Reflecting on 2008 and Looking Ahead to 2009

There has been a lot of discussion in our house about the new year. Many of the conversations involved things we changed during 2008 that made us happier. As we talked about those changes, it soon became clear almost all of them also made our lives greener. It was nice to see the two characteristics line up so nicely so I thought I would share!

First is an overview of the greening steps we made during 2008. Since I love hearing about other people’s resolutions, this is followed by the resolutions we have currently made for 2009. Read more

Storing Leftovers for Less

‘Tis the season… for leftovers. Leftovers are a life saver in our house, allowing us to cut our grocery bill, our food waste, and our prep time when the kids are ravenous. Storing them, however, had become a holly, jolly pain.

Like many families, we have been working to reduce the amount of plastic we use. This was particularly important for us when it came to plastic coming into contact with food our children would eat. (For a refreshingly clear discussion of plastics and food, visit The Smart Mama.) But what would we do without our plastic containers? And how could we store our leftovers safely without spending more money?

The answer came in a jar of jam. The Koala Sisters are big PB and J fans so Richard and I spend a lot of time with the jam jar. The jars are so pretty that I had saved several with no real plan. And then it hit me! We are already buying the perfect food storage containers; we just need to reuse them when the original contents had been consumed.

We started saving our glass jars to reuse for leftovers. Jam jars are perfect for small amounts of leftovers or for individual servings. We have several in our frig right now full of yummy mushroom soup. Jars from spaghetti sauce and peanut or almond butter are fabulous for larger amounts. All clean up easily and impart no harmful chemicals to our food – and in the end are totally recyclable!

This switch has also made us think about our food purchases in a new way. Now that we know the containers will be reused, they are a larger portion of our decision to make a purchase. Our last yogurt purchase was of yogurt in a glass rather than plastic container, in part because of its great jar. It was a tiny bit more expensive but quite delicious so this change is also helping us to expand our food horizons.

If you have questions about your plastic food storage containers, check out The Green Guide’s piece on the safety of different plastics by number. Or start your own jar collection!

Making Life Greener – Put Down the Plastic

Last week I posted on the latest report raising questions about bisphenol-A and mentioned that we’ve been making changes to protect our girls from exposure to this chemical. As promised, here is more about that topic.

Limiting our family’s exposure to bisphenol-A, also known as BPA, was important to us because it has been linked to several health issues. BPA mimics estrogen in the body and is a known endocrine disrupter. Increases in breast and other cancers, increases in insulin resistance, and early puberty for girls have all been associated with exposure to BPA. As I’ve mentioned before, the girls have inherited a strong family history of cancer so we want to reduce their exposure to carcinogens. Diabetes is also in their family medical history so we had multiple reasons for concern. Read more

More Questions Raised about Bisphenol-A

Today’s Washington Post reports on a new bispenol-A study. The study, conducted by the Yale School of Medicine, showed issues in brain function and moods in primates who were exposed to the chemical. Read more