You are eating more mindfully and preparing your own foods. (Yay!) You're even bringing your lunch to work. But you're grossed out by the thought of plastics leaching into your food. Especially since heating plastic makes containers leach into your food even more. So what is the best way to bring your lunch if you need to heat it up in the microwave?
After shopping around, we found a couple alternatives to plastic containers: metal and glass. Metal is lighter than glass, but since you can't put it in the microwave we ruled it out. As for glass, the biggest problem was leaking. The winning option (picture at top) has a snap on plastic lid with silicone to make it leak-proof (you can even bring soup.) The downside is that it's glass is heavier than plastic, so be prepared for the additional weight in your bag. It might be a bit heavier, but it's better than having chemicals leached into your food!
What to do - Replace Your Plastic Lunch Container with Glass
- Think about the food you need to carry. If you will be heating anything in the microwave, get a glass container. If you will not be heating anything (e.g. salad or cut fruit), you can use metal since it is lighter.
- Go to the store and consider your different container options. The kind that we favor has four "snaps" to keep the lid attached, and a silicone seal to prevent leaking. This particular brand is "Glasslock by Snapware." We found these containers at the Container Store and Bed, Bath and Beyond.
- Think about how large your lunch is, and buy the smallest option. These containers are heavy! We started out with the medium square 3.8 cup version, then downsized to the medium round 3 cup version since we don't need to bring that much food in, and the weight savings is nice.
- Microwave your food without the lid on - put a paper towel over the top to keep it from splattering.
Congratulations on packing your lunch! You are being mindful about your food choices, and the savings for your wallet can go towards higher-quality food choices. You rock!
What I ate: 14 oz. green juice, 1 hardboiled egg, 1 slice whole wheat bread + 1.5T garlic hummus, 1 grapefruit, 1 cup green tea, 1 cup whole wheat spaghetti, 1/3 cups bean chili, 1 cafe au lait, 2 oz. cashews + macadamia nuts, 1 oz. pumpkin seeds, 3 squares dark chocolate, 5 dried apricots, 1 small madeleine, 1 cup split pea soup, 1.5 cup mushroom + butternut squash + parmesan risotto, 50 oz. water
Exercise: None
