I make A LOT of packed lunches & I’m always looking at ways to reduce my plastic use so I thought I would share some of my easy lunchbox swaps to make lunches a bit less single use but always yummy!
- Stock up on a BIG selection of dried fruits - these make a super sweet but easy snack for little ones. Get fruity with the combos, mine like dates, apple rings and cranberries. If you buy these from your local refill store you can grab a weeks worth and stash them in your Mintie Mini Snack Pots for the week ahead, snacks sorted! Ditch the cling film - there are so many great wax wraps out here now with beautiful designs. Much better than the sad old cling film I used to use. I love these ones from Amber and Bumble & there are heaps out there to chose from.
- Sometimes there is no getting away from the fact that kids like a sweet biscuit in their lunches. I don’t always have time to make cakes or bakes in the week so I buy big bumper packs of biscuits and then decant them one or two at a time. This is MUCH cheaper than buying in single packs and reduces your plastic use (but doesn't eliminate it). You can also recycle these through schemes at Terracycle
- Make your own hummus…this literally takes minutes to do and I love the recipes from Deliciously Ella …or if you have a little more time and you want to save pennies AND plastic please check out this wonderful YouTube video from Growing Frugal
- Use your markets, greengrocers and independent growers. Fruit and veg being wrapped in plastic is largely unavoidable when you shop in the supermarket and often our budget forces us to shop this way. However, when we can, we use local shops and growers to get our fruits and veggies. The Soil Association has a Find an Organic Box Scheme which will help you find something in your area … and this handy website Food Box Finder helps you to search local food boxes near you, you can search by location and box type too!