If I were to choose the most wasteful meal of the day, it would be lunch. Do you have children? Ok now triple the wastefulness. In our day and age, a zero waste lunch is not the norm. The ease of perfectly preportioned snacks and ready-made meals has completely taken over when it comes to lunch. I’ll be the first to admit that yes, I have indeed bought preportioned organic yogurt and storebought gummy snacks for my child. Also yes, you did see me with the 100 calorie pack dill pickle cashews last week.
As a full-time working parent, I completely agree and understand that prepackaged snacks and meals are a lifesaver. Because honestly, who wants to make a full-on meal WITH snacks for their tiny human when they finally get home from sports practice at 7:30 at night, am I right? Early mornings and late nights make it increasingly difficult to make homemade meals and pack healthy and nutritious lunches.
That being said, I’ve always had a tugging on my heart to try harder when it comes to my family’s waste and in the process, have found a lot of zero waste products that I love and swear by. Even though it’s oftentimes difficult and annoying to make mine and my child’s lunch from scratch every week, I know in the long run it’s not just better for our health but also for our environment. Here are my tried and true products that make a zero waste lunch possible!
The Water Bottle.
I know this is on every zero waste person’s list, but this is honestly one of easiest things you can switch to that truly makes a big difference in the waste you produce, as well as your health. Find yourself one good water bottle and put it in a spot where you know you won’t forget it. Ours sits on a ledge next to the kitchen sink and because mine keeps things cold for so long, oftentimes I will just fill it up the night before and put it in my lunch box for the next morning. I have used many water bottles over the years and my favorite two are RTIC 36 Ounce Water Bottle and Hydro Flask 32 Ounce Water Bottle. For my toddler, soon-to-be Kindergartener, we love the Klean Kanteen Kids Water Bottle. Her’s isn’t insulated but she refills enough throughout the day and it gets the job done. We’ve been using this same bottle since she learned to drink out of a sippy cup.
The Lunch Container.
I’m pretty cut and dry when it comes to the container that holds my food. My personal favorite is the Pyrex 3-Cup Glass Containers. I have owned my 5 containers for well over 5 years and they have never broken or needed to have a lid replaced. My husband, on the other hand, prefers the Snapware Glass Containers. He rides a motorcycle every day to work and his lunch will turn over sometimes if he hits a bump. The glass is heavy duty and in addition to that, the snap feature is what makes the containers leak-proof. My daughter, because her lunch portion size is small enough, I will usually use Anchor 1 Cup Round Containers, Stasher Bag Sandwich Size, or Beeswax Wraps (ours are homemade but the ones linked have great reviews).
The Snack Container.
I’ve made an entire youtube video on the containers that I like to use for snacks. I love repurposing jars, especially small ones like pesto jars because the glass is usually always sturdy, it’s basically free, & cuts down on the amount of waste you put into the trash or recycling. I also frequently use 4 Ounce Mason Jars and 8 Ounce Mason Jars that I reused from when I bought them for pumped breast milk storage. Using reusable silicone sandwich bags has also been a lifesaver. I have tried several brands of reusable snack bags and the Stasher Snack Bags are our favorites. I can pre-pack 5 snack bags and because they are airtight, the food will not go stale by Friday.
The Silverware.
If I am being honest, this is one of the biggest zero waste money scams ever. I always just use my regular silverware but I do own a foldable spork that I keep in my purse. There are some cool options like bamboo and stuff but there’s nothing wrong with the fork in my drawer, so that’s what I’m using.
The Lunch Bag.
When I learned about fast fashion and how items I owned were being made unethically or sustainably, I started to look more closely at everything I put in my shopping cart. My previous lunch bag has somehow gone missing and so I needed to buy a new one. I came across a brand that I really like and wanted to be sure to share it with you today. I purchased an EcoRight Lunch Bag from Amazon and have really been enjoying it. It’s nothing fancy but it’s very spacious. I can hold my lunch and snack containers PLUS my hydro flask in the bag. They are manufactured in India but the company is transparent with their working facilities and passionate about corporate responsibility. My daughter is going to need a new lunch bag when she starts elementary school and I already know I am going to be purchasing another from EcoRight.
I hope that this post was useful to you for zero waste lunch prep. I just want to encourage you that it doesn’t matter what your job is or how much time you have in the week, cutting down on the amount of waste you produce is possible. Having kids does not mean you can’t live a low waste or zero waste lifestyle. You can do it and you can do your part to make the world a better place!
