Alternatives to clingwrap

[SixtiesChild]

I'm not sure how much of this other households go through, but we use it every day because it keeps food fresh.
I want to see if I can do without it because I am tired of buying it. Actually I can't believe how dependant I am on this stuff.
Before it existed, there must have been ways of keeping food fresh.
I wrap dd's lunch in it but if I just used a recycable sandwich sized lunchbox, wouldn't that work just as well?
I use it for leftovers but will start putting them in washable containers with lids.

Any other ideas?

[onemummmy]

tupperware(definately the best), sandwich bags, paper bags, that paper(cant remember what it is called but u can wrap sandwiches etc in it) & u can also get little shower cap type thingys 2 go over bowls etc.

[WorkingClassMum]

We use the sandwich containers and use frozen bread and it stays perfectly fresh.

I stopped using cling wrap as much a long time ago.

All of our lunches and snacks go into re-usable plastic containers, of various sizes.

[Funkychicken]

Any reusable container will do-although as said above, Tupperware is by far a superior product. But you can buy all sorts of sets by companies such as Decor.
Our children's school sandwiches are in a small rectangle box that fits into their bigger lunch boxes. I also often add a small tupperware container with yoghurt or chopped fruit etc...The rest of their lunch box items (nuts, dries fruit, crackers etc..) go in the lunch boxes directly-they have little compartments in the lid.

We have a roll of Glad wrap (or a type of plastic wrap) that I bought well over a year ago-I rarely use it but have found an odd occasion that calls for it.

Good luck with switching over to reusable containers! :yelclap::yelclap:

[punkbaby]

Yep we use containers too for sandwiches, otherwise i will use those brown paper bags for snacks etc, which we will recycle (they come home for this reason)

[M O P]

Even my husband is very impressed with the Tupperware sandwich keepers :D
he thinks it's far better than wrestling with Gladwrap any day and they do keep the sandwich in place for him after bumping around in the back of the ute

Tupperware also have some great freezer/microwave containers that are ideal for leftovers.

As others have said- any reusable container will do the job :)

[onemummmy]

Even my husband is very impressed with the Tupperware sandwich keepers :D
he thinks it's far better than wrestling with Gladwrap any day and they do keep the sandwich in place for him after bumping around in the back of the ute


hehe not 2 mention i am yet 2 find a male(of any age LOL) that can actually use gladwrap in the first place:laughing: my brother, dad, exes, friends, all hopeless at wrapping things in gladwrap!

[MilkOnTap]

I haven't bought cling wrap in about 6 months. Wait - I didnt' have it when Jedd was born - so at least 10 months.

We use tupperware, tupperware, tupperware. For foods like flour, sugar, rice etc I use the tupperware brand; for things that are being used over regularly, like for left-over food etc I just buy the Sistel 'clip' brand from Coles. We have plastic bags for frozen meat and re-use the Glad seal bags for freezing fresh parsley, oregano, basil and mint.

[QTB]

we dont buy it here... i got given a 300m industrial sized roll about 4 months ago, and it stillhasnt been opened! (although i do still have a smaller one thats opened)

we just use plastic containers, re sealable bags (and re use them!) sandwich containers, but i refuse to send them to daycare cause they somehow never come home, so his stuff goes in different sized re sealable bags and 80% of the time they send the bags home and i reuse them.

the only thing iv used cling wrap for in the last 6months or so, simply cos i havent found a container the right size yet, is our big rolls of lunchion/devon. but even that is only a small piece every week or 2, and i still havent used a whole small roll in the last 6months from doing that, so im pretty happy with our cling wrap use :D

[aardvark]

The reality is that before cling wrap (it was hardly used when I was a child), less women were working, so the shopping was done more frequently as needed, so there was less need to store things to keep them fresh in the home.

Greaseproof paper was a big favorite.

Frost-free fridges have made things worse. Cyclic defrost fridges don't dry things out as much, but they are a rare beast now.

My grandmothers used to store food in the fridge in bowls with an appropriate sized plate over the top of it.

I tend to use corningware casserole dishes etc. Ideally I'd like to get away from plastics completely, but it is really hard to do.

[bubbleyblossom]

the only thing iv used cling wrap for in the last 6months or so, simply cos i havent found a container the right size yet, is our big rolls of lunchion/devon. but even that is only a small piece every week or 2, and i still havent used a whole small roll in the last 6months from doing that, so im pretty happy with our cling wrap use :D
Sorry to butt in but we use those rolls of devon etc and the way we keep it fresh is a zip lock bag over the top with a rubber band around it, it works well :D

[SixtiesChild]

Excellent!!!! Glad to see this has worked for others.
I can see this is going to work for me. Plus I just don't want to buy it anymore & another tiny little plus for the environment.

[onemummmy]

u can get long tupperware/decor containers that will fit rolls of devon etc :)

[bootiful]

great thread guys...i have been wondering this lately too as i have started buying more plastic containers and been using those plastic elastic covers.

i will be trying your other suggestions now too...thanks:thumbsup:

[A Party of Five]

My grandmothers used to store food in the fridge in bowls with an appropriate sized plate over the top of it.

My Nan did the same thing as well, I had totally forgot about that :doh: Not that we have many leftovers with seven tummy to feed!

[OJandMe]

plasitc containers :yes:

And fresh foods store well wrapped in newspaper too. :yes:

[forbetoel]

Tupperware. I have not used cling wrap at all, since I got a good stock of tupperware going.
My kids have the tupperware lunchbox's with all the little compartments, and they are great.
I still do have a roll of clingwrap in the cupboard, but it has been there for almost 2 years now.

[noniwaldron]

we don't use a great deal of gladwrap and after reading some other posts by all you greenie gals i'm going to try washing and re-using glad bags; i haven't done this in the past.

sort of off-topic but is there an alternative to plastic freezer bags? i use the cheapo home brand ones every day to steam veggies in the microwave. broccoli for two takes 1 minute on high in the microwave when cooked in a freezer bag. this sounds really stupid but how to other people steam veggies? :confused:

mum has always done the freezer bag thing so i don't really know how you're supposed to do it on the stove or whatever. do you need one of those special saucepans with the colander/basket insert thingy?

haha i consider myself a good cook yet i don't know this... shhhh don't tell anyone :D

[Chunkydunks]

Every time my nan does the washing up at Mum and Dad's she asks why she's washing up shower caps:laughing:. They're these little food covers that come in many different sizes. My mum washes them and reuses them.

[Funkychicken]

we don't use a great deal of gladwrap and after reading some other posts by all you greenie gals i'm going to try washing and re-using glad bags; i haven't done this in the past.

sort of off-topic but is there an alternative to plastic freezer bags? i use the cheapo home brand ones every day to steam veggies in the microwave. broccoli for two takes 1 minute on high in the microwave when cooked in a freezer bag. this sounds really stupid but how to other people steam veggies? :confused:

mum has always done the freezer bag thing so i don't really know how you're supposed to do it on the stove or whatever. do you need one of those special saucepans with the colander/basket insert thingy?

haha i consider myself a good cook yet i don't know this... shhhh don't tell anyone :D

Yes, you do need a steamer pot to steam on the stove top but they are so worth it. I only steam veges (unless I am roasting!) and they are so much nicer than boiled or microwaved. My mum brought us up on microwaved veges too-she even did a course in microwaving back in the early 80's!:p

For the freezer I tend to freeze meat in what it comes in-we don't buy much of it and it's really only small quantities. things like sauces, fruit etc...I use small containers.

[Bessie]

sort of off-topic but is there an alternative to plastic freezer bags? i use the cheapo home brand ones every day to steam veggies in the microwave. broccoli for two takes 1 minute on high in the microwave when cooked in a freezer bag. this sounds really stupid but how to other people steam veggies? :confused:


I use microwave rice cookers, they are just a plastic bowl with a vented lid - great for steaming veg, all you do is add a couple of spoonfuls of water.

[noniwaldron]

My mum brought us up on microwaved veges too-she even did a course in microwaving back in the early 80's!:p

lol i think my mum did the same one...

[A Party of Five]

I just got some Tupperware Sandwich Keepers (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Tupperware-Red-Sandwich-Keeper-Plus-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ140230179272QQihZ004QQcategoryZ118200 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)for the kidlets school and FDC can't wait for them to get here :yes: