parts of their lunch, I make sure that there's no packaging or the least amount of packaging. And how you can do that is by buying in bulk. If you want to put granola bar in your kids lunches instead of reaching for a bag of granola bar is there a bulk store in your house that you can buy your your granola in bulk and then put that in their lunch. Be sure when you are buying anything in bulk to use an airtight container and then all you have to do is reach for that reusable container and fill your lunch with it. You can buy nuts and seeds and dry fruit, you can get chocolate, different snack foods, you can buy those things in bulk. So if it's an option for you, that's going to be a great way to reduce the amount of waste that you are creating.

11:54
Number seven composting is one of the best ways that you can reduce your organic household waste and make your lunches as low waste as possible. The best part, getting your kids involved in composting can help them become more aware of their food and avoid throwing out organics in the trash. My kids do not throw away their uneaten food. They have their planet box, and if they didn't finish their sandwich, it's still in the lunch box. If they didn't eat a certain snack, it's still in their lunch box, their planet box, I know, say lunch box and planet box like five times fast. Two different companies, haha. Their food is still there. If the food isn't still good condition like they only ate half their orange, we either eat it as a snack, or if it's not going to get eaten. Like this week, I just took a little bag, put in their extra oranges and then put them in the freezer. And now we're going to add them to their smoothies or my smoothie that we'll have during the week. So I'm not wasting that food. If it's like more than a half eaten sandwich, and no one is going to eat it, then I opt for composting. So my kids are bringing back their apple cores, their banana peels, anything because they know how important it is to compost and not throw their stuff in the trash. They've been doing this since kindergarten. So it's completely second nature to them.

13:13
And they also know that we don't get upset if they didn't eat their whole lunch. And I think that's one of the biggest reasons why they bring their food home. They don't hide the fact that they didn't finish their sandwich or they don't hide the fact not saying this is what all kids do. But a lot of kids, they hide the fact that they didn't finish their lunches and my kids don't do that. And so it just makes it easier. And also they know how important it is to compost and they know how much I love composting so they always bring their leftovers home. So even if you don't have kids and you go to work, or you know you bring your lunch to work, bring back your scraps and compost them before you decide to throw them in the trash. That's really gonna help reduce the amount of waste that's created.

13:59
And lastly, be creative. Living greener is about progress, not perfection, taking small steps and fun creative ways that will work best for you and your family. It's really the best way to start a low waste lifestyle. Let your creativity flow and your low waste lunch and lifestyle will come together. Add brightly colored foods to lunches, cut up sandwiches and fun shapes. Use what you have on hand to create that low waste lunch.

14:28
Zero Waste living is all about feeling good about what you're doing for yourself, your family on the planet. I hope that one of these tips can help you live a little more green by reducing your waste when it comes to packing lunches. For more green living inspiration, you can listen to a few of my latest episodes. Episode 26 ways to detox your home, Episode 18 the importance of connecting with our earth and Episode 16 How to clean up your cleanup.

14:58
Stay connected with me on Instagram at Green junkie podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to the Green Junkie Podcast on the platform you're listening to. If you're curious about zero waste living, sustainable fashion, or wondering how to read food cleaning product labels, I got you covered. For direct access to me your green living expert, click the link in the show notes where you can ask me questions and get a customized plan on how you can live a greener life or hop on a one on one call with me on Zoom. Or ask me your questions via email if Zoom is not your thing, or we can chat on voxer a web based app. I will be your hashtag Green Google and you can pick my brain. Thank you for listening, and I'll see you next Tuesday, Green Junkie.