Top 9 Natural Alternatives to Plastics (Foods / Drinks)

Plastic is everywhere, usually lending convenience to our lives and for the most part, plastics are very affordable too. But this time I’d like to talk about plastics and our foods. You might not see it or taste it (sometimes you can taste is in the case of a plastic bottle, but that is another post!) but chances are if you are drinking or eating out of plastic, you might be ingesting some chemicals as well.

Besides the health risks plastic pose, another increasing problem is the substantial amount of waste adding to our ever-growing pollution that they cause.

“ Every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists (except for the little bit that has  been incinerated, which releases toxic chemicals). In the ocean, plastic waste is  accumulating in giant gyres of debris where, among other things, fish are ingesting toxic plastic bits at a rate which will soon make them unsafe to eat.“*

Sad, isn’t it? Did you know there are 10,000 of plastics?

The most common types are labelled by numbers from 1 through 7 but companies are not required by law to label them.So can we do? Fortunately, there are a lot of resources and ideas out there to try to eliminate plastics from our lives, or at least our food.

But first, let’s get to know them.

Plastics SAFETY SOLUTIONS

1. Stop wasting money buying bottled water and instead make a one-time investment on a stainless steel bottle. (Get at Amazon.com)
2. Store food in glass, ceramic or stainless steel. You can even reuse food jars or hunt for an airtight container at your local thrift shop. I’ve gotten mason jars (mason jars!) (Get at Amazon.com)
3. You can buy a glass or stainless steel containersand pack that sandwich or grapes in a reusable cloth bag.
4. Stainlessstill is my favourite for taking lunch to work, these below are the ones I use. These reusable bags are my favourite because to bring along a snack for the baby and something for me when we are out and about. (Get at Amazon.com)
5. Buy in bulk and bring your own containersthus reducing the plastic packaging.
6. Never heat food in plastic, you increase the likelihood of chemicals leaching into the food. After reading the book Real Food Guide for Busy Moms I have decided to ditch the microwave altogether and reheat the food the old fashion way.
7. Avoid food or drinks that come in packaging not labelled.
8. If you must use plastic opt for choices labelled asBPA, PVC and Phtalates free.
9. Recycled any plastic containers.

And don’t forget you can tackle this in baby steps!

Commit to one change at time; maybe your want to to get the stainless steel bottle first, then maybe moving on to slowly phasing out all those plastic containers in your cabinet that are just taking up space because if you are like me, you probably have a few without lids! Maybe today you can take a few minutes and match containers with lids and throw away any that look too unsafe to be eating out of or have no lids. It feels great, trust me!

Any other safety tips I left out that you would like to share with me? Please share them in the comment section!!!