picnic, bento, sigg, & the environment

Yesterday it was 75 degrees, so we took a picnic lunch to a nearby lake and park with some friends. The wind was crazy, so that there were waves on the lake, as if it were the ocean. I could even smell the water. It reminded me of the beach. To make the illusion even more convincing, was the sand on the playground, where I took off my flip flops and sunk my toes. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but my friend took some pictures when we got back to her house, and I'll put those up when I get them.

I did a post on bento lunch boxes and Sigg bottles once before, but they looked so cute before I closed them and packed them in our tote bag, that I thought I'd take a picture. I made hot dogs wrapped and baked in Gillian's pizza dough, then cut them in half. Beside them is avocado. Underneath are apples and walnuts, and my raw carrot spice cookies, which I made thin this time - man, are they good! There's even a space on the right for your silverware. We just threw the cloth napkins and Sigg bottles right in the tote bag.

Sigg bottles are great because plastic bottles leach the toxic chemical, BPA, into your water, and because Americans add over 30 million plastic water bottles to our nation's landfills – everyday! We also went ahead last summer and ordered two lead-free bento boxes from Lap Top Lunches, which cost a little up front, but saved a lot in the long run because I no longer buy ziplocks, etc. The reason for using bento lunch boxes is creating lead-free, BPA-free, Waste Free Lunches.  It has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school.

As I said last time, one of the most important things I hope to teach my children is how to be good stewards of the earth. They are beginning to understand that we have to consume less, waste less, and reuse more, in order to protect our future. Sigg bottles, bento boxes, and cloth napkins are all ways we can help our kids choose to protect the environment, and our future.

(Note: You may click on the words that are bold for more information. Also, Sigg bottles are sold at natural markets, like Whole Foods, as well as local stores, and on Amazon.)