Airtight Glass Food Storage Containers from Life Without Plastic
Life Without Plastic sent me a few of their new airtight glass containers with stainless lids to review a few months ago, and the containers have been sitting in the pile beside my desk along with other cool plastic-free products that companies have sent me to test. So today, I finally unpacked them from their plastic-free mailing box (Jay doesn’t use plastic packaging materials or plastic tape) and gave them a try. My verdict: they are very, very cool.
(Disclosure: If you purchase products via links in this post, My Plastic-Free Life earns a small percentage to support my plastic-free mission.)
Now, before I get into my review, I have to say that you don’t have to buy new glass containers to store food without plastic. Repurposed jars from foods like spaghetti sauce or pickles or peanut butter work well. And you can sometimes find secondhand glass containers at thrift stores, yard sales, etc. We do all of that. Our refrigerator is glass jar heaven. But glass jars are not always the right size; they waste refrigerator space since they are not stackable; and sometimes, as much as we try to reduce our impact by buying less new stuff, it’s just nice to spring for well-made, durable, useful, and frankly beautiful things.
Here’s what I love…
The lids. Unlike other glass containers with plastic lids that inevitably crack over time…
these containers have unbreakable stainless steel lids. Inside the stainless steel is a ring of silicone, which creates the airtight seal, and a silicone button in the middle which adjusts the pressure, allowing the lid to seal and unseal easily. Silicone, while still a polymer, is more resilient than plastic.
I love that the container fits well in my freezer. As you may recall, we use Anchor glass refrigerator containers for our homemade cat food because they are the right size, stack well, and both container and lid are made from only glass with no other materials. But those containers are not airtight and not appropriate for storing foods long-term.
I also use Life Without Plastic’s airtight stainless steel containers in the freezer, but it will be nice to be able to identify the contents through the glass. I’m thinking they will work well for storing my garden veggies if and when that time comes.
Note about freezing: Yes, you can freeze glass containers. BUT allow the contents to thaw gently. I wouldn’t put them directly from the freezer into the microwave. And leave some room at the top for expansion.
Airtight glass containers are also useful for transporting lunch to work since the container can go directly in the microwave, sans metal lid, of course. And oh! Ice cream! I’m going to take one of these with me the next time I pick up ice cream at Tara’s!
HI! Are these containers even made anymore! I LOVE THEM!
Hi there! It doesn’t look like these are available anymore… do you know where I could find them?! I love them! Thanks!
Over time, the silicone seal will give out. I give it a year or two.
Well, it’s been 4 years and the seal is still strong.
Do you know of any plastic-free (maybe amber glass?) travel containers (under 100ml) for shampoos, etc.?
I actually repurpose mini liquor bottles for that use! Jameson’s bottles work great.
@Sarah sunshine. Leave it in the sun for day.
l was more concerned about the extended freezer life. I think you can get a year out of almost anything, and what does freezer burn look like?
Thanks
Mason jars (Ball/Kerr) now sell many of their jars as “freezer safe” in grocery stores. Very affordable. I love the 16oz wide-mouthed size for just about everything (drinking glass, refrigerator storage, etc.) I’ve not done my research on the lid seal, which I’m sure contains something I’d not be happy about…but I wonder if it’s so minimal that it’s still better than others?
Good covers for use in the microwave are unbleached round basket type coffee filters. They allow steam to escape but keep food from spattering (too much, sometimes food still spatters but is usually kept to the glass plate of the microwave).
If you save your black, green or white tea bags to use when you plant plants (under the plant, near the roots) you will not have to water as often. Also if your plants are acid loving then the tea bags help to lower the pH, great for those people who live with alkaline or hard water.
Put a drop of food coloring into your rain guage to make it easier to read.
I could just go on forever. This is so much fun. Thanks for the blogs and chance to win such a great prize. I have been saving glass containers (I don’t buy many cans anymore, alas except coca cola which I am quitting due to many cavaties) to use in storing food stuffs for quite some time. Gee, I am 61 and have never had so many cavaties just from coca cola. Go figure.
Not sure if the contest is over but here goes: did you know the length ratio of your ring & index fingers show how much testosterone you were exposed to as a fetus? I won’t get into the details here, but a BBC series I saw on the subject was quite interesting.
It is possible to grow kidney and lima beans in the garden, but dangerous to eat them freshly picked from the plant.
Kidney beans contain a poison called lectin. Fully cooking kidney beans is what destroys the poison. However, undercooking the kidney beans actually doubles the amount of lectin poison (pre-cook before adding to crockpot).
Lima beans contain cyanide and it is important to boil them first while venting off the steam (otherwise the cyanide gas is left to roam your home).
These beans already found in cans at the store have already dealt with these issues :*)
I know this (after the fact) by learning the hard way: I unknowingly poisoned myself one summer. There was no waning on the back of the seed packets to not eat these fresh. The good news is that once I stopped eating the fresh beans I recovered fully.
I could use another glass storage container…especially one that seals! Anyway, a tidbit of information that most people may not know:
Deaf people do NOT consider themselves disabled. We consider ourselves a linguistic minority (in the case of the U.S., American Sign Language is our language). =D
OK, I just returned from Alaska, where I did not find any plastic on the beaches —even though I expected rubber duckies after reading the book Moby Duck about the container of plastic bath toys from China that spilled into the Bering Sea en route to the states. My little-known-fact is that “Moose Chew” is the name for stripped areas of bark on trees, showing where moose have dined during the winter months.
Did you know that most people open bananas incorrectly? Don’t pull from the stem; squeeze the peel at the other end, and voila! A very easily opened banana. 🙂
Walmart vision centers will refill eyeglass cleaning solution bottles for free.
Did you know snakes have two penises? No, I don’t know why! But I want to have a chance at getting the container.
I remember using plastic containers whenever I ate lunch at school before. But I only use the containers now because it is more convenient. The glass container is nice because the lid could not easily crack. But I am not comfortable with glass containers because I was thinking I am more prone of breaking it. Thanks for the wonderful review.
To add to that, Maddie- most fruits and vegetables are, botanically speaking, the fruits of the plants. Anything with seeds is a fruit. Basically our produce falls into four categories: fruits (cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, apples, mangoes, berries, corn, etc.-again with the seeds), leaves (lettuces, herbs), flowers (cauliflower and broccoli), and roots (sweet and regular potatoes, carrots, ginger, etc.).
I love this random-knowledge fest!
A lot of people may already know this… tomatoes are fruit not vegetables.
Random Fact: The name for Oz was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence “Oz.”
Hi, on a new path to glass free as well! People may not know I shaved my head when I was 22. 🙂
Thanks for the give away!
~h
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was originally entitled Headcheese, but was changed at the last minute.
The average cocoon contains about 300-400 metres of silk.
Doesn’t that sound delightful?
Um…these containers look AMAZING. AMAZING!
Last summer I freecycled a good bit of the family’s tupperware away and am now ready to take the next step to invest in some high quality, non-toxic reusables! One of my favorite random facts that might actually be more well-known than I think it is (but I didn’t know it before so that’s all that matters) is what actually causes the headache of a hangover (not that I’ve ever experienced it!).
Alcohol causes the hormone vasopressin to be inhibited so water isn’t absorbed by the body and is instead excreted quite readily, which is why people often find themselves urinating quite a bit after a night of drinking. The body’s muscles needs this water and so they take the water from the brain, resulting in a tightening of the membranes and an unfortunate painful feeling. So remember, keep hydrated! 😀
I’m sorry to say, Tami, that that’s not entirely true. I lived in Indiana for the past year and we certainly used daylight savings time.
Indiana is funny about time, though. There are only two parts of the state on that use central time (one near Chicago, IL and one in the Southwestern corner of the state). Everyone else is on eastern time.
indiana doesn’t use daylight savings time.
“Natalie, what about green or brown wine bottle glass? Or the blue or amber glass that essential oils come in?”
I don’t know. It is mostly plates, glasses, jars, oven dishes, the brown and green kind, which are not sold anymore, at least here is California, without a legal warning sign about lead.
Yikes! I hope it is not also in the wine bottles and oil and supplements/vitamins bottles. Although I have seen a warning sign at a grocery store recently that there was lead in their imported balsamic vinegar bottles.
I don’t know if most people won’t know this, but it’s an interesting fact shared by my DS (6). “Did you know that Greenland is covered with ice and Iceland is very green?” 🙂
Cochineal is also used to color Snapple and other beverages.
fun fact: elephant poop is apparently chock full of nutritious things (due to the fact that they eat varied plant life and only process a small portion of it), so a remedy for a cold is to make a tea out of the ele poop!
I love random facts!
here are two of my favorites:
Its actually a myth that Van Gough cut off his ear because he was crazy/ had been rejected by a lover or whatever. He had cauliflower ear and couldn’t afford to go to the barber to have it drained, (brutal times those post impressionists lived in) and got desperate and tried to drain it himself. When he couldn’t stop the bleeding, he like anyone who’s done something dumb like this, freaked out and ran into the street for help where there happened to be a prostitute who helped him. So there’s this big fat myth surrounding something that isn’t any more crazy than anything I’ve done to an ingrown toe nail.
Also. Pugs are the oldest known breed of dog.
Interesting fact? Hmmmm I once played the Mayor of Mars in my 5th grade school play. I look good in green! If I win please send with brownies in it. We could do it like an experiment- checking out to see how they travel in nice glass containers!
Rebecca,
You had me seriously thinking about the pomegranate comment…I even thought about it in the grocery store as I passed the pmegranates!! I wonder if perhaps there are or were smaller varieties of this fruit that would be better suited for this type of use…
More random condom history: halved lemons and limes have been used in the middle ages in the east like the above mentioned pomegranate. The acid kills sperm. And sea sponges have long been used as a form of birth control by soaking them in vinegar or strong alcohol like brandy and inserting them. they can also be used like tampons, but are reusable.
Burlap is awesome!
It’s
renewable
mold and mildew inhibiting
inexpensive
long lasting
strong and light
reusable A LOT
and comes in all sizes!
I used it instead of garbage bags for moving.
After 4 months of storage in a leaking basement, I’ve found nothing moldy or even musty smelling that was bagged in burlap! Meanwhile, a wicker basket full of my kid’s school projects and a forlorn baby moccasin had mold so bad everything crumbled!
AWESOME!
Washington DC resident don’t have voting rights – in elections or congress – yet they’re taxed. Residents want statehood so they have representation but have been denied.
Dodge City, KS is the windiest city, not Chicago.
know of any microwave-safe non-plastic cover solutions to prevent splatter?? using a ceramic plate to cover a plate doesn’t allow the steam to escape… perhaps someone knows of lids with holes for steam vents?
“data” is a plural word. Thus, “these data indicate that the above glass jars are awesome”.
Ksenia yes! So is “media.”
Love your blog & I’d love to win!
Here’s my fact (maybe interesting) – You can pour leftover pickle juice under your gardenias to help them thrive, They like acidic soil.
OMG, I never even saw #70. Wow. I hope no one tests that theory.
Note: I don’t sell farro, nor do I have anything to do with the web site I linked. I just love to eat it!
If you’re looking for a different type of super-grain, try farro. It is the best-tasting grain I’ve ever eaten.
Anytime I am asked for a fact, my mind immediately goes to the Kids in the Hall and the “It’s a fact” girl. Then, I wonder if 30 Helens had to agree for it to be an actual fact. I love and miss that show.
My fact is KITH related: One of the stars – Dave Foley – also played a character named Dave on another great show: NewsRadio.
An interesting fact? UMMMMM…
It takes 3 gallons of water to make one plastic gallon bottle of water. But you probably already knew that :X
With all the natural disasters around the world, making sure your family is prepared is top priority. Adding freeze dried food storage makes being prepared easy!
Pennsylvania (my home state) was the first state of the fifty United States to list their web site URL on a license plate. Pennsylvania was also home to the first baseball Stadium, the first automobile service station, the first computer, the first daily newspaper, the first American piano and, of course, the first American flag.
These look great! And the comments are very fun and interesting too.
Here’s a fun fact: if gardening makes you happy, you might have a soil microbe to thank.
http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jul/raw-data-is-dirt-the-new-prozac
“The results so far suggest that simply inhaling M. vaccae you get a dose just by taking a walk in the wild or rooting around in the garden could help elicit a jolly state of mind. You can also ingest mycobacteria either through water sources or through eating plants lettuce that you pick from the garden, or carrots, Lowry says.”
Kelly, I love this! Will you send me pictures of your finished project? I love that you’re using a cutting board instead of that plastic sheet.
I started a model making class, the kind that architects take, and the list of stuff to buy included one time use plastics like foam core and a big plastic cutting surface. So I sent my instructor the wiki info on the toxicity of foam core and told him I was going to build my model on old cardboard. He said OK. Then I came to class today with my little wooden cutting board from my kitchen as a cutting surface and they looked at it like “wow, you can just use a cutting board” instead of the plastic sheet with a grid on it that has only one purpose, to cut out model pieces, that cost over $25 ON SALE! So I’m pretty happy you inspired me to be an example in this class on how we can not only design green buildings, but we can build the models green too!
I am still freaked out by the darkness behind doors. But only late at night when I’m alone!
You can kill ants in your home without pesticides by laying out corn meal or grits for them to eat which is fatally too much for them to digest.
The historic range of Jaguars included the south of the United States, and in the south extended much farther to cover most of the South American continent .
including part of the Patagonia. In total, its northern range has receded 1,000 kilometers southward and its southern range 2,000 km northward. It is now extinct in El Salvador and Uruguay.
I like the containers! I have stainless steel containers with crappy plastic lids that break easily, but I’ ok with them for now.
Xan, keep reading. You don’t want to miss the part about female hyenas giving birth through a pseudo-penis.
So I only read the first twenty or so – hoping this isn’t a repeat.
Before modern condoms, we had condoms made from natural rubber (made by taking what amounts to a dildo and dipping it in a vat of rubber). Before that people made condoms out of natural intestine, tied off on one end.
But before those come the really interesting birth control methods. In the Renaissance they sewed condoms out of linen or silk (complete with an irritating chafing seam). In ancient Greece they used half a hollowed out pomegranate (how it fit is beyond me). In ancient Egypt they used a mixture of crocodile dung and honey – honey so it wouldn’t make you ill. It has antimicrobial properties.
Personally, I’m fond of our modern versions.
“Female Spotted Hyenas have a pseudopenis. And they give birth through it.”
Never ceases to amaze me how weird and seemingly random nature can be. I mean, I know there must be some evolutionary reason for that, but come on. Birth through an organ similar to a penis? I have to send this to my husband just to see the expression on his face.
Vinegar can be used as a fabric softener. It works really well, is a LOT cheaper, and leaves your towels way more absorbant than when you use other fabric softeners.
History does not always repeat itself.
— John W. Campbell
‘God bless you’ was originally said because people believed your heart skipped a beat and there was a chance you could die, so others must bless your soul so you go to heaven. Turns out your heart does not skip a beat so nowadays ‘God bless you’ is said out of habit and no real purpose! But try not saying it when people sneeze, it is very hard!
vegetables seeds from produce which is not organic rarely, if ever, will reproduce.
Female Spotted Hyenas have a pseudopenis. And they give birth through it.
Happy Birthday is also a copyrighted song, which is why most restaurants have other silly birthday songs so they don’t have to pay royalties.
one more thing- a sheep’s wiener is called a pizzle and they have the largest scrotum proportionally of all domesticated stock
Cows do not have 4 stomachs. They have one stomach with 4 compartments. To tell if sheep and cows are hungry, look at their left side in front of the hip. If the area is depressed, feed them. If it is flat, they are satisfied. Sheep do not have top teeth! They have a hard plate instead. Milk weed, when eaten by sheep, reacts in the stomach and creates cyanide and can potentially kill them. Cats are the most carnivorous animals. Pigs cannot look straight up. To get pigs to drink more water during hot weather add cool aid to their water. Pigs cannot sweat ergo they wallow. Elephants have 4 knees. A turkey chick is called a poult. The fleshy thing sticking out of a turkey’s forehead is called a snood. Nobody knows why some goats have waddles . A goat without horns is sterile. Always lead a horse from the left side. An acre is based on the ammount of land that oxen can plow in one day. One acre of pasture sequesters more methane in one day than a cow can emmit in one year. There is more life in the soil than all of the life above it. Soil the thickness of a dime, spread over an acrea equals one ton. You can repair a bush or tree that has been split by wrapping it in white first aid tape and sealing it with candle wax. Burley tobacco is harvested by hand, hung in a shed on tier poles to dry, and then taken down removed from the stalk. The leaves are categorized by grade and baled. They are then trucked to a collection site for sale. Hay is dried grass for animal feed. Straw is left over from the wheat harvest and is animal bedding. Fresh eathworm castings are shiney. Large corn fields durring hot weather can create ozone (not a good thing). Electricians don’t wear wedding bands because it is a shock hazard. Happy Birthday is the most commonly sung song in the world. New Zealand only retains 20% of their young people, the rest move away. The average American uses 60 gallons of water per day. Blueberries like coffee grounds. They add acidity to the soil. 1969 CJ GT Mustang is the largest Mustang ever made and rare.
Fact: I have way too much random stuff bouncing around in my head.
I may not have the most novel nugget but I have the most!
Coffee was discovered by an Ethiopian goat herder who noticed that his goats would “dance” after eating the fruit from a certain kind of tree.
The caffiene in coffee beans is meant to be a defense mechanism for the plant, but humans have grown to enjoy the effects.
Beth & Carla,
I was thinking about this a lot recently. Several states in the US have these types of laws regarding manufacture and sale of electronics. That is the main reason that Best Buy started it’s recycling program because as an electronics manufacturer they are required in some states to recycle a certain percentage of what they manufacture/sell. Since they’re a national company it was easy for them to roll out their recycling program in all states, even those that don’t require them to. It makes business sense for them because they can actually sell their recycling (kind of like credits I guess) to other manufacturers like Sony, etc so that those companies can say that they are meeting the state’s minimum requirements. They also get a small amount of money from the actual recycling companies (all located in the US) who make their money by selling the raw materials they pull out of recycled items and by fixing and reselling salvagable electronics.
Wouldn’t it be nice if ALL manufacturers, not just those who produce electronics, were required to recycle a percentage of the crap they make. It would actually get companies to start thinking about recycling the way Best Buy does, not just as good for the environment but as a way to actually make money. Then the companies that make all this impossible to recycle plastic garbage would have to think twice!
OH! and I saw a commercial for a product that should go on your wall of shame…it’s a plastic boiled egg maker. Why boil an egg in it’s natural shell when you can boil it in plastic and get extra chemical “flavors” leeching into your eggs? yum!
We take way less time preparing meals these day. In fact, in 1860 ‘Godey’s Lady’s Book’ advised US women to cook tomatoes for at least 3 hours. I guess with their men out to war they had plenty of time to properly make tomatoes!
The word nerd comes from “ne’er-do-well.” 🙂
Gut bacteria influence brain chemistry and behavior, and, in many cases, are the root of mental illness.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110517110315.htm
I remember this from 7th grade biology.
The human eye blinks more than 4 millions times a year.
My nine year old son would like you all to know that more men are struck by lightning than women. So we’ve got that going for us…. 😉
Thanks for the chance to win–those containers look wonderful!
Did you know that there is a special kind of earthworm that is sold for gardening purposes? It’s called the red wiggler, and it’s bred to breed really fast. Of course once it’s turned loose in your garden, it will breed with what my dad (an earthworm farmer) used to call “wild worms” and the offspring won’t breed as fast as the red wiggler parent. Also, red wigglers are kind of pretty. They come in colors from yellow to orange to pink to red to brown, sometimes all on the same worm, and their stripes are more noticeable than those of wild worms. I know all this because I counted red wigglers for shipping one summer. I got pretty sick of them, but they seriously rock for gardens!
I was told by an Agriculture major in college that the average circumference of a bull’s scrotum is 32 centimeters.
I’ve never been able to forget it. *shudder*
It takes 3.4 billion gallons of crude oil to manufacture the 18 billion disposable diapers that are used in the just the US alone EVERY YEAR!
Did you know that fresh raw coconut water has the same blood constituency as our plasma? So identical it is, that it has been used to transfuse into our soldiers through IVs during world war II when there was a lack of medical blood fluid. The body readily accepts it! So for most of you out there who think coconut water IS a health food – you’re right, its great for us but even better if its raw. The stuff you get in cans and cartons is all pasteurised.
Did you know that, when clean, rats actually smell sweet? (I have pet rats. It’s really true!)
Random fact since you were talking about room to expand. Due to heat in flight the SR-71 grows about a foot compared to when it is on the ground and due to that heat the aircrews would have to stay in the aircraft an hour after landing before getting out of the aircraft.
A sad and strange fact, The US uses the most toilet paper in the world over 50LBS per person a year!!
While only 3.6% of people in the U.S. use illicit drugs (excluding marijuana) each year, the U.S. government spends about $500 per second on the war on drugs.
Here is something interesting that I found out from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution…. it grossed me and the kids out…
Hard candies with a shiny surface have shellac applied to them (confectioners glaze). This shellac is made from resin secreted from Lac bugs. Yummy! Imagine eating bug secretions! They also use it for time release pills according to Wikipedia.
I could have swore that Jamie said the bugs were crushed but Wikipedia says it is their secretions… either way… VERY gross.
I have snaplocks that are supposed to be made out of silicone on top but I like the idea of stainless steel instead! I use my old plastic containers for things like mixing up concrete patching compound.
Did you know the sole of a horse’s hoof is called a frog?
Beth, re: Ottawa and recycling. I had the same thought too, that all plastics would be accepted in order to get more people to sort their waste even if not all plastics would be recycled. But, I looked into it and the City has found markets for those plastics, and it will cost the city ($46,000 estimate) Still, I don’t think this provides license to buy more single use plastic. Mostly I was appalled that the target is so low (60%).
re: GST. This was a Canadian tax, now replaced by the HST (harmonised sales tax) which brings together the GST (federal tax) and the provincial tax where you are (Ontario in my case, so PST). In theory, the HST is for ‘superfluous’ things, but in reality, the HST catches a whole bunch of things that many consider necessities (school supplies, for example and I forget what else).
Carla, that is very interesting. Apparently Ontario has Product Stewardship laws in place that require importers, distributors, and manufacturers to help fund the recycling system. I want to look into this further. I would, of course, like to know what all that plastic is being recycled into.
Also, as far as the 60% diversion rate, I don’t think it’s just household waste. I could be wrong, but it sounds like that’s the target diversion rate for all waste generated in the city of Ottawa, which would include businesses — think restaurants, construction, manufacturing, etc. That’s just my guess. Let me know if I’m wrong.
I’m drawing a blank. Most of the world co-sleeps with babies/young children and nurses past 2. How’s that?
Here are a few cool and random facts to put me in the running for those containers – I’ve been wanting to try them!
Cattle are the only mammals that pee backwards.
Humans are born with 300 bones in their body, but once they become adults, they only have 206.
Can openers were invented almost 50 years after the can was invented.
Ants never sleep.
Ears of corn always have an even number of rows of kernels.
They look great!
Fact: colored glass usually contains lead.
Natalie, what about green or brown wine bottle glass? Or the blue or amber glass that essential oils come in?
The requirement that the fact be interesting is stumping me a little, I’ll be honest. I have countless numbers of uninteresting facts, but interesting is another story.
OK – how about this one:
My 2-year-old can fit out our front window. And I know this, because I found him on my lawn, wearing his boots and holding his hands in the air triumphantly, after he jumped OUT of said window.
Amber, your story reminds me of the Radiolab story I just listened to last night: http://www.radiolab.org/story/91929-helicopter-boy/
Did you know that Reno, Nevada is further west than San Diego, California.
I already posted, but this is a fun fact.
The veins in dogwood leaves have natural latex in them. Gently pull the leaf in half (between tip and stem) and you will see the strands of latex
Hydrogen Peroxide will get blood out of cloth.
Children often enjoy fruits and vegetables when they have a hand in growing and/or harvesting them.
The local honey worked for me and my seasonal allergies!!!
By buying locally-produced honey, your body gets small doses of the same pollen that can trigger your allergies. In the same fashion that a vaccine works, by giving your body the honey, allergies may be dramatically reduced! So the closer you live to the beekeeper, the better off you are! (via FactMe.com)
Want to win! So here’s a random fact I just learned…. Did you know that in 1934 in Detroit ( where I’m from) there were over 20 potato chip companies? Only one remains today ….
Ohh, those look lovely. Here’s my fact:
Chia seeds, the now-fashionable omega-3-rich seed you can find at health stores, are the same as the seeds used to make Chia Pets back in the day. Who knew in the 80s that those little guys were keeping such a secret 🙂
The geographers cone snail is the most venemous animal in the world.
one thing which stuck me was the fact that the packaging is plastic free…that itself scores 100 on my ranking!!
absolutely love the dialogue you’ve started here. If ever you need to be reminded of the value of your blog, Beth, look to these comments and know that your site remains a source for thoughtful discourse on needed information and delightful pick-me-up info! and tho’ I can’t think of a bloomin’ worthwhile thing to add, I’m thrilled to know of an alternative to my coveted Pyrex, and I vote for the tornado info left by Jen (I think)!
Did you know that regularly eating locally produced honey (and it does need to be local — check out your local farmer’s market) can help keep seasonal allergies in check?
I prefer to use honey when I make jam (using Pomona’s Pectin) to cut down on sugar intake and enjoy the benefits of honey in a variety of forms.
I love to preserve and put up food by freezing as well and have been looking for an alternative to the re-purposed plastic containers I’ve been using. These containers definitely sound like a great alternative. Thanks for the tips of freezing food in glass containers.
I think that the glass storage is the best way to go as it it non reactive and won’t impart any flavors of plastic odors to the foods kept in them. I currently use canning jars for most of my chores, but I think I will have to purchase some of these containers. A bit expensive on the get go but worth it in the end!
Did you know that GST(I have no idea if this is just a canadian tax) is a goods a service tax, which means that you pay tax on things that are either, considered unnecessary for life, or products that someone has to prepare or make for you.
For example, if you bought cake at a store you would pay GST on a single piece of cake, but would not on a whole cake. The reason behind this(They say) is because you are obviously not buying this cake to feed a family if it is just one slice, and someone had to take the time to slice it.
So, basically, things you need to survive, mainly food and children’s clothes, are tax free, but items like gum, individual serving items or restaurant meals are taxed.
But, toilet paper and toothpaste are taxed. Go figure.
people who avoid doctors live longer.
would love to win that. joe
Hmmmm…I am having a hard time coming up with a FACT that others may not know. I tend to deal on emotion and passion rather than fact. I also think most facts can be disputed with other equally valid facts. Hey, perhaps that is my fact…that most stats and facts can be argued to be untrue based on other stats and facts. So lets just try to look at what seems to make the most sense with love. I want people to treat me the same way they want to be treated, therefor I treat them well and this also means not shopping at places using sweatshop labour because I wouldn’t want to be treated the way those workers are. I also treat plants and animals with the same respect for the same reason. Think about what feels right and then do that.
I LOVE these dishes. I have been searching far and wide for glass containers to use in my refrigerator for my veggies and have yet to find any at thrift stores or garage sales. I may have to buy new, but right now I am trying to avoid that.
Little known fact: For every dollar white families have in savings, black families have ten cents. Sad but true.
But I vote for Julie’s sprouting tomato seeds!
Those are fantastic containers!
Fun Fact: If you spray Raid or other insecticide, you kill ALL the bugs, including the mosquito-eating bugs that take longer to regenerate. This results in further imbalances in bug populations as mosquitoes and other most pestilent bugs breed faster than their predators (spiders, for example) and perpetrates the need to keep spraying.
Best way to deal with mosquitoes and other insect pests? Quit spraying your whole yard and just spray down your body with a personal bug repellent. This method is most effective AND least harmful to the environment.
Don’t buy CFLs. Seriously, CFLs are bad for the environment and incandescent light bulbs are way better but if you still want to save on energy, buy LEDs. CFLs contains mercury and are both harmful to the environment and our health. Here is a list of precautions to take when one CFL breaks and it’s something you DON’T want to have to deal with!
@ Elizabeth Are you on board for Apple Cider Vinegar?
Thanks for the giveaway!
Yuki
yuki@michelf.com
I’d love to win this! We just moved and I culled our plastic Tupperware-I want to replace with glass.
Tomato seeds can sprout from inside a tomato. I know this because last week, my hubby sliced one open to find that ALL the seeds had sprouted into little green vines. Weird.
If you are prone to migraines and feel one coming on, drink a cup of a strong, caffeinated beverage. If done early enough, in most cases it will stave off the headache. (This was a lifesaver when I was getting 1-3 headaches a week early in my pregnancy saved all of my caffeine intake for pending headaches.)
And we’ve had our Pyrex for several years without any lids cracking … so far.
Ever live in a home with mold problems? Many buildings are constructed now to be tightly sealed – the reason being that it takes less energy to heat or cool the building. However, if there is no air flow to dry out damp areas then the mold flourishes. Air flow in new buildings often means energy consuming fans and air exchangers.
Have you ever been in a log constructed home? Solid walls that breath. A well designed and properly finished log home reduces the energy required for heating and cooling, and with the added breath-ability of the natural materials, in 30 years I have never seen mold problems in log homes, including homes that are 100+ years old.
Consider this too:
Common construction methods include factory processed wood or metal stud walls, filled with insulation, layers of plastic, plywood, & gyprock, then finished with stucco or siding on the outside (vinyl, metal or wood) and paint or wallpaper or wallboard on the inside. Each and every one of those materials requiring processing energy and chemicals, with many wasteful and harmful byproducts.
For a log home there is minimal processing to the log before it is put into place during construction, and minimal requirements to finish and maintain it. The parts of the tree (a renewable resource!) that you don’t use to build with can be used for smaller projects, become fuel for a heat source, and the very last of it can be composted. That’s a lot of value out of a few cans of chainsaw fuel, compared to the manufacturing plants for all the other construction materials.
Though it isn’t a realistic opportunity for everyone, it’s still interesting to think about when we consider the different ways plastic affects our lives. I don’t consider myself old-fashioned, but I love learning about how our great grandparents did so much with so little.
The glass containers are beautiful; I would love to have some to share with my family and friends.
Fact about The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss:
The line “I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie” was removed more than fourteen years after the story was published after two research associates from the Ohio Sea Grant Program wrote to Seuss about the clean-up efforts of Lake Erie. The line remains in the DVD of the special.
This is one of the many things that stuck with me after reading Slow Death by Rubber Duck.
It takes 12,000 to 15,000 gallons of water to put ice down in an indoor ice rink. Plus one flood an hour in between ice times for years….
A pig fetus looks like a human fetus.
There’s a protein that makes animals clear. Not like jellies, but things with muscle. There’s a clear octopus in the world.
Here’s something for you: radishes are extremely tasty COOKED. Not only can you cook the bottoms (which turn out to be mild and almost sweet tasting), you can also eat the greens steamed.
love the stainless steel airtight lids!
random fact & home remedy:
vinegar can remove warts! cut a very small piece of a cotton ball the size of the wart, soak in vinegar, place vinegar-soaked cotton ball on wart and cover with band-aid. repeat this every day or every other day (as often as the band-aid needs replacing). the acid from the vinegar will eat at the wart, causing it to die.
I am so excited about finding this site. I have a corn allergy and I use containers to take food with me everywhere because I can’t eat out. I hate waste and am aways excited to learn of new products. Thanks for all the info….it’s really helpful!
Karen
I love theses containers. I am definitely looking to use more. In central texas this is one of the dryiest years we have had in about 60 yrs. The lake we get our water from was 40% below last year. Yet people here water there yards like it watering themeselves.
connie
Marie Curie’s books and papers are still radioactive. Protective gear must be used to handle them, and they have to be stored in lead lined boxes.
your local library probably has subscriptions to online article databases and other reference, information, and recreational digital resources that you can access for free from the library’s website with your library card number. In many cases, state-wide subscriptions mean that even the tiniest libraries with the tiniest budgets can offer access. (This is true in the US and Canada; I don’t know if this is the case in other countries.)
ps: apostrophes don’t indicate plural status. Apple’s ipod on sale: correct; Apple’s on sale: incorrect.
Joyce: Cochineal red dye is still used by many people who dye their own wool or basket cane, etc. – the thought being that it’s ‘natural’. (Not me!)
If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
Tea tree oil can kill (and prevent) head lice and is one of the only effective treatments against staph and MRSA infections that does not develop resistance. It also helps burns heal quickly, clears up pimples, and can help clear up a yeast infection!
Interesting remedy maybe?
If you feel yourself getting a charlies horse in your calf, immediately bend your ankle so your toes are pointing up. . .doing so helps to prevent the muscle from going into a spasm. And if that doesn’t work. . .grab your upper lip in the center (thumb in mouth, index finger curled below nose) and GENTLY pull down towards your chin. Distracts the brain. (I couldn’t make this up. These were recommended by my OB/GYN when I was pregnant and I’ve used them every since!)
The symbol on the “pound” key (#) is called an octothorpe.
Those look like beautiful glass containers. I would love to have one! I have some Frigoverre glass containers that I really love. Their lids are plastic, but a nice thick plastic.
My head is usually full of random facts, but I’m having a hard time coming up with one right now. I guess I’ll share these ones: having hair or fur is one of the characteristics that makes a mammal a mammal (have mammary glands and giving birth to live young are the other main ones) and mammals have three distinct kinds of fur, undercoat fur, guard hairs and whiskers. Elephants and whales are born with quite a bit of hair, but loose it as they get older.
the average pregnancy is 41 weeks and 1 day… not 40 weeks like we are told/expect.
These look really cool! A (possibly?) little known fact:
Scholars have actually found little evidence that money has a significant effect on who wins elections – in fact, if you just look at the correlations, candidates who spend more money tend to have a smaller margin of victory!
I have not used shampoo in months and months…pure baking soda and water. Still looking for an equally healthy and affordable homemade conditioner, but I’m not so willing to cover my head in honey or yogurt or another common food item.
My fact: Banana’s are cloned.
https://www.naturalnews.com/032610_bananas_clones.html
Great idea, if the silicon holds up properly. Those cracked lids are aggravating, as are the snap top lids for glass containers that have shrunk in the dishwasher so they no longer snap properly.
Little known fact… er, well, did you know the male opossum has a bifurcated penis? (Somehow this fact has stayed with me since college animal science class!)
Interesting factoids about newborn babies: one of their innate reflexes is to do a pose medical people call ‘the archer’ – when they look to one side that arm is lengthened while the opposite arm is flexed to look like an archer about send an arrow out, and as soon as they look to the other side the arm position changes. Also, breastmilk will clear a goopy eye infection or bum rash on a baby – amazing!
Also, did you know that Ottawa, Canada, has just changed curbside recycling rules to accept ALL household plastics? (except styrofoam and plastic bags) this to increase diversion rates to (a measly) 60%.
Carla,I’m guessing they won’t actually recycle all the plastic, but they’re just trying to make it easier for people so they don’t have to figure out what’s recyclable and what’s not and will participate more.I’m guessing what they can’t recycle will go to landfill. Fine except it might make people think plastic’s okay because they can recycle all of it.
Just guessing. Let me know if I’m wrong.
Panda bears aren’t actually bears! They’re members of the raccoon family.
Black Dog Syndrome – black dogs, especially big black dogs are the hardest to adopt and the most euthanized. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dyxo1Y-lkg&feature=related
If you put oyster mushrooms in direct sunlight for 20 minutes or more they make vitamin D3, when you eat them you get that D3, too!
Portland, OR is north of Portland, ME
Plantains are a relative of the banana and are similar, but more hardy. Look after them with plenty of water and regular feeding and you will get plenty of fruit to eat or cook with. South Americans love them and cook with them all the time.
Below is a website link for more information.
https://www.thespruce.com/introduction-to-plantains-2137973
I live in West Australia and extreme weather both in the east and the west of Australia has damaged and destroyed most of Australia’s banana crop. Bananas are $12 a kilo now and expensive.
Time to grow your own plantains or bananas!
How about some current wage gap stats?
In the US, for every dollar a male counterpart makes, a child-free woman makes ninty cents. For ever mother, seventy-three cents. For a single mom, fifty-six to sixty-six cents.
Flexible work options, paid family leave, accessible childcare and affordable health coverage for non-full time workers would start to decrease these gaps.
Could be offensive, but right now it’s all I got: Did you know the clitoris on a female is like the equivalent to the penis on the male?
Melanie, I’m not offended. And since this is my blog, I pronounce your comment not offensive.
Pheasants are named for the Phasis River in what is now Georgia (the former Soviet state, not the US state). Chickens and peafowl (e.g., peacocks) are all pheasants.
Does anyone know if the containers and lids are dishwasher-safe?
Pheas, the containers are dishwasher safe, but you should wash the lids by hand.
Hmmm. If you’re allergic to certain tree pollen, you may have a slight allergic reaction to eating raw fruits like apples, cherries, and mangoes (this last one related to ragweed).
Here’s a fun fact that has nothing to do with anything, LOL! I once saw an interview with Carly Simon (my favorite musician) in which she was looking through her old sheets of lyrics. She picked up her original version of No Secrets (one of my favorite songs of hers) and was surprised to find that she had been singing “she drank a pint of your rum” when she had originally written, “you drank a pint of her rum.” She laughed and said, “Of course, she would be the one to have the rum!”
Every time I hear that song, I try to sing it the way she originally wrote it, just to honor the first draft of the song! 😉
-Yancy
Beth, I am enjoying reading the fact. They are hilarious. I am so intrigued by all the facts, I forgot what you are giving away.
My fact: Tomato leaves are poisonous. (Although not a fact, but when you go to the farmers market, ask for broccoli and cauliflower leaves. They are delicious when cooked.)
Recent research in meteorology suggests that tornadoes may form in certain storms (called supercells) when the pass over different types of soil. So, a supercell storm might not produce a tornado over loamy soil but may as it crosses over clay a few yards later.
And the story of how I know this fact…
25 years ago I was an exchange student in Trondheim, Norway. For Thanksgiving, I decided to travel to Sweden to visit a fellow American student. But I got on the wrong bus so instead of arriving downtown with a leisurely hour to get to the train station, my bus pulled in 5 minutes before my train was scheduled to leave. I literally ran across town and jumped on the train as it was pulling out of the station.
But, I wasn’t entirely sure that I was on the right train, and since I’d only been in the country for a few months my Norwegian sucked and I was too timid to ask anyone. So there I was, hurdling through the dark winter night, unsure if I was headed to my friend in Sweden or some unknown destination in Lapland. I sort of felt like I was gonna puke. Just then the train made a stop. I looked out the window and saw the sign on the station… it read “Hell.”
Quinine, an ant-malarial drug, is used as a flavoring element in tonic water. British folks requiring anti-malarial agents in the 19th century in India used to mix the quinine with gin, and thus was born the gin and tonic. Quinine causes tonic water to phosphoresce under black light, too. The crazy things you learn when trying to figure out what the differences are between seltzer, club soda, and tonic water.
Obscure fact: Paleoscatologists are scientists who study ancient poop.
The word for that just-rained smell is petrichor. The smell is due to certain plant oils that are exuded by the clays once it rains.
Also- any advice on how to get the tomato smell out of sauce or salsa jars? I’ve tried soaking, dishwasher, soaking with baking soda, everything. I’ve resorted to lining the tops with aluminum foil?
Just in case you don’t believe me: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Norway
There’s a little town in rural Norway named “Hell” and it freezes over every winter.
I’ve got a twofer:
The largest living organism is a mycelium (fungus) which lives in a great deal of the Eastern Oregon (where I live ) …estimated at 1,665 football fields in size and 2,200 years old.
And the most interesting…. fungi are more closely related to humans than to plants on the great evolutionary tree and have recently the whole system has been re-evaluated because of a thorough rethinking prompted by what we are learning about the fungi kingdom!
Also the human head weighs 8 pounds.
I was thinking about bulk buying and where I shop for my bulk items so here’s one for you:
Puget Consumer’s cooperative based in Seattle, WA, is the it’s the largest consumer-owned natural food retail co-operative in the United States. PCC is owned by nearly 45,000 members and is a major donor to the PCC Farmland Trust which works to secure, preserve and steward threatened farmland in the Northwest.
Cochineal, little red bugs, used to be used to make a lovely red fabric dye. I’ve never tried that, but onion skins make a beautiful yellow/orange.
In 1950 american farmers used 5 million pounds of pesticides and lost 7% of their crops to pest damage. In 2005 american farmers used billions of pounds of pesticides and lost 13% of their crops to pest damage.
The Mongols used to use plague-ridden corpses as biowarfare and may have been the cause of the European breakout!
My fact: If vinegar pickles are too strong, then pickle things with a little salt. It only takes 1 day. Any vegetables that you like.
Everybody, I forgot to say that the contest IS open to people in Canada. The company Life Without Plastic is actually in Canada. I’ll update my post.
Something I just learned while researching vermicomposting:
Worms have 5 hearts. Crazy!
(I am writing from Canada, in case this disqualifies me from the container contest)
Plastic straws actually ARE recyclable – they are #5 plastic.
Also, I know buying in bulk is best, but the plastic cereal liners are also recyclable – they are a #2 plastic and can be recycled at stores where they take the plastic grocery bags.
Again, I know it’s best to not buy and not have to recycle, but everyone I know just tosses straws and cereal liners into the trash. 🙁
Hi Becky. Actually, plastic straws are made out of several different kinds of plastic. But more importantly, even if the plastic is technically recyclable, most of us would be hard-pressed to find a place to recycle them. Most plastic straws tossed into recycling bins will end up in the landfill. And the Gimme5 program only accepts plastics that they know for sure are #5 (because they have a #5 on them.) Do you know of a place that will recycle straws?
Sufficient levels of vitamin D are crucial for calcium absorption in your intestines. Without sufficient
vitamin D, your body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium supplements useless. https://www.naturalnews.com/SpecialReports/Sunlight.pdf
(Totally unrelated to anything… but here I go anyway): One of the major causes of death during the Middle Ages was drowning. Turns out most medieval people did not know how to swim. Add to that the fact that all meals were accompanied with varying dilutions of beer, (even for kids) and we have a frighteningly high drowning rate for the middle ages. Morbid, I know. But still interesting!
Nothing rhymes with the word orange.
Nestle owns approximately 6000 different brands…everything from Digiorno, to Alpo to Stouffer’s and tons of other international brands you’ve never heard of. They’re the largest “food” company in the world. They’re also one of the largest producers of bottled water in the world. They have several water brands including Purelife, Perrier, Poland Springs, and S. Pelligrino among others.
As if producing unfathomable amounts of waste every year weren’t evil enough, they’re also marketing their baby formula in third world countries, telling women that their formula is healthier for babies than breast milk and giving out samples that last women just long enough for them to stop producing milk and then not be able to afford more formula.
Isn’t big business a disgusting fact?
These are so cool!! I would love the freebie!
My fact: Heirloom radish seeds recovered from a failed 1881 North Pole expedition germinated after being frozen for 16 years in the polar region! You can bet they weren’t stored in plastic, either!
The creators of Amazon.com, Wikipedia, Google and Bill Gates were all Montessori children. 🙂
A baby oyster is called a spat.
Honey is naturally anitbacterial and antifungal. It is also bee puke, go figure.
I love these and would buy them if I was in the market for containers. That said, pick me! It’s my b-day on Sunday!
Hawaii is the only state that has a state holiday today for King Kamehameha Day!
Germs from your toilet can travel up to six feet when they become airborne after flushing. Now that’s a fact–shudderingly true. I guess you could even store your toothbrush in one of these beautiful glass containers!
How much plastic does the world produce each year?
More than 200 billion pounds!!!
Ugh!
Peace to all…
Tom
wool is a great natural alternative to plastic lined diaper covers. I have gotten some crazy comments about my sons’s knit wool shorts this summer!
oh and pyrex made awesome patterend glass ware with glass tops that you can now find at garage sales and its quite collectable. It is much nicer than the newer pyrex with plastic lids and clear aka kinda boring bowls!
Interesting fact that has nothing to do with plastic, except in that anything about computers and CDs has something to do with plastic: The Wikipedia page on The Humpty Dance has a formal synopsis of the lyrics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Humpty_Dance#Synopsis
Greta! You win a special prize for forcing me to drink my coffee over the kitchen sink to prevent snorkage. Funniest link ever.
This blows my mind: “The main way Americans use water at home is flushing the toilet. That is, 18.5 gallons per day per person. And the water is as pure as the drinking water that runs from our taps. Translation: 5.7 billion gallons of clean drinking water down the toilet each day.” from Kathleen Parker’s piece, here: http://wapo.st/mkPchW
If your tomato plant breaks (not right through) or is bent, you can use part of a plastic straw as a splint – just cut a piece the right length, slit it up the side and slide it over the stem.
Of course, I don’t recommend buying plastic straws, but when I find them on the road, I keep them for just such an occasion (or dig them out of my garbage can after I’ve thrown them out since they are not recyclable).
Here’s a crazy fact: Coca Cola’s shareholders just voted to keep lining their cans with BPA. Yum! Would you like some toxic chemicals with your toxic beverage?!?
Here’s a great factoid: the average american pays $2000 a year to fund big oil subsidies. Yikes!
Love this blog! i thought of a way to never forget your food containers when you need to store them in a friends fridge. Put your car keys with them, it works, i never lost a good container again! If you are car free you can put something else you cannot leave without, like your bicycle key, or sunglasses if you are on a bus. ?
I love these. Modern and retro at the same time.
FACT!!!
Most SPA’s use PLASTIC sheets for their body-treatments, ie, scrubs and wraps…this KILLS me to use an 8 foot sheet of plastic for ONE use!!!! soooooooo…I’ve been using these mylar heat blankets behind my bosses back!!! and they work just as well….just have to be dried off after.
I don’t think I can enter the give-away, since I’m in Canada, but the coolest thing I know, that many don’t…
Platypuses are poisonous.
It’s not enough that they have fur, webbed feet and a bill, but the males also have spurs that deliver the poison. Coolest. Animal. Ever. :))
Around 3 pounds of human body weight is microbial life; in other words, parasites and the like. Many of these are essential to the functioning of the body.
I know lots of facts that other people don’t know. Like a horned toad is not a toad at all, but a lizard. Like there is a part of a horse’s anatomy that is called the “frog” (its a part of the hoof). And the fact that a frog must close his eyes in order to swallow. But here’s a “green” fact that people might not think of: if you make your own electricity (we are solar and off the grid) you have power during the storm when no one else does. I could really use some of these glass containers- I always buy second hand and have not been able to find any in our local flea markets after looking for weeks, now!
P.S. My piercer taught me that!
About twenty-five percent of the population sneeze when they are exposed to light.
Glass is better for healing in piercings/stretchings than stainless steel. It’s non-porous so it’s perfect for people with sensitivities to metals that they might have with cheap “made in China” body jewellery.
<3 glass
Have a good weekend, Beth!
Have you noticed the soup commercials that crow over “less salt” in the soup? Senomyx is a company that uses proprietary taste receptor technologies to discover and develop novel flavour ingredients in the savory, sweet, salt, bitter and cooling areas. “Senomyx has contracted with Kraft, Nestle, Coca Cola, Campbell Soup to put a chemical in foods that masks bitter flavors by turning off bitter flavor receptors on the tongue and enhancing salty and sweet flavors. This would allow the companies to tout claims such as “less sugar” or “lower sodium” by reducing the actual sugar and/or salt by approximately half, but the foods will retain the same level of sweetness or saltiness when they touch the tongue by fooling your brain.” (NaturalNews.com)
Less sugar & salt = good. Yet another chemical in your food = bad. Misleading advertising = bad.
Did you know that carrot tops are edible? Yum!