I recently received a message from a friend of mine, she says:
"I was hoping you could help me with something... We are planning on taking out all plastic food containers (and non stick pans) out of our house, but are trying to find good containers to store (and microwave) food in. Maybe glass? Do you know of any good ones (or sites) to look at?..."
Glass is definitely ideal when you are talking about food and/or drink storage (including water). Pyrex is one company that I know of that manufactures glass storage containers for food (with plastic lids...but not to worry, since the lid isn't "touching" the food, it's not too much of a concern).
I'm also a big fan of using mason jars for storing things such as beverages, and soups (that go in the fridge), and dried goods such as nuts, seeds, powders (most of which go in the pantry). I do have to say, though that I am not a fan of the metal 2-part lids that come with these mason jars. Luckily, you can often find (in the same aisle of the store) separately sold plastic lids that fit onto these mason jars. Both the glass jars and the plastic lids are very reasonably priced (even if you decide to "ditch" the accompanying metal lids).
I'm not sure about the "microwave-ability" of mason jars, however. There are reasons for my not recommending that anyone use a microwave (but, that's a topic for another time)!
As far as mason jars, I usually buy Kerr brand jars (but Ball makes a similar type). They are both intended for home-made canning goods. I originally chose Kerr, mostly because they had writing on only one side of the jar...and since I knew that my pantry was going to be jam-packed (no pun intended) with these jars...I didn't want to be looking at a bunch of writing, artwork, and measurements every time I opened the cabinet. Although most of my jars are Kerr brand, we have since acquired some Ball jars as well (we purchase one of our favorite honeys that happens to be packaged in Ball brand jars). I'm finding that having a few Ball jars around the house has become useful, because it does have measurements on the side--I can see how much water I'm drinking and adding to recipes (and the little "fruit" artwork on the one side is sort-of cute).
Another decision as far as mason jars, is whether to get "wide mouth" or "regular" jars & lids. This is more of a personal choice. I buy the regular, because I'm one of those strange people that can yoga my fingers & hand in such a way to be able to stick my hand in to clean it properly. I don't think most people can (or even want to) do this; I think most people go with the wide mouth, mostly because they are easy to clean.
It's almost a joke in the raw-food community...if you've ever been to any kind of raw-food event you probably know what I am speaking of: So many people carry their drink around with them, it's usually either a mason jar, or a glass jar from what once was a superfood container...and the beverage in it might be water, but more likely some sort of superfood concoction. This is always a fun conversation topic, "What's in your jar?"
As you can probably guess, glass is just not practical all of the time (and honestly can get quite pricey, when you start investigating non-mason-jar glass storage ware). There are actually a few of good quality plastic-ware options out there, that is unless you are totally against it. I avoid almost completely the VERY low quality plastics such as the kind you find water in on the store shelf (thin, flimsy, opaque looking white, not-so-clear). I have to be in a real "pinch" for water to be motivated to buy those--plus you don't know how long they've been sitting on the shelf, and if it's been in the sunlight, or heat; these are the things that contribute to "leaching" of plastic into the water...not cool by me (you can even taste it, yuck)!
Sometimes glass just is not practical, such as when you're at the beach, or the pool. Even for home use, there are some pretty good options for storing food in plastic-ware. If I were to pick one really good high-quality plastic-ware to recommend to someone, it would be Rubbermaid's "Stain Shield." If I am not mistaken, it is polycarbonate plastic. Polycarbonate which, is currently debated in the health community to be a "safe" choice; still most people consider it to be a good choice; but there are viewpoints supporting both sides of this issue. I personally have no problem with it; my Vita-Mix happens to be made of the same material (my Vita-Mix is my most important piece of kitchen "hardware"). I feel intuitively that the "harder" plastics, such as polycarbonate, and "Nalgene" are better choices than softer, more opaque plastics.
I'm not personally, nowhere near "beyond" using ALL opaque plastics...there are some fairly good quality ones that I own and use. It is important however, that whenever using plastics (especially opaque ones) to please keep them out of the sun, and out of the heat. As I've said before, sun and heat encourage "leaching" of the plastic, which is what we all want to avoid.
As far as cookware, I definitely avoid using any non-stick. I own a really nice set of stainless-steel cookware that I have had for many years, and it has served me well. If you want to get really fancy, invest in a nice set of glass cookware. I own one glass pot, and I absolutely love it--I swear the food is quite different coming out of that pot. It is pretty cool, too...to see your food cooking from the outside of the pot.
Good on you for wanting to make a "Greener" kitchen! High quality glassware (or plastic-ware) will last you a long time; it's nicer (better quality), certainly more eco-friendly...and great for your family as well.
Happy Storing! :-)
. In the interview, she talks about the weight loss that she experienced from embracing a raw food diet (she lost 160 lbs!). Check out the video here: Angela Stokes on CNN
