Renew, Reuse, Recycle!

I have many random containers stashed in my cabinets that were from different food items.  In this blog, i'm going to share some of the easiest ways to get containers without having to splurge too much on them.  In most cases, you can get the containers and use whatever's in them to make lunch! Click on the links (where available) to see how other bloggers have used the same containers!  

1. Hillshire Farms Sandwich Meats

  

What I love about these containers is they are the perfect size for a standard lunchbox.   Just be sure to take the paper off the top, remove any stickers, wash them really well and inspect for cracks.  I've never had a defective container from this brand.  Also, in most cases, your store-brand may have their deli meats in a re-usable container as well.  I find this so much more useful!  

2. Talenti Gelato

I'm quite smitten with the Caribbean Coconut flavor of Talenti's Gelato so, as you can imagine, I have plenty of these! (Don't judge me ... LOL)  When I first started reusing these containers, it was to hold the body butters and hair creams I made for my family.  Since I've started making lunches for my daughters with more veggie and fruit varieties, I've been chopping them up ahead of time and using these containers to store them.  They are leak proof and incredibly sturdy.  I feel like I get my money's worth out of the containers alone ... the absolutely DELICIOUS product on the inside is the "icing on the cake". 

 3.  Asian Food Takeout Containers

If these work for the delivery guy, they can work for us!  These don't last as long as some of the other options but you can get several uses out of them before they're added to the recycling pile.  The soup containers are especially handy when doing warm lunches if you don't have a soup thermos.  When in a pinch, I usually wrap them in foil and place them in an insulated lunch box to help keep them warm.  You get a little more for your hard earned dollars this way!

4. Gerber Baby Food 

When looking online for "dipping containers", I ran across these little guys.  While I'm not going out to buy any baby food any time soon, I was impressed by some of the ways different people reused these.  Check out the link above to see an idea on how to use these!

****None of these images are my own.****