How I Pack My Zero-Waste Lunch

I don't know about you, but packing my lunch was always a chore. A drudgery. What to bring? How to pack it? Every morning, I would fumble through the crumbling tower of Tupperware, eyes not quite yet open, looking for containers the proper size with their elusive, matching lids.  Sometimes, the containers did not fit in my lunch bag, so I had several different styles of lunch bag cluttering the top of my fridge. Sometimes, by lunch, I would realize a container had leaked. Cleaning it out at the end of the day was perhaps even worse.

UGH.

As someone who is pretty organized (okay, understatement, but hush), the unruliness of this system made the daily task of packing lunch pretty miserable. Not to mention, all of the supplies required to fuel this chaos were mongering golden real-estate in my kitchen cabinets. I needed something simple, minimal, and easy.

.  .  .  .   Enter PlanetBox!  :) 

What is a PlanetBox?

Why, a PlanetBox is the BEST LUNCHBOX EVER and single-handedly the solution to my lunch-packing woes. The PlanetBox is a stainless steel, lidded lunch box with divided compartments for food.  Think bento box.  There are three models of this lunch box: The Shuttle (for packing snacks, or for toddlers), the Rover (for school-age children), and the Launch (for high school students up through adults).  I have the Launch, which is designed to hold three courses, nearly 6.5 pounds of food.  This is always more than enough to get me through my workday, so I think it is perfect for adults to take their lunch to work in.

I have donated all of my plastic lunch containers.  My cabinets can breathe!  No more fumbling around for lids! Hallelujah!  AND it has made my lunches effortlessly and completely ZERO-WASTE!  No need for plastic containers or baggies.  It is also very easy to clean out at the end of the day.  I just empty whatever was left in the compartments, if anything, into the compost, and stick it in the dishwasher.  It is also easy to hand wash if I'm not ready to turn the dishwasher on.

How Does it Work?

Because the PlanetBox is divided, you can pack a variety of different foods without needing any additional containers.  Anything that might tempt you to reach for a Ziplock can be tucked into one of the compartments in the PlanetBox.  Even things like dressings can be packed in the "little dipper", a small, stainless-steel, leakproof container that comes included with the PlanetBox and fits inside.

The PlanetBox itself is not leak-proof; messy things could leak into neighboring compartments or out of the PlanetBox.  That's where the "Satellite Dish" comes in - an add-on accessory for the PlanetBox that I feel is a must.  It is a glass dish with a leak-proof, BPA free, silicone lid.  This is where I pack entrees that are drippy (like my potato salad or pasta salad) or need to be microwaved at work (leftovers).  It fits perfectly into the main entree compartment of the PlanetBox.

Another add-on accessory that I purchased and think is great is the zippered lunch bag that you put the stainless steel PlanetBox inside.  It is a very high quality lunch bag made of recycled plastic!  I picked the gender neutral blue so that my husband or I could take it to work.

Once all was said and done, shipping, tax, the add-on satellite dish and lunch bag, my total was about 100 dollars.  It seems like a hefty total for a lunch box, but I don't see myself ever needing to replace it, and it truly has made lunch-packing and clean-up SO SIMPLE.  The Planet Box also comes with a 5 year warranty.  I've already had the PlanetBox and used it every work day for 2 years, and it looks brand new. :)  I did some research on YouTube before buying and families reported that their children had been using their PlanetBox for an average of 4 years or so and they were still in great condition!

Some families buy a new, themed lunch box for their child every year as their interests grow and change.  But that can get expensive!  And wasteful (sort of like fast fashion)!  A very minimal-waste way that a child using a PlanetBox can still update and personalize it each year, is by using the PlanetBox magnets.  A set comes free with your Planet Box, and they stick to the outside cover to decorate it.  Additional sets cost about 4 dollars, so you can have a variety and mix and match to suit a child's design preferences that year... or week or day. :)

Where can I get one?

Monday Munchies | One-Pot Chickpea Curry

I LOVE one-pot meals.  They are perfect for busy weeknights.  Quick and easy to make and quick and easy to clean up!  This delicious curry uses very healthy, very inexpensive ingredients.  There are only 3 steps!  THREE!  It is definitely going to become one of your staple meals! ;)

If you have a local Indian market, I recommend getting the spices there, because they will usually be more reasonably priced.  Blends such as "curry powder" will be more authentic!  We enjoy this recipe over basmati rice (also best purchased at your local Indian market!).  If you choose to serve your curry over rice, that would require a rice cooker or second pot!

This recipe makes A TON of curry (approximately 6-8 servings) that reheats and/or freezes wonderfully.  This recipe is easily divisible, so feel free to make a smaller batch, but I always make the full amount to avoid cooking as much as I can during the workweek.

Delicious and healthy meal, easy cleanup, relaxing evenings - what more can you ask for?

---------------------    ♫ ♪    ---------------------

One-Pot Chickpea Curry
Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free (besides coconut), refined sugar-free, soy-free

Serves 6-8
Preparation: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 tablespoon oil (optional, for frying)
• 32 oz tomato sauce (4 8ozcans)
• 1 14oz can coconut milk
• 6 cups cooked chickpeas (4 cans)
• 4 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Cilantro as garnish (optional)
• 2 cups dry basmati rice (optional, follow package instructions for preparing)

Directions

1. Finely chop the onion and the garlic and fry in a large pot until golden brown.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and lightly simmer for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Garnish with cilantro and serve over basmati rice (optional).

---------------------    ENJOY!   ---------------------

Pushing my Buttons | Sustainable Fashion

I am an avid thrifter, and it is a part of my journey towards a more sustainable, compassionate lifestyle. Initially, thrifting merely meant clothing I could afford as a poor student and the exhilaration of finding those diamonds in the rough, but I later realized these personal benefits I was enjoying were just small snapshots of the greater landscape.  Buying used helps the environment, and it helps people, too.

Replacing  our products with new ones and trashing the old when they become outdated or in need of repair is not a sustainable option.  Not only does it add waste to the landfills, but new raw materials must be continually extracted to produce new items.  Also, many popular brands are made in countries where working conditions and wages are questionable and the supply chain convoluted, making it very difficult to determine the ethicality of your purchase.

By shopping used, rather than using your money to support these dubious companies and the perpetual devastation of land, you will instead, more simply and straightforwardly, be supporting the thrift store (many of which are charitable entities!) and helping to preserve our resources. 

"The Story of Stuff", by Annie Leonard, inspired me to consider the necessity of all of my purchases, to research the product that will last the longest and have the smallest footprint, to try to fix things that have broken rather than tossing them, and to always check used options first.  I now keep a list of items I'd like to eventually have - that way, whenever I am at a thrift store or yard sale, I can check for those items.  Sometimes I find exactly what I'm looking for!

A few weeks back, I visited a new-to-me thrift store on it's "half-off day" with a dear friend for some much-needed girl time and guilt-free retail therapy.  I just want to preface this thrifting anecdote with:

It was a disaster.

After experiencing moderate success with clothing for ourselves, we decided to buy some clothes for our husbands who had predictably chosen to sit the clothes-shopping errand out at home.  Thus, we shopped blindly, trying to envision whether items would fit, or whether they were to their taste.  I bought three shirts for less than two dollars each, and until I got them home, had completely failed to notice that:

One didn't fit.

     One was stubbornly ink-stained.

          And for the grand finale, one was mysteriously missing

                                                                              EVERY.

                                                                              SINGLE.

                                                                             BUTTON.

Front, collar, and sleeves.  A good 14 buttons just cut off by the previous owner before they willy-nilly decided to donate the shirt.  What. The. Heck.

In the end, we donated the oversized shirt and decided the ink-stained shirt was actually fine because, as a self-proclaimed stain magnet, it relieved the pressure of trying to stay clean when he wore it (to each their own, okay?).  And finally, I decided the sad, buttonless garment just needed a little love.

I dug through my button collection and found ones that seemed complimenting.  I thought about sewing them on by hand, because I wasn't sure how to use that feature on my humble sewing machine but I wound up putting my nose to the grindstone and breaking out the manual that described the surprisingly simple process. My husband and I were both very pleased with the final results and feel that this quality, functional shirt is now one of his nicest!

Ultimately, I am grateful for my thrifting fiasco (the first of many to come, I'm sure).  Had someone else bought the shirt missing all the buttons, it may have been trashed.  What a waste!  This rescued shirt now looks brand-new and beautiful!

It seems like mending is sort of an outdated concept, and this makes me a little sad.  We operate in such a disposable culture.  Why fix this shirt, when I can throw it away and get a  new shirt?  Lots of reasons.  Let's bring mending back y'all! Here's to a more sustainable future! Where we all save our spare buttons and  repair over replacing. <3