Top 10 Ways to Pack a Waste-Free Lunch

Whether it's back to work or back to school, we all know that packing a lunch is one of the best and most economical ways to encourage healthy eating.

To ensure your packed lunch produces minimal waste for the landfill, there are two key things to consider - what you pack and what you pack it in. Here are 10 suggestions to keep in mind when packing a lunch to help minimize waste.

1.       Pack foods that are liked. If they like it, they'll eat - especially at school. If they don't like it, it will more than likely end up in the bin.

2.       Involve your kids in the decision about what to pack. Give them some ownership (to a degree!) of the process of what goes in their lunch and they're less likely to throw it out. One way to do this is with a make-it-yourself magnetic lunch chart from Martha herself.

3.       Pack leftovers from dinner the night before. Saves time and money. Make a slightly larger-sized dinner the night before and pack the leftovers for lunch the next day. Casseroles, soups, pastas are great for this.

4.       Replace disposables with reusables. There are lots of reusable lunch gear options that last and are more cost effective than disposables in the long run. Reusable sandwich wraps and snack pouches can replace plastic baggies. Non-leaching stainless steel containers are the safer choice over potentially toxic plastic containers. Use cloth napkins over paper and stainless steel straws or glass straws instead of non-planet friendly plastic ones.

5.       Buy bulk not pre-packaged. Buy a box of cookies or other snacks and put a handful in a reusable container or pouch rather than purchasing a box of 6 little packages of snacks. The same goes for yogurt. This is a great way to cut down on packaging waste.

6.       Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. There are lots of great non-toxic options for keeping foods at temperature for several hours, to ensure they remain safe for consumption and are eaten rather than thrown away. Non-toxic ice packs, eco-lined freezable lunch cooler bags and stainless steel thermal food containers are all ideal.

7.       Protect food from damage. Whether it gets jostled around in a backpack, briefcase or even a lunch box, soft fruits and sandwiches are more less likely to get eaten if they're bruised and squished. No matter how often we tell kids brown bananas are sweeter, they still seem to shy away from bruised fruit. Prevent banana trauma and other damage to soft peaches, peaches, grapes and sandwiches with products like the hard-sided BPA-free banana guard, fruit guard and sandwich guard.

8.       Avoid disposable drink boxes and tetra packs. You might think they're being recycled but in the rush to get outside and the lack of classroom monitoring of recyclables, recyclable drink boxes often end up in the garbage can. Invest in a quality stainless steel water bottle that can sit on a desk and withstand the typical knock-around daily commotion of the classroom. For work, try a funky reusable glass water bottle. 

9.       Pack reusable cutlery even on hot lunch days. Except for recess snacks, you might think you're off the hook on hot lunch days but do remember to send along your child's reusable cutlery - and napkin. This avoids unnecessary use of the non-biodegradable disposable plastic utensils supplied by most school kitchens.

10.      Make lunch fun. There are plenty of ways to think outside the sandwich box and make packed lunches interesting and fun. Get creative with different wraps, pastas, healthy soups or use sandwich cutters to make fun-shaped sandwiches.

At Lavish & Lime, we have a great selection of the latest waste-free lunch gear on the market. It's all safe for you and the planet too.

For some more ideas about making the transition back to school a smooth one, check out our 5 Ways to Save with Back to School Shopping and 10 Classroom Tips from a Teacher.