Save money and natural resources by making your lunch at home. A prepackaged lunch for a child can cost about $4.02 a day compared to $2.65 a day for a waste-free lunch—a savings of about $250 per year. Adults can save even more! When a take-out meal costs $6 compared to $3.50 for a home-packed lunch—an adult can save about $100,000 over a 30-year career by packing lunch from home. Plus, whenever you create less waste, you reduce the need for disposal, save energy, prevent pollution and conserve natural resources such as coal, oil, natural gas and trees.
Good Green Habits to a Waste-free Lunch
- Pack only what you can eat.
- Store sandwiches and snacks in reusable containers.
- Provide whole fruits and vegetables without packaging.
- Offer beverages in reusable or recyclable containers.
- Purchase bulk food rather than individually packaged items.
- Carry lunches in reusable bags or totes.
- Avoid: individually wrapped snacks; plastic wrap/baggies; and disposable forks, spoons and straws.
Source: USEPA
Hanah Snavely of Ideal Bites discusses saving money and natural resources by taking your lunch:
Many fruits and vegetables are grown with pesticides to get rid of bugs. Although nobody wants to find a creepy crawly thing in a peach or tomato, according to the Environmental Working Group, even small doses of pesticides can adversely affect your health and are worrisome, not well understood, and in some cases completely unstudied.
Fortunately, you can drastically reduce your exposure to pesticides and bacteria found on produce with a thorough vinegar and water wash. Experts found that a white vinegar and water wash kills 98% of bacteria and removes pesticides.
You can concoct your own vinegar/water mixture at home to save money. You’ll probably spend less than 20 cents to make a homemade vinegar and water rinse, compared to around $4 for a premade produce wash. Plus, you can use the same bottle many times when you make your own wash!
Good Green Habits for Washing Produce
- Mix 3 parts water to 1 part white vinegar (3:1 ) in a spray bottle.
- Spray on fruits and veggies to get rid of pesticide residue.
- Rinse with water after spraying.
-OR-
- Fill a bowl with water and add 1/8 to 1/2 cup of vinegar, depending on the size of your bowl.
- Place your fruits and veggies in the bowl.
- Soak for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Rinse with water.
Note: GGH loves the second version because we think it’s easy and quick!
Thanksgiving is a great time to practice the art of wasting less and saving money. The steps you take before and after your holiday party can help keep the planet healthy and your pocketbook and body in good form.
Good Green Habits for Thanksgiving
You can create less waste, save energy and oftentimes save money with these eco-friendly steps:
- Serve less meat and more yummy side dishes.
- Consider your guests’ size, age, appetites and food preferences when shopping for food.
- Use this starter list to average per person food and drink portions:
| Turkey |
1 pound |
| Stuffing |
1/2 to 1 cup |
| Mashed Potatoes |
1/2 to 1 cup
(1 potato per person) |
| Veggies |
1/2 to 1 cup |
| Cranberries |
1/8 cup |
| Pie |
1/8 slice of 9 inch pie |
- Buy organic and locally produced milk, meat, veggies, wine and in-season fruits.
- Cook a turkey that is USDA-certified organic and free-range.
- Decorate your home with plants or leaves from your backyard placed in wicker baskets and glass vases and bowls.
- Set the table with cloth napkins and reusable dishes, glasses and silverware.
- Allow leftovers to cool before placing them in the refrigerator to avoid using extra electricity.
- Suggest guests bring their own reusable containers to take home leftovers.
- Show guests where to dispose of recyclables such as aluminum, glass, and plastic beverage containers.
- Donate whole, untouched leftovers to local food banks or homeless shelters.
- Collect food waste to compost at home or through your garbage company’s recycling program.
- Scrape foods off plates rather than pre-rinsing them.
- Fill dishwasher to capacity before running it.
ECO FACT: At least 28 billion pounds of edible food is wasted each year in America!
Care for a little plastic with your leftover pasta? Probably not, but you may be getting it.
Foods placed in plastic wrap or plastic containers―and then heated in a microwave oven―can end up containing harmful chemicals leached from plastics. Many of the chemicals in plastic have been classified as toxic and unsafe for consumption.
And, plastic containers labeled “microwave safe” or “microwavable” are no better since they can also potentially leach harmful chemicals when heated. The safety labels just mean that the plastic container shouldn’t melt, crack or fall apart when used in microwave ovens―the labels are not related to your health. They simply let you know that the containers can withstand heat. Chemicals from microwave-safe containers can migrate into your food.
Plastic-laced food is probably not what you had in mind when you sat down for a nice, hot meal, eh?
Good Green Habits for Microwaving
Since all plastics potentially leach chemicals into food, water and soil under certain conditions, follow these eco-friendly steps:
- Microwave food in ovenproof glass or ceramic.
- Never allow plastic or plastic wrap to touch heated food.
ECO FACT: Staff at Good Green Habits like to store all food in glass or ceramics, whether it’s hot or cold. We definitely prefer our pasta without plastic.
