Few years ago we got this container from To-Go Ware. I was attracted to it for being stainless steel rather than plastic, and also being an upright container. Over these few years it’s been such great and integral part of our outings with the boys, so I wanted to share it with you.

One thing that has always been a bit of an inconvinience for me with regular rectangular broad-base containers is that when placed in a bag they pretty much always end up getting on their side and the contents are at risk of leaking some liquid out into the bag. And that is if the lid doesn’t come ajar from all the shaking and rattling in the bag. And when they do stay put the way you had them they always take up more room than I wished.

This container is made in the style of Indian tiffins — Indian style lunch container. They have been around for ever in India, but are apparently a cool new thing in our cutting edge Western world 😉

Compact, but roomy

The great thing about tiffin containers is that they are made of individual sections that stack up on top of each other and then are closed with very sturdy clips into one firm structure. So it easily fits into a backpack, little basket or a purse and stays upright. And also you can pack different foods keeping them completely separate. So sometimes I had hot porridge in the bottom, some cookies in the middle and fruit on top. All transported well with fruit never becoming hot.

And while it may seem small each sections is quite roomy, with the bottom and top being the tallest. It is 5 1/2″  in diameter (including latches), top unit is 2″  heigh (but has more actual height form the lid), middle unit is 2 1/4″   and bottom unit is 2 1/2″  high.

You can also use the top section on its own, as it has its own set of clips that allow to attach the lid securely.

What goes in our tiffin

Foods

Whenever we go out with kids I fill our container with whatever regular food we have at home (rice, noodles, buckwheat, chicken, etc.) plus plenty of fresh fruit or berries as those are always fail-proof and do miracles for the cranky moods 🙂 . And since the tiffin sections are separate you can take different foods without them getting onto each other. Plus, the company that makes this tiffin also has smaller single containers which fit into the top tiffin’s section. Those are great to be filled with things like peanut butter or a little bit of home-made berry preserve to put onto porridge, etc.

As the boys are both growing I’m thinking I will need to add a second tiffin to our to-go arsenal very soon. 🙂

Pictured: Lunch break at the zoo with Ale feeding strawberries to his ‘pet’ eagle :)))

Non-toxic and non-plastic hand-wipes

Besides food I also take a couple of little pieces of cloth (old pillow case cut into pieces) for cleaning boys hands. The commercial hand-wipes are loaded with harmful chemicals and are essentially single-use plastic which doesn’t biodegrade for eons. So, that’s a no-go. Instead I usually take two little cloths with us — one damp with a bit of liquid soap on it and one dry. Works out really well.

Little utensils

Last, but not least, we got these cute little stainless steel utensils (spoons and forks) for the boys and those fit just right into the tiffin’s section as well.

Stainless steel, not plastic

Plastic… its production is so environmentally destructive (it is made of crude oil and gas, so think oil leaks and everything else that goes along with the Big Oil), it is often toxic for us (read here) while is being used and it chokes our oceans and marine life in its post-consumer stage of existence. The less we can use it and depend on it the better.

You may think I’m exaggerating. But the picture is worth a thousand words. So, I’m including my Pinterest board on plastic pollution here, just to show that Plastic Pollution is no small thing and is considered one of the most urgent and severe environmental problems our planets faces today.

Truth about recycling

And while the plastic containers aren’t a single-use items, they still eventually break and we throw them away. But when it comes to plastic there is no AWAY. And unfortunately recycling isn’t really an answer. Take a look at this numbers:

• Since the 1950s, plastic production worldwide has exploded from about 2 million tons annually to a whopping 440 million tons in 2015.
• Plastics production is expected to double in the next 20 years and nearly quadruple by 2050.
• Only 9% of plastics ever created has been recycled. Every piece of plastic ever made still exists.

• Nearly one-third of all plastics produced in the world end up oceans, in soils, or as litter. By 2050, if this trend continues, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

This information is from Eco-Cycle in Boulder which I highly recommend for your hard-to-find recycling needs if you live in Denver area.

Give steel a chance 🙂

All in all, whether you are looking to reduce your plastic consumption or looking for non-toxic solutions for your home and family or just looking to have a very handy and versatile container I highly recommend you give the To-Go Ware containers a try. This is not a sponsored post. As always, just sharing those good things we discovered.