waste-free lunch Archives - Mommy Kat and Kids

Waste-Free Lunches are Easy with LunchSkins Reusable Bags-Giveaway

September 6, 2013 by Kathryn 107 Comments

With one child in Grade Two and one child in Pre-Kindergarten, I will be packing one lunch and one healthy snack every school day for the next year. And while I actually rather enjoy packing lunches for my boys, I am adamant that the items I pack produce as little waste as possible. I love finding handy reusable lunch gear that’s fun for my boys and good for the environment!

Recently LunchSkins contacted me and asked me to review its handy reusable sandwich and snack bags and I couldn’t wait. I received a sandwich and snack bag for each of my boys in blue and red colours with fun sports and robot designs. The bags were so cute and had me eager to pack up some snacks for my kids.

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Reuseit.com Waste-Free Kids Lunch Bags-Review

February 7, 2012 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

Now that Zackary is in Kindergarten, I have the fun of packing lunches for him every other day and since it’s still a rather new thing for me as a mother, it really is fun! I love thinking up fun and healthy meal ideas for my slightly picky oldest son and I especially love trying to make all his lunches as waste-free as possible. Recently I was given the chance to review a handy lunch bag from Reuseit.com and as a huge believer in the importance of minimizing lunch waste, I was thrilled.

Reuseit.com sent me a beautiful Built Big Apple Buddies Lunch Bag in the Delancey Dog design. This too-cute lunch bag is PVC and BPA-free with a triangular shape and a cheerful blue dog on the front. I was so excited to see how the lunch bag worked for my son.

I noticed last year when I was packing snacks for Pre-Kindergarten that most commercial store-bought lunch bags have a very thin inner lining. After a year of including a spoon and sometimes a fork in Zackary’s lunch bag, the interior had become very tattered. On the one hand, I was glad that I hadn’t had to use a multitude of paper bags throughout the year. But I had really expected the interior of the bag to hold up better.

Naturally, the first thing I did when I received the Built Big Apple Buddies Lunch Bag was to closely examine the interior to see if it was likely to suffer the same fate. I think I can safely say that I won’t have the same problem with this lunch bag! The interior is very thick and durable; I can just imagine how well it insulates my son’s lunch and I’m so glad that I won’t have the disappointment of seeing it worn out in a few months!

The one thing I do have to say about the lunch bag is that it is a bit small for my son’s lunch, drink and snack that he takes every day, especially since he uses a thermos instead of taking a juice box. But fortunately, Reuseit.com has a huge selection of lunch bags in a variety of sizes to suit any child’s needs! And even though I sometimes have to do a little rearranging to get everything into the lunch bag, my son loves his blue puppy bag so much that he doesn’t even mind! And I love that the design is durable enough to stand up to his rough-and-tumble day!

Whether you’re looking for a trendy tote for yourself, durable food storage containers for your family or a stylish lunch bag for your child, Reuseit.com has a great selection of eco-friendly products so that you can find what you’re looking for quickly and easily. And the company’s assortment of kids’ lunch bags is absolutely superb! Check out the store for yourself and send your child to school with a lunch bag that is fun, durable and good for the earth!

Buy It: To purchase any of the great reusable products from Reuseit.com, shop online now

Lavish and Lime-Eco-Friendly and Waste-Free Lunches Made Easy-Review and Giveaway

August 24, 2011 by Kathryn 74 Comments

I know that getting kids ready to go back to school can be a huge hassle for some parents and I’m sure that the day will come when picking up all those school supplies every year becomes a bit tiresome. But this year, my oldest son is starting kindergarten and I am having a blast making sure that he is ready for his first day! One of my absolute must-haves for school is a good set of reusable lunch gear. Not only are reusable containers better for the environment, they also give me more control over portions when I pack a lunch. But of course, like all kids, eco-friendly isn’t quite enough for Zackary. His lunch gear has to be cool too!

Fortunately, Lavish and Lime, the fabulous Vancouver-based online eco-boutique, had me covered. I’ve been lucky enough to review some of Lavish and Lime’s products in the past and when I got the chance to test out two of the company’s new additions to its trendy line of reusable lunch gear, I was thrilled.

I received a Dabbawalla sweetcakes Lunch Bag and a Lunch Box Cube to review. Dabbawalla is an absolutely phenomenal brand that is known for its trendy designs and amazing neoprene-like fabric called eco-sponge. Not only is the PVC-free material eco-friendly, it’s also insulating so your child’s lunch stays colder longer!

The design of the sweetcakes bag was fairly feminine with its pink-wrappered cupcake and baby blue background and the bag was so beautifully stylish that I decided to keep it for myself! Whether I’m taking lunch out of the house or carrying snacks to the park for my kids, I am going to look absolutely fabulous with my Dabbawalla lunch bag!

I had seen a picture of the lunch bag before I received it but there’s just no way to do justice to these gorgeous bags with a photo. For one thing, it wasn’t at all the small lunch bag I had expected. The Dabbawalla lunch bags are easily twice the size of a standard bag and feature a convenient carrying handle at the top and open pockets in the front and back of the bag perfect for holding a cloth napkin and a set of reusable cutlery.

The interior of the bag features a large mesh pocket at the back that can hold an ice pack for extra insulation and a small mesh pocket at the side for a water bottle. I loved how much I could fit into this roomy lunch bag; it was able to hold my 750ml stainless steel water bottle, two reusable containers of snacks, fruit and two sandwiches and still have room to spare!

The stretchy eco-sponge fabric really let me pack things in, (I don’t think my water bottle quite would have fit otherwise) and when I took my containers out again, the bag immediately bounced back to its original shape. Needless to say, I am completely in love with this lunch bag and the flexible and durable fabric makes it a great choice for any rough-and-tumble kid!

The Lunch Box Cube was just as innovative and for those that may already have a standard rectangular zippered lunch bag, this innovative container is a must! The cube features two compartments that open with easy flip-up clips. The top compartment is one large square that is the perfect size for holding a child’s sandwich. The bottom compartment is divided into three handy sections for holding fruit, veggies and dessert. Not only will the Lunch Box Cube make packing lunch so much easier with its all-in-one design, but there will also be no need for plastic bags in my son’s lunch. And I won’t have to worry about him losing individual containers either!

While the Lunch Box Cube does feature a fold-down handle so that it can be used as a lunch kit on its own, it is also the perfect size for a standard rectangular zippered lunch box, with just the right amount of room for a 250ml thermos beside it! I loved the fact that I could pack my son a 100% waste-free lunch complete with a beverage and only need two containers!

I was delighted to learn that the Lunch Box Cube was certified BPA-free, lead-free, phthalate-free and PVC-free. The cube even went through drop-testing to ensure that it could stand up to a kid’s active day! With a price tag of only $15, it’s a must for any busy parent.

Lavish and Lime also carries backpacks, stainless steel bottles, reusable snack bags and recycled school supplies so that your child can have their most eco-friendly year ever. And with the amazing assortment of litterless lunch products that combine fashion and convenience, you and your child will both enjoy lunchtime! So check out the collection for yourself and go waste-free at lunchtime in style!

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