Functional Friday post no. 1

Today, for my Functional Friday Post, I'm featuring one of the most functional things in my household. Ball Jars (or Kerr Jars, or Mason Jars). These canning type jars are all over my home. As you can see in the picture below:



We use these for EVERYTHING. About 6 months ago I started waging war on plastic in my home and in my life. Until then, I had been conciously aware of the BPA found in plastics and avoided them mildly. It wasn't until I was pregnant and obsessing over anything and everything that went in or around my body that I really understood how bad plastic is for our bodies and our planet. I know this may sound hypocritical coming from someone typing on a plastic laptop, and it is. However, I am doing all I can to eradicate and avoid any unnecessary plastic in my life. I have accepted that as a human living in this consumer culture some plastic is unavoidable; my car (and even bike), my camera (which I love) and my cell phone all have plastics in them. But, like I said I am focusing on things I put in my body. My first battle with plastic is pre-packaged foods. Now, as a healthy eater you might think, "Well, don't buy pre-packaged foods". Easier said than done. Almost EVERYTHING at the grocery store comes in plastic, even things you don't realize. For instance, Rice. I buy it in bulk, but what are the bulk containers made of? plastic. Or Organic produce, the stupid yellow organic label band and sticker have polymer makeup (even worse if you shop at Target where they, literally, shrink wrap the organic produce in plastic) Or soup, premade canned soup is really convenient and healthy, except they seal and line the cans with BPA to prevent food borne illness. So instead of the chance I might get sick from poorly packaged foods, I'm guaranteed a spike in hormones (since BPA was originally designed as an estrogen replacement product). I have read that Eden Organics is one of the few canned food producers that do NOT use BPA in their cans. There are many, many, many, articles about BPA online and in print, I'll add some links later for those interested. But, for now I'd like to leave you with the images above and the concept of change. It's easy to change your habits. It's easy to avoid unneccessary plastic. It's easy to monitor what you put in your body. All it takes is a little knowledge and self control. All of these jars pictured were purchased from Savers, Goodwill and Frys. I hope the uses mentioned on the photo will inspire you to apply food safe storage to your household. Not only is glass better for your food, but plastic itself NEVER goes away. You can recycle it, but eventually you'll reach the end of the line and it will end up in a landfill or the desert (or ocean, or forest). So do something good for your baby, for your body, and for the planet, Precycle Plastic and reuse glass instead.

Happy Plastic Battling and Household Storing!