Earth Friendly Ways to Pack Your Lunch

Help save the planet, one bag at a time.

I found some great reusable bags & wraps about a year ago and I’ve never turned back (to plastic bags that is). They are fabulous. I pack our snacks & lunches in these nifty cloth, reusable bags. I was basically looking for a way to reduce our plastic wrap/foil consumption and boy have these been the ticket. They are not just for kids folks! These are great for anyone that packs a lunch. Old or young. Big or small. You need them in your life.

First I bought a couple of these sandwich wraps from One Step Ahead. At $8.95 a wrap, they might sound expensive to you, but we use them so often I know we’ve gotten our money’s worth….without a doubt!

I LOVE them. They are the best for wrapping sandwiches, wraps, pita, muffins, tacos, etc. Once you unwrap you have a nice little “place mat” to eat your food. I use these daily for my husband and son’s lunch when he is at preschool. I actually need to order a few more- they are so handy and extremely easy to wipe clean. They have held up great too- we’ve had them for about a year and a half now and have accidentally thrown them in the washing machine. No problem although they do recommend hand washing!

Then I tried these, Lunchskins that I saw in my Oprah magazine. Loved the concept, but after using for about a year, some of the ink has washed off and they also have a bit of an odor to them. Otherwise cute and great idea.

But then the winning snack bag, Snack Taxi, entered my life after a friend decided to sell them for a fundraiser. You can find them here or by doing a google search, as other companies do sell them.

They come in two sizes- one large enough to hold a big sandwich and a smaller bag perfect for snacks or half sandwich. They are made out of a soft cloth fabric and lined with a vinyl interior which makes them easy to clean. Like the others, I have accidentally washed them in the machine and they’ve held up superbly, although I usually just hand wash as needed. We have a variety of large and small sizes, plus a few of the cloth napkins. The smaller snack size gets used a little more than the large bag, but I think it’s helpful to have both. A few of these plus the sandwich wrap shown above and you have a easy, economical & environmentally smart way to pack your lunches.

The patterns are cute, obviously intended for kids but don’t think that stops us from using them! I pack my husband’s lunch using the same bags. He doesn’t mind. However, I try to give him the more “macho” prints like the rocket ship ones. I’m thoughtful like that. Can’t you just picture this tough Marine unwrapping his lunch in front of other tough Marines? 🙂 Makes me laugh just thinking about it! I did notice they come in solid colors so they really are for everyone…maybe next time around I will get him black.

I prefer these over tupperware simply because of their size. I am able to fit so much more into the lunch bags than if I were to use tupperware, although I do love my bento box that it shown in the kid lunches post. A few people asked where I got that one and in case you wanted to know it came from Babies R Us, Sassy brand.

Hope this will help you get rid of some of the plastic used in your house. Honestly, I haven’t had to buy one box of sandwich bags since I’ve bought these. They’ve been worth every penny!

Make your lunch a little “greener” this year!