How to Store Food Without Plastic

I’ve shared before the non-toxic and non-scratch cookware I use, and how we avoid chemicals in our water, but I get quite a few questions about how to store food without plastic in the fridge of freezer.

Plastic containers and plastic bags are the normal fare for this, and it can be a difficult switch. It has taken me years, but I’ve finally phased out all of our plastic food storage containers in favor of glass, metal or silicon options. The bonus here is that most things can be put directly in an oven or convection oven to re-heat, which minimizes dishes in the long run.

Refrigerator Food Storage

Instead of plastic bags and plastic containers, I now use these to store foods in the fridge:

• Glass Mason Jars– Quart and half-gallon size jars work great for storing things like soups, sauces, broth, and even leftover casseroles and sides.
• Silicon Food Storage– I love my collapsible fridge storage containers from Xtrema since they don’t take up much room in the cabinets when not in use and are easy to stack in the fridge.
• Glass and Silicone Storage– Lifeactory makes some great all-glass food storage containers that have a silicon cover to help avoid breakage
• Zip Top silicone containers are a great alternative and they come in fun colors to use in the kitchen or use in kids lunch boxes.

Pyrex Glass Containers with Lids– These do have plastic lids but they are pretty inexpensive and some of the first containers I got when I made the switch.

• Glasslock Oven Safe Food Storage– I also have this set and use it all the time to store almost everything
• I also recently discovered these silicon suction lids that turn bowls you already have into fridge storage

I also ditched the plastic wrap (plastic and BPA), wax paper and foil (aluminum) when we made the switch and instead I use this homemade reusable food wrap from Mommypotamus to cover bowls and dishes instead.

Freezer Storage

Finding safe freezer storage options is a little more difficult because liquids need room to expand when they freeze and glass can be tricky.

I use a few of the same things in the freezer:

• Pyrex Glass Containers with Lids– I’ve never had a problem with these in the freezer.
• Glasslock Oven Safe Food Storage– I also have this set and use it all the time to store almost everything
• Natural Parchment Paper – Natural Parchment Paper is great for wrapping meats, fish, etc for storage.
• Stainless Steel Latch Containers– These are my favorite for freezer storage since they are non-breakable and fit a lot.

Non-Toxic Plates, Cups and Bowls

Once we had children, I wanted to make sure our plates, bowls and cups were non-toxic and not plastic. We originally used Corelle plain white dishes, but have slowly been switching to metal dishes (which have the added benefit of being non-breakable). We use:

• Stainless Steel plates
• Stainless Steel cups
• Stainless Steel bowls

The bonus to all of these options is that they are all dishwasher safe and most are oven safe. We don’t use a microwave, but most are microwave safe too.

How do you store food without plastic?