This school year we’ve started using plastic-free school lunch containers. On Fridays, Little J gets pizza from the school, but other than that, he takes a lunch to school every day. I had been sending food in BPA-free plastic containers to be heated in the microwave in the lunchroom, but this summer the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended parents stop microwaving and dishwashing plastic containers including BPA-free plastic containers. The concern is that heating plastics increases the chance of dangerous chemicals leaching into food. The recommendation also covered food additives, but you can read it for yourself here.
After reading that, I decided I needed to avoid plastics touching Jeremiah’s food as much as possible. Unless I start growing my own crops, I don’t know how I can possibly complete avoid plastics (just look around the grocery store), but I’m reducing our use as much as possible, and I’m definitely avoiding heating his food in plastic containers and avoiding putting his food in plastic containers that have gone through the dishwasher.
I did some research online, and when replacing plastic, most people turn to silicone, glass or stainless steel, so this is where I also focused my attention.
Products:
I was going to write one post with all of the products we use, but I decided it would be an insanely long post, so I’m going to write and release them one at a time.
There are many more products out there (please share them in the comments!), but the products listed below are the ones we’ve used. Please note that I paid for all of these products myself. The reviews I’m going to post are not sponsored.
The products we’ve ended up using for Little J’s food are the:
I think this may be my first no-show sock review, but man, I love this brand, because these no-show socks work, and I want to share! I wear a lot of shoes that require that “barefoot” look, but actually going without socks all the time can be gross.
Of course my Rothys (Love them! Will review later!) are washable, but most of my shoes aren’t, which means eventually- whether they’re $20 Payless wedges or $180 Cole Han flats- my shoes will start to smell if I’m not wearing socks regularly. Fact of life, ya’ll.
Okay, so I have a bunch of those little nude or black footsie socks that are no-show inside of flats and pumps, but they never stay on my feet! It doesn’t matter what brand. I’VE TRIED SO MANY.
But, the Thirty 48 women’s no-show loafer socks from Amazon are amazing! It doesn’t matter what shoes or (even boots!) I’m wearing, they have never slipped off my feet.
They are one size for women sizes 6-9. I usually wear a US 9 1/2, and these socks fit well. I’ve been wearing over and over the same 6 pairs (and obviously washing them in between wearing) since last March, and the socks still have kept their elasticity.
Heel grip
The only downside is they are not no-show in every situation, so they may not work with every shoe, depending on how much you care if a little sock is showing. I’d rather have a little sock showing then not wear any socks at all, which is basically what happens if I wear any other brand since they end up falling off and balled up under my feet.
If you’re interested, you can buy them on Amazon (affiliate link), here:
As always, my opinions are just that: my opinions. I paid for these products, and if you purchase through my affiliate link, any commission I earn will go toward more products to review.
Do you wear no-show socks? Have you found a pair that work really well?
Since I’ve been using the Terra’s Kitchen meal kit delivery service for a couple of months, it seems like time to review them. I’m not an affiliate; I don’t work with this company in any way, but I do like writing reviews for services that I appreciate and think others may as well.
Why I started ordering meal kits
Several years ago I reviewed Hello Fresh, another well-known meal kit delivery service, and I actually really liked it but decided the expense didn’t make sense for our family at the time.
Then a year or two ago (I don’t remember exactly when), my job was getting really, really busy, and I decided to try meal kit delivery again. I was willing to pay the money if it meant more time with my family and better food. We were eating a lot of pizza at that point.
I’d already used my free box from Hello Fresh, so I decided to try Marley Spoon, Martha Stewart’s company. I used that service for at least a year, and the food was really, really good. When I had issues with the way the meat was arriving, customer service actually listened to me. They ended up changing the way they delivered meats in their kits. But eventually, it was taking too much time. I was still spending an hour in the kitchen not including the multiple pots and pans that needed washing. I’m slow at chopping things.
I was exhausted. I stopped that service for a few months, and instead I tried making more slower cooker meals and easy things like pasta. But I still found that we were turning to delivery and takeout more than was good for us. All that sodium! And the cost. Yes, a meal kit service (especially Terra’s Kitchen) is pricey, but around the DC-Baltimore area, take out and delivery restaurants are expensive too. It’s normal for us to spend $10-15 a serving on food around here, not counting taxes, tips and/or delivery fees.
Why I chose Terra’s Kitchen meal kit delivery service
A local friend of mine was using Terra’s Kitchen before she moved to her new duty station on the other coast. She had a newborn, an elementary age child, and she was active duty military with her husband overseas. Terra’s Kitchen was letting her get home cooked meals on the table for herself and her kids, so I knew it might work for us too.
For me, the selling point of Terra’s Kitchen is that the veggies already come washed, peeled and chopped, and the meals themselves are simple and can be prepared in 15 or 20 minutes. I realize I may sound lazy to some of you all (she cant even chop her own vegetables- what!?), but until you walk in my shoes, you shouldn’t judge.
How it works
Terra’s Kitchen delivers the food in a reusable insulated box (super fancy!) the company calls a vessel. Ice packs are inside. Even during the heat wave this summer, I never had any issues with the food staying cold. The vessel gets left on my steps, and then as soon as I get home, I take the vessel inside, unpack it, and put the food in my fridge.
I get both email and text notifications when my vessel has arrived.The food containers sit next to ice packs on little drawers that slide out of the vessel.
After the vessel has been unpacked, I pull my shipping label off the top and the return label is already underneath. Then I put the vessel back on the curb the next business day, and the shipping company comes back and picks it up.
I use either the website or the phone app to select my meals. You can select dinner, lunch, breakfast, dessert and beverages. A little tracker on the site tells you how much room is in your vessel, so you can keep adding more food if you want. The price changes depending on what you select. Some meals are as cheap as $9.99 a serving; some are as much as $16.99 a serving. Some meals are for 2 people; some are for 4. You can search by the number of servings, or by an allergen (corn-free, dairy-free, etc.) or by eating style (paleo, gluten-free, weight loss, etc.). So there are really a lot of options for people.
Here are screenshots: the app is on the left, and the website is on the right.
If you’re in a hurry, they also have bundles that you can select. One bundle I saw recently includes salads, entrees, cold brew coffee, juice and fruit. I also noticed a keto bundle and a cleanse bundle. Both were around $100.
Orders $100 or more qualify for free delivery. If you order less than that, you will have to pay $6.99 for shipping.
It’s a subscription service, but it’s really easy to use the website or the app to skip a delivery.
I had one meal from Terra’s Kitchen that I didn’t think tasted very good, but every other meal has been delicious and easy to make. Every meal comes with a recipe card with a number on it. The food has been separated into little containers that have the corresponding number on top, so it’s easy to figure out which ingredient goes with which meal.
Notice the number on the top left of the recipe card? The food containers have a corresponding number, so if you order multiple meal kits, you don’t get confused.Cheeseburger pizzasLoaded turkey nachosKorean bibimbap- so tasty! Next time I’ll add an egg on top.
One of my favorite things about Terra’s Kitchen (or really any meal kit delivery service) is that you can adjust how much sodium or spices you want to add to the meal. That’s another thing that I like about meal kits more so than delivery or takeout from restaurants.
That one thing…
The only thing I don’t like about Terra’s Kitchen is the number of plastic containers they send. According to their website, the FDA requires cut ingredients to be sealed in individually packaged containers. The company is actively trying to reduce the number of containers. Again, according to their site, they’ve recently started shipping lemons and limes without containers. We try to up-cycle and reuse the containers, but if we don’t, then we recycle them.
Other than that, I love Terra’s Kitchen and don’t plan to stop using the service any time soon! If you visit their website, new customers currently get $35 off their first delivery if they sign up for the Terra’s Kitchen email list.
How about you? Have you ever used a meal kit delivery service? If not, would you want to give it a try?
