Switching to stainless steel from plastic !!

We just got the most gorgeous new range of LunchBot  and Kids Konserve Stainless Steel Lunchboxes in store.  Now that I am on a super strict lifestyle of Gluten free , Grain free living for health reasons and the kids are eating Gluten , dairy and soy free for health and behavioural reasons I've started packing food for everywhere we go.  But also playing on my mind as the news emerges about the chemicals in plastic that can leach into our foods I've started researching into alternative containers we can use just as easily as plastic.  I honestly had no idea of the wasted plastic and rubbish that is starting to clog up our landfills either ! (I know , I know  , but I'm new to this caring about our environment thing !!)

 
I have always been a lover of glass containers but they aren't always practical - especially for carrying around in day to day life and quite frankly my kids are not of the gentle type (or my husband for that matter) and have broken quite a few of our collection !! 
 
I'm really coming around to using more reusable and eco friendly options in our kitchenware now so when I discovered this range there was a small happy dance in my office and squeals of glee. I'm a fan of dividing my food and eating "buffet" style meals and my son wont let any of his food touch each other so these products both suited myself and hubby as well as the kids equally well.  Win Win !!


But WHY Stainless steel ?

Well basically stainless steel is durable , is safe is reusable and recyclable.  Plastic .. well umm its not really any of those things ..  Its more expensive but it will definitely last for years to come so I have started slowly replacing our plastic with stainless steel containers as we need more. 



Why I am converted to using stainless steel containers / thermos over plastic ? 

• They are just so much more practical and light weight than glass or pyrex , stainless steel is light weight but extremely strong.  The kids can drop them all over the place and these lunchboxes will stand up to the test ! Kindy HATES it when I send glass with my little one so they are also much happier with the thermos etc I can now send !
• The lids are also stainless steel on the lunch boxes which means they also will be durable and long lasting , I'm SO sick of finding bent or chewed on lids (I have NO idea why they chew the lids!!) in the cupboards, they are lightweight so my 2 year old and my husband can both easily use them making them versatile!! 
• They are light weight and an excellent size so I can chuck them easily into my handbag or nappy bag and know I have a healthy solution for hungry children or mummy at anytime !! 
• I can send warm healthy meals with my children to school during winter like soups, meatballs and pasta options.
• They are dishwasher safe and do not leave extra puddles of water pouring everywhere when you take them out of the dishwasher (seriously , I can't be the only person that HATES that about plastic !!)
• I feel like I'm contributing to the environment in a  way I didn't realise I could before.  YES they are more expensive than plastic containers BUT all the above and the life cycle of these containers to me makes it worth slowly replacing them for steel ones

Anyhow enough from me .. Here's some awesome examples of yummy nutritious meals you can use for inspiration when you get your own stainless steel containers ;-)