bag it
Filed Under Stuff, Tips & Tricks | June 17, 2009
So you’ve gotten better at remembering to bring your reusable grocery bags to the store, but what about produce bags? Sure you don’t necessarily need to bag your apples, but some produce needs to be contained. Which is where Steward Bags’ Reusable Produce Bags come into play. Pop a few of these into one of your bigger reusable bags and you’ll never come up short again.
Lightweight and made of 100% organic netted cotton, they come in two sizes, small, which is just right for a few tomatoes and large, which is perfect for big bunches of lettuce or asparagus. And you don’t have to worry about them getting grungy from reuse either, as you can just pop them in the wash and then hang them to dry. The only snag we found – and it really was a snag – was that our broccoli didn’t slide in all that smoothly, but the enviro-glow we got from using the bags more than made up for that.
Like regular reusable bags, using these will reduce the number of plastic bags in our landfills, but these also help keep your produce free of toxins. And because they’re ventilated, they’re great for storing your produce in them in the fridge, as they allow it to breathe.
And while you’re on a green roll why not hit the Wednesday Farmers Market which has moved from Riley Park to Thornton Park across from the VIA Rail Station near the Main Street Skytrain Station. You can pack your reusable produce bags with organic berries from the Fraser Valley; garlic scrapes which are yummy in stir fries and frittatas; and organically grown heirloom tomatoes. Yum. We’re feeling greener and healthier already.
100% Organic Cotton Reuseable Produce Bags by Steward Bags: www.naylanaturalcare.com
4 Responses to “bag it”
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Let us know what you think or share your great finds with us so we can share them with other Vancouver mothers!
Looking for produce bags closer to home? At Vancouver-based online lifestyle boutique Lavish & Lime we offer pure cotton mesh drawstring produce bags that are made in Canada. They feature a stylish produce graphic and come as a 2-pack (large & small) or as a gift set of 4. Come check them out! http://www.lavishandlime.com/Produce-Bags-cotton-mesh-2-pack-p-583.html
The only problem that I have with these bags is that I have found them to be very poor at keeping veggies fresh. I brought home produce from the farmers market on Saturday and by Sunday the lettuce was quite wilted. Same for the carrots a few days later (they usually keep for weeks in a plastic bag). This is less a complaint than a request for advice from others who have found them to be flawless; what are you doing that I’m not doing?
I love these bags, I love reducing the number of plastic bags that I use, but if I can’t solve this problem I’ll have to go back to plastic for the things I put in the fridge. :[
I understand what you are saying about keeping veggies fresh. I guess the purpose of these new kinds of reusable produce bags is toxin and waste reduction.
Keeping lettuce fresh and crispy is a challenge without using plastic bags I agree. Usually the outside leaves will wilt when exposed to the air, even in the crisper. A head of lettuce can be “brought back”if need be with some cold ice water. You can always rinse it right away, chop it up and leave it in the lettuce dryer (if it is safe for storage). Mine usually stays crispy until it turns brown!
Another question to ask yourself is: What chemicals are in this plastic bag and are seeping into my lettuce?
Just some food for thought.:)
I recently purchased Credobags mesh organic produce bags, I have been using them for shopping at farmers markets. They work beautifully and I am happy not to use those filmy plastic bags anymore! I recommend these bags to all my friends.