Have Your Takeout and Eat It Too
Date: October 10, 2008 | Category: Food, Food & Drink, Kitchen, Lifestyle
Having lunch at the office often starts out with a treasure hunt for a fork. Plastic cutlery is simply the worst (made from petrochemicals, it will end up in a landfill after just a few minutes of actual food service), but keeping track of silverware at work can prove more difficult than it should be.
The To-Go Ware Utensil Kit helps reduce your ecological footprint without forcing you to eat lunch with your fingers, a very unladylike option.
The lovely utensils are made of bamboo, which is highly durable and can be grown and harvested sustainably. In addition, the holder is made of 100% recycled plastic, produced by CONSERVE, a women’s cooperative in New Delhi. By purchasing this utensil set, you will have contributed to their advancement and empowerment. The very cool set comes with a fork, knife, spoon and – jackpot! – a beautiful set of chopsticks, all in a handy cutlery roll that comes in a variety of colors. We are loving the new Stainless Steel Tiffin Set as well, pair it with your to-go ware utensils and your lunchtime woes will be over - now you just have to think about what you’re actually going to eat…
All in all, a much more civilized way to eat on the run.
Don’t You Want Your Kids to be Konservative?
Date: October 8, 2008 | Category: Food, Kids
Have you kicked plastics to the curb yet?Like our team, you have probably eliminated plastic food storage containers in favor of glass, because glass doesn’t leach chemicals into food. But most schools don’t allow kids to bring fragile containers, so what should an eco-mom do?
Our friends a FranklyGreen.com have sent an amazing solution our way: a reusable, waste-free lunch kit from Kids Konserve, which features a stainless steel beverage bottle and two stainless steel food containers. Brilliant!
According to the Kids Konserve website, the average child generates 67 pounds of lunch-related trash per year. Add that to the 38 billion plastic water bottles that end up in landfills every year. What a waste! How cool is this super simple set looking?
The kit also comes with a food cozy and a cloth napkin, all in a recycled cotton sack. The whole kit and caboodle (ok, just the kit) costs $40 and comes in a gender-neutral green (of course) pattern, which will work for all the budding enviros in your house and for grown-ups who tote their lunches to work.
Two Utensil Heads are Better than One
Date: September 18, 2008 | Category: Care, Featured, Food, Kids
Though not necessarily celebrated for its chicness, the spork was a stroke of functional genius. The combo fork and spoon that is a staple of any cafeteria was obviously overdue for an eco makeover. (more…)
Goodbye Tupperware, Hello Kitty
Date: July 30, 2008 | Category: Care, Food, Kids
My daughter Zoe inherited many things from me: a love of travel, an adventurous palate and an odd penchant for Hello Kitty memorabilia. I’ve had to soft-pedal my vicarious affection for the feisty feline owing to environmental concerns. Sadly, much of the product line is heavy in phthalates. So you can imagine my delight when I stumbled upon these biodegradable, reusable Hello Kitty cups while I was shopping for back-to-school items.
Children’s Vitamins Are a Tough Pill to Swallow
Date: July 30, 2008 | Category: Care, Food, Kids
Getting my kids to take a daily vitamin is a struggle I can live without. If you’re similarly blessed with a picky eater, you understand the vexing importance of getting them to chew, gag or swallow their daily quota of vitamins and minerals. Fortunately, New Chapter Organics has the answer. Their mouth-tingling pouches of fruity powdered goodness are chock full of whole-food nutrition. Made from organic ingredients and free from synthetic isolates and refined sugar, all of New Chapter’s products are free of pesticide and herbicide residue. (more…)
Weelicious
Date: May 20, 2008 | Category: Care, Food, Kids
If Weelicious had been around when my kids were starting out their culinary adventures, I probably would have been addicted to their expertly delicious advice (luckily I had my friend Amy to show me what to do, but an entire site would have been nice, especially for Amy). The newly launched Weelicious website shows parents how to quickly and easily cook up local fare for babies and toddlers that’s free from preservatives, salt and sugar. Besides recipes, there’s loads of advice about things like nutrition, allergens and feeding tips. DIY baby food saves tons of packaging from landfills and enables you to use only the finest, organic ingredients for your wee one. It’s a toil worth the treasure.
Peas on Earth
Date: August 31, 2007 | Category: Food, Kids
A baby’s breakfast is nothing to meddle with. When my kids were young, everything that passed their lips had to be mommy-approved. I was lucky to have my good friend Amy Bonetti who versed me in all the dos and don’ts of creating my own baby food. Besides being the only tried-and-true way to monitor exactly what they’re eating, it saves significant amounts of packaging from landfills. It’s also super easy and convenient to make large batches and store them in the freezer for future use. For those of you who don’t have your own baby-food aficionado on hand, Fresh Baby makes the So Easy Kit that comes with almost everything necessary to get your production up and running (except the blender) - freezing trays, a cook book, a how-to video and a handy cheat sheet. “30 Minutes a Week” they boast. But sometimes things are hectic and 30 minutes seems like a lifetime. In such situations TastyBaby, the collaboration of Malibu socialite Liane Weintraub and chef Shannon Swanson of Swanson TV Dinners, makes the hippest organic baby food without any sugar or preservatives that comes in a biodegradable box with soy inks. Flavors like “peas on earth” and “squash ‘em” will soon be available in your grocer’s freezer to make sure even your baby-food emergencies are as green as can be.
