Trying to get all the plastic out of the kitchen is really hard!!!

[tamlynn]

I'm still trying to figure out this thread. Is it that you don't want to support the plastics industry or that you don't want plastic touching your food or something else?


When my kids went to public school, there were tons of Asian kids there. You'd see kids all the time bringing bento boxes and chopsticks. And their boxes weren't filled with PB&J and chips either.

 

[Blackbird]

Plastic has chemicals and toxins that can leach into food and cause long term health problems over time.

Recently when researchers were trying to find ways to dispose of water bottles, they found out that the plastic breaks down much faster and easier when in water (ironic, since they hold water). Of course, by degrading them that way the toxins are in the water and air instead.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I'm still trying to figure out this thread. Is it that you don't want to support the plastics industry or that you don't want plastic touching your food or something else?


When my kids went to public school, there were tons of Asian kids there. You'd see kids all the time bringing bento boxes and chopsticks. And their boxes weren't filled with PB&J and chips either.

Here, check out this link:
http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2753

 

[homestead holdout]

Another question: Is tin foil healthy to use?

Here is a link with a lot of info on aluminum (so tin foil, soda cans and cook ware)
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/ask_treehugger_16.php

I think it's awesome that you're getting rid of plastic, hard as it may be!!! Good for you!!! I'm in your same boat, trying my best.... Not completely there but a far cry from my plastic use of a few years ago!

Another good read in case you haven't seen it already....
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/Safe-Plastics-Endocrine-Disruptors-BPA.aspx

 

[me&thegals]

I still use plastics. for my kids school lunches I use reusable containers, as I cannot justify buying ziplocs or other disposable stuff. for drinks at school, they use SS bottles. I still store things in plastic, but never use in the microwave.

This is where I am at. I don't know what SS refers to in this context, but my kids have non-plastic water bottles.

We also store in plastic but reheat on plates.

I try to avoid plastic bags and Saran wrap, but more from an environmental and waste standpoint. We use quart jars for a lot of things in life My sister actually uses quart jars for water bottles, but I am way too klutzy to live life with glass everywhere.

 

[freemotion]

Yes, that is the reason I use ziplocs in the freezer. DH would shatter ALL my jars in no time at all! If it were totally up to me, it would be a different story....yes, I'd break a jar now and then, but I tend to have stuff last pretty close to forever.

I am trying to get rid of as much plastic from my life as I can, from a health standpoint (food storage) and an environmental standpoint. I do try to re-use pretty much everything. It seems like plastic is so intertwined with our lives, it is a project to get rid of it. I am shooting for the 80/20 rule.

 

[me&thegals]

I finally figured out SS for the purpose of this thread Yes, my kids have stainless steel water bottles as well as me. I cringe to think of the many, many years I reused my plastic water bottles like a good little girl, freezing the bottles at night for cool water all day. Ech!

It is crazy to consider how HARD it is to get plastic out. How amazingly reliant we have become on it. But, I used to think not buying any more soda was a pretty huge step, too, and now it seems ridiculous that it ever seemed hard.

I use a lot of plastic for my CSA, but I recycle everything--berry boxes, share containers, salad containers. It's still plastic, but I'm not buying it and adding to the amount of plastic on earth.

My biggest challenge would absolutely be the kids' lunches. I think I will try to wean us off plastic storage in the fridge. I've already weaned us off reheating in plastic. As for the kids, I would rather them have the health of a packed lunch, even if in plastic, than hot lunch.

 

[freemotion]

Yup, that is why I use the 80/20 rule, or goal. It is the only way to remain sane and function in today's world sometimes.

 

[enjoy the ride]

I hear that one of the bigger manufacturers of metal drinking bottles lined their bottles with the same plastic ingredient that was determined to be unsafe in plastic bottles. It was on the national news on NBC a week or so ago. Oh well..........
I found frying eggs in a non-teflon pan is easier if done over really low heat. But those non-stick pans are so convenient.

 

[freemotion]

I only like scrambled, so life is easy for me with cast iron!!