I'm sure you've all heard that plastic is bad for us and yet my husband and I initially found ourselves asking, "Why is it bad for us?" and "Are all kinds bad for us?"
When I first learned that specific types of plastic were bad for us, I purged our kitchen of them. Thankfully, we didn't have too many items to get rid of, but unfortunately, the biggest offenders were our children's sippy cups! (For even more information about plastic, check out Life Without Plastic's helpful resource.)
Why would stainless steel be a better option then? Stainless steel is durable, easy to clean and has a protective coating that is scratch resistant. Its scratch resistant surface prevents food particle and bacteria buildup so as to reduce the chances of food borne illness for your family. Stainless steel is also considered "green" because its life expectancy is 75 years! And, on top of that, it's completely recyclable.
So, if I can choose a glass or stainless steel option now, I certainly do. However, I have to be realistic as we are on a limited budget. That being said, I did not go through our kitchen and throw away every thing that was plastic. However, as we purchase new items, I try to make a better choice.
I think most sippy cups and bottles are being advertised as BPA free these days, but what about the rest of the plastic products out there that our children use?
That being said, finding practical plastic free popsicle molds for our children has been on my radar. I don't like to buy popsicles from the store because they are filled with sugar and really have no nutritional value and the popsicles from the the health food store are just too expensive for our pocketbook.
The solution then is to make our own popsicles.
I have used the paper Dixie Cup method and that does work okay, but it's not ideal because it's messy and you can go through a lot of Dixie Cups in a summer!
Recently I had the opportunity to review the Freezycup™ Stainless Steel Individual Ice Pop Mold from Life Without Plastic.
Each Freezycup™ retails for $7.95 and comes with 3 reusable bamboo sticks and 2 silicone gaskets (blue and red) and holds 3.5 oz.
They are made of "high quality food grade stainless steel 18-8 (304)" and are Bisphenol A (BPA) free, lead free and Phthalate free." source
What We Thought
To make a popsicle, I used a healthy brand of juice from the health store so that I wasn't giving our children a bunch of sugar that is typically found in "normal" juice. Giving it to them in the form of a popsicle worked great because I could give them options like cherry juice or blueberry juice and they loved it!
"Mom Perspective"
I love that this popsicle mold is safe for our children to use and that it is dishwasher safe (Hallelujah!), but I do have a few suggestions for improvement.
I think it would be wonderful if there was a bit of a lip on the lid so that when a child is using it, any drips would be caught in the lid and not on their clothes. Also, I would suggest that maybe a silicone grip be added to the outside of the mold for two reasons: one, little hands don't like the feel of the cold stainless steel and two, it would act as a slip guard for tiny little hands. I also wasn't crazy about all the little pieces necessary for the mold and wish there was a way to streamline it a bit.
I found it difficult to keep in the freezer because it would tip over if slightly bumped so I always had to set it on a plate. All in all, while I love the dishwasher safe, stainless steel mold idea, I think there are still a few improvements that could be made before I stock up on these particular ones.
Carter enjoying his Freezycup™
In spite of the improvements I would like to see made, I do appreciate Life Without Plastic's mission. It is incredible to browse through their site and see all of the products they carry that are WITHOUT PLASTIC! If you're looking for some non-plastic options for your home, Life Without Plastic is a great place to start.
Disclosure: I was given one popsicle mold to keep from Life Without Plastic in exchange for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment