10 Tips to ditch plastic

 REUSABLE BAGS

Incase you missed it, plastic bags never actually fully break down. They turn into microplastics and continue to pollute our world. Shops across the country are slowly getting on-board with reusable bags, with Coles and Woolies being the major change that made us Aussies more conscious of the evil plastic bag that hurts our earth. Unfortunately they are still offering plastic bags to consumers for a price (and in fact more heavy duty ones). We would like to see plastic bags wiped out all together and people using Organic Cotton shopping bags instead.

Our Plastic Free Recommendation:

Little Mashies stocks a great range of organic cotton bags! You can grab our all organic cotton 6 pocket shopping bag, our bulk food bags, or our produce bags to avoid all that unnecessary excess plastic on fruits and veggies! The designs are awesome too and will be a head turner at the supermarket!

 

Little Mashies organic cotton bags

OR If you’re feeling you can make your own a company called Boomerang Bags have got 200 or so places across Australia where you can make your own reusable bag and make some lovely friends while you’re at it!

https://boomerangbags.org/

 

REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE

Single use plastic water bottles are probably the worst invention ever made. In fact, even us Aussies when it was first introduced thought it was a joke and a waste of money. Look at us now! The average Aussie drinks 30 litres of bottled water a year and the worst part is, we only recycle 36% of them resulting in 373 million plastic water bottles in our waste every year. They’re in the top 10 of the most common rubbish items picked up, so let’s swap that plastic out!

Our Plastic Free Recommendation:

There’s plenty of reusable bottles out there, ranging from stainless steel, Aluminium, Glass, even sugar cane! Everyone’s different so it might be worth experimenting with what you like best, but my personal favourite is the Oasis Stainless Steel bottle! They’re lightweight, 100% BPA, PVC and Phthalate free. keep your water cold, have awesome designs for kids and adults, and you can even chuck your hot tea or coffee in there to have on the go!

https://www.hellogreen.com.au/collections/oasis

 

LUNCH BOX

Not only is it cheaper, but the slightest more thought into what you have for lunch can save you and the environment thousands!

Aussies throw out $8 billion dollars worth of edible food every year, equating to filling 450,000 garbage trucks!

We’re only human so whether we go grocery shopping when we’re hungry and buy too much, we run out of time and buy take out, or we think the food is off without checking the use-by date, this all adds up to our waste!

The best way to reduce your waste is to prepare and look at foods with less packaging! Buy a big tub of yoghurt, instead of the 12 pack! Or even better, use Little Mashies reusable pouches.

If you can’t be bothered to cook, bring your own containers to the take away shop. You can even do that at the grocery store and ask the deli to fill it up with your favourite salad, meat or couscous!

Our Plastic Free Recommendation:

Little Mashies stainless steel leak proof lunch box (for adults) and the Little Mashies kids bento lunchbox (for daycare, kindy and school aged kids). They fit heaps of stuff and have great nifty little compartments for all sorts of foods!

Little Mashies stainless steel leak proof lunch box

There’s also a bamboo meal set where the sections within the meal set are designed so that parents can easily provide a balanced nutritious meal using the compartments for protein, carbs, salad and vegetables - A.K.A less plastic! It’s environmentally friendly, recyclable and dishwasher safe!

 

REUSABLE COFFEE CUP

Aussie’s use 1 billion disposable coffee cups each year but our daily coffee is a necessity, I mean how else are we meant to get through the school drop off??! Have no fear, Reusable coffee cups are here!

Reusable coffee cups are becoming more and more popular, with Cafe’s now even offering a discount on your coffee if you bring in your reusable cup! If you get a 50 cent discount a day, that’s $182 a year you’re saving, not to mention you’re not contributing the other 2,700,000 paper coffee cups thrown out every day in Australia!

Our Plastic Free Recommendation:

The KeepCup! It’s a funky little glass cup with a cork band around it so you don’t feel the heat.

There’s plenty of spin offs of the KeepCup out there too, so keep your eyes peeled! Plus you don’t have to just put coffee in it, make it your water bottle! Fun hack: At work we find we drink water a lot more when it’s in a coffee-like cup! https://au.keepcup.com/

There’s even ones out there that are collapsible so you can just keep it in your handbag while you’re on the go! Check out Stojo if you’re interested!

https://stojo.co/

And finally if you are not keen on investing in a reusable coffee cup you can make your own by recycling a glass jar and putting rubber bands around it. The glass is perfect for hot drinks and the rubber bands give you a heat resistant spot to hold onto.

 

REUSABLE CUTLERY

Another simple hack to add to the handbag! Unfortunately plastic cutlery is made from polystyrene, a plastic that is not recyclable! Sometimes we get hungry when we’re out and we have no choice but to buy a salad and then they give us that evil plastic knife and fork. But a little bit of preparation can go a long way. BYO cutlery. Not only is it better for the Earth but your friends will be pretty impressed too!

Our plastic free recommendation:

Little Mashies Choose Earth range has cutlery sets in matt black, rose gold, gold, and traditional stainless steel. It includes a knife, fork, spoon, chopsticks, a straw and a straw cleaner and it comes in a gorgeous organic cotton case. It’s the ultimate in luxury cutlery!

Little Mashies cutlery sets

 

SHAMPOO BAR

Let's move on to your bathroom supplies! I LOVE THE SHAMPOO BAR IDEA! Firstly, they smell AMAZZINGGGG! It’s like having a candle and shampoo all in one, NOT TO MENTION HOW EASY TRAVELLING IS!

Obviously shampoo bottles are single use plastic and that’s why we hate them. But not many people know there’s actually lots of dangerous chemicals in shampoo like sulphates and parabens that pollute our environment and can hurt sea life, plants, and even our own life! When you buy shampoo bars most of the ones on the market are chemical free and much more natural than the bottled shampoo varieties.

Little Mashies soap saver

Our Plastic Free Recommendation:

Honestly, I want to kiss the person that thought of the shampoo bar. Our favourites are the ones from Lush. They’ve got an awesome selection of bars that you will probably have to get a babysitter for the day just to smell them all in the shop. Check them out, and while you’re there - why not treat yourself to a bath bomb as well! Let’s be honest, we know it’s impossible to walk into that store and not buy everything. https://au.lush.com/products/shampoo-bars

 

TOOTHBRUSH

Before you go into a panic thinking we’re going to recommend you just use your finger and a little bit of dishwashing liquid, don’t stress! We don’t want stinky breath but we also don’t want to ad to the 30 million brushes that end up in landfills every year in Australia alone, the US. is worse, with enough to stretch around the earth four times!

Luckily we’ve got a solution that means your breath can still be fresh, and so can our air!

Our Plastic Free Recommendation:

Once again, Bamboo saves the day! We love S&B Basics Range Bamboo Toothbrushes, they’re made from 100% biodegradable bamboo, renewable and responsibly sourced wood from an FSC certified bamboo forest, and BPA FREE polymer bristles completely free from animal products!

HACK: When your toothbrush is ready to retire, separate the bristles from the handle & put the bristles in your waste bin and the bamboo in your compost.

https://www.solanderandbanks.com/products/bamboo-toothbrush-soft-from-solander-banks-renewable-bpa-free

 

TOOTHPASTE

It is estimated that globally 1.5 million empty toothpaste tubes are discarded every year. They never break down, they just get smaller and smaller and eventually end up inside animals and inside us. A recent study found that Australians eat about a credit card size amount of plastic every week. That’s pretty darn shocking and personally I don’t want to eat plastic, or have my daughter eating plastic! Making your own toothpaste and then using it is an entirely different experience to using the trusty supermarket toothpastes. The home made varieties don’t foam so they take some getting used to. You can make your own with the following recipe.. It’s actually a fun activity to do with the kids!

Our Plastic Free Recommendation:

3T coconut oil

1T bi-carb soda

10-30 drops peppermint or spearmint essential oil (depending on how strong you like it)

1T charcoal (if you want it to be a whitening toothpaste)

Mix all the ingredients together and store it in a little jar.

 

DIY BODY MOISTURISER

You won’t believe how simple this is, it uses less ingredients than a university student! This DIY body butter is the guaranteed way to know you’re not using any nasty chemicals and wasting plastic bottles every time you run out.

Our Plastic Free Recommendation:

All you need to do is steal a bowl, whisk, and jar from the kitchen!

grab 60ml of organic Shea Butter and slice into small pieces and whisk until it’s creamy.

Add 15 drops of essential oil and 30ml of organic Jojoba oil and whisk all together until the butter is a light consistency.

Then store in a sterilised air tight container (the little jjars from k-mart work well for us after a big wash)

TAA-DAA! Why don’t you make a couple more for Birthday or Christmas presents while you’re there!

 

MENSTRUAL CUPS

Ditch the tampons and sanitary pads that produce of 100 billion pieces of waste and try out menstrual cups! It’s one of those ones that takes a while to get used to, but once you’re there you don’t look back! You can wear them all day and night with no worries, they last years, and there’s no hazardous materials!

Our Plastic Free Recommendation:

OrganiCup seem to have the best reviews and use organic packaging, check them out here https://www.organicup.com/product/organicup/

 

 

SHOP LITTLE MASHIES

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BABY feeding FAQS

Simply add it to the cart, pop in the coupon code, and it will remove 100% of the price.

At 6 mths of age you can introduce a range of puree's to your baby (see our baby food recipe book and use coupon code RECIPE to remove 100% of the price at the checkout).

For baby led weaning you skip the baby food puree altogether and start with large (2 finger sized) pieces of the food. We would of course do this on our Little Mashies sucky platter! So from 6-9mths of age in baby led weaning foods should be the size of about 2 fingers so that the baby can pick it up and self feed. They also need to be well cooked so they are soft, and with no loose pieces (for example tiny florets that can break off on broccoli, or a slice of apple that's so thin it can break when gnawed on).

From around 9mths with baby led weaning you chop the food very small (to avoid choking). I would suggest 2-4 grains of rice in size. It's a small piece so that if they swallow it whole they won't choke. In traditional baby food recipes this is the stage where we mash food so it has a little texture.

At around 12mths of age in baby led weaning the food goes up to bite sizes (and this is the same in non baby led weaning kids), about fingernail sized pieces. Of course some babies will be on a different timeline depending on whether they have heaps or a few teeth.

Every baby is different and you just have to watch carefully and get to know how your baby is with food. Never leave them alone whilst eating, and I also recommend sitting them at a table with you for all meals if you can. It helps set the expectation for later in life and you can be a role model for how to eat well. Around 18mths you can offer your little one larger serves again (so a whole apple for example) so that they can learn to take smaller bites themselves, to chew, and to swallow.

It is widely recognised that babies should start solids around 6 months of age. At this time reusable baby food pouches can be really convenient to take your homemade healthy puree with you when you are out and about. Spoon attachments are available so you can feed your baby directly from the pouch from 6 months old. Without a spoon attachment babies usually start feeding themselves pouched food around 8 months old. This is when they hit their independant phase and what to do everything themselves. A pouch is a lot cleaner than a bowl and spoon in these circumstances. We do however advise that you give your baby a variety of meals, not just ones that are in a refillable pouch.

Refilling your reusable yoghurt pouches is easy! Simply turn the reusable food pouch upside down and open the wide double ziplock at the bottom of the pouch. Once the zipper is open you can spoon yoghurt into the pouch or pour it in (out of a jug or bottle).

If you are concerned about making a mess you can use a kitchen funnel so that all of the yoghurt stays away from the yoghurt pouch zipper.

Another idea that we commonly do at home when filming videos (but it would also be useful when holding a baby in one arm), anyway.. the idea is that you put the pouch upside down in a glass (with the lid on), open the ziplock and the glass acts like a second hand, holding the pouch still whilst you spoon the yoghurt in. This is what I do when I only have one hand to use for the refill!I also tend to refill my reusable yoghurt pouches in bulk. I'll buy a good quality yoghurt from Coles or Woolworths and will fill a whole 10pk of pouches in one go so they are all ready for snacks on the go.

My kids always want to eat when they are out and refilling the reusable pouches one at a time just doesn't work for us. The only time i do that actually is when I've pureed a meal that my toddler refused, put it in a reusable pouch, and given it to her again. Oh and the other time I do singles.. there are two actually. When we go for ice-cream (it is so much cleaner when in a pouch), and when I have leftover smoothie (again, it stops me getting smoothie all through my car, pram, or playroom).

Little Mashies refillable yoghurt pouches are compatible with pouch filling machines that are on the market. Our spout is universal so even though we don't think you need a filling machine, our reusable pouches will fit. All of our yoghurt and baby food pouches come with anti-choke lids as standard.

Cleaning reusable baby food pouches is easy! We have designed Little Mashies refillable yoghurt pouches without corners so there are no places for food to get stuck (we would hate your little one to get sick from old food stuck in corners)!

When you open the ziplock you can see all the way through the pouch to ensure it is clean. If you have a dishwasher you can clean the pouch using that, otherwise you can wash your reusable baby food pouches by hand and this takes around 20 seconds. Little Mashies squeeze pouches are BPA Free and are safe to wash with warm water.

If you need some meal ideas for your refillable pouch you can find home made yoghurt here, baby food recipes here, and pouch smoothie recipes here.

Now, to clean your Little Mashies food pouches by hand simply open up the ziplock at the bottom and take off the cap. Run warm water through the open ziplock with the baby pouch facing downward so the water comes out of the spout and into the sink. The shape of Little Mashies reusable pouches acts like a funnel, pushing out food and making the pouch very easy to clean.

To start washing your reusable pouch, squirt some dishwashing liquid into the refillable pouch, then use a baby bottle brush to clean the inside walls (just like a baby bottle). To clean the spout use a straw brush (like the ones we have here), and clean it in the same manner that you would clean the teat from a baby’s bottle. Give the reusable pouch a rinse and place it over a kitchen utensil in the drying rack to dry. If you don’t have time to dry it fully place it in the freezer until you are ready to use it again. Do not put wet reusable food pouches in dark cupboards or draws. They are very easy to dry if you have removed the cap, and placed something inside the zipper to keep the pouch open (we use a whisk, tongs or a spatula).

Note that if you continuously wash your pouches in the dishwasher the high temperature will make the zipper wear out more quickly. At home we wash our pouches mostly by hand because it is so quick and easy and then just use the dishwasher when we have had loads of kids over and served reusable yoghurt pouches or smoothies to them all.

Oh and while I remember if you use the code RECIPE at the checkout it will remove 100% off the price of the baby food recipe ebook so you can get some inspiration for your refillable pouches.

Some parents start introducing a sippy cup or straw cup to their babies around 6 mths of age. This can make it easier to transition from breastmilk or bottle feeding around 12 mths of age. Most paediatricians recommend babies 18 mths or older use an open sippy cup rather than a bottle, so anytime before then is fine. This is why we have a 4 in 1 sippy cup, so that you don't have to purchase seperate products as your baby moves through the stages of learning how to swallow and drink. To shop the Little Mashies silicone sippy cup, check out our baby feeding range here.

All of our baby food recipes are contained within our ebook. You can get a free download by using the coupon code RECIPE at the checkout. Simply add it to the cart, pop in the coupon code, and it will remove 100% of the price.