Plastic-free

I have been doing a little research about plastic cups and bowls and storage containers, and how plastic can leech into food. So, I have decided to get rid of the plastic cups, bowls and plates in our kitchen. I only use them for the boys but started to think that since they are all old enough, we'll now graduate from plastic to something else. Today, I went to the Corning Ware outlet and bought some Corelle plates (2 sizes) and bowls for the boys. I also bought some juice glasses (which, btw, are extremely hard to find). Tonight, I ordered some anodized aluminum cups from UrbanOutfitters.com.

My next goal is to slowly replace our Gladware and Ziploc plastic containers with Pyrex (or similar) glass containers. Of course I will need to keep some of the plastic but I will not store food in the freezer or fridge in it. To change over, it will be expen$ive so I will do it slowly - instead of buying new plastic when I need it, I'll buy glass, stainless or ceramic.

Now, I know not all plastic is bad for you. Numbers 5,4 and 2 are supposed to be ok. Of course Stephen loves taking his lunch in the #7 collapsible Rubbermaid containers that we have and I cannot convince him to give them up. Hmmm, maybe they will accidentally be washed on the lower rack in the dishwasher and the lid will shrink and not fit? ;)

Plastic is such a big part of our everyday life. Plastic on food, plastic seals on bottles, the damn impossible-to-open hard plastic clamshelss around everything from inkjet cartidges to batteries and small electronics. Those things clamshells are so hard to open that someone has even invented a tool to use on them! Even though consumers complain about them, retails love those clamshells because they help deter theft. No kidding!

The biggest problem with plastic is that most of it is made from oil. Oil that we we just cannot afford to be using and wasting by making into things like plastic clamshells and plastic grocery bags. So, by cutting out some plastics, I am helping conserve oil, right?

BTW, I am not saying that plastic is bad but I just do not think that my kids need to be eating it.

And I also do not want them to be eating high fructose corn syrup. We are working on that too...