This week's Change the World Wednesday challenge comes at just the right time. I have been working on my emergency preparedness kit and restocking the pantry with what else by canned and prepackaged items. To make things a little more interesting, the challenge in front of me is as follows.
This week ban BPA from your life. Need some ideas? Avoid canned foods, including prepared soups, vegetables, sauces, soda and beer. Don’t microwave polycarbonate plastic food containers. Say no to printed receipts; they contain BPA.
An audit of my pantry showed a number of items in cans. Since can lining potentially contains BPA, my task is to find these products in safer containers. The table below shows the items, the container I usually purchase these products in and what changes I plan on making to the container.
Some items are only available in cans, so I will plan on freezing or caning (in glass jars) the fresh vegetables myself. I prefer to eat vegetables fresh, so the items I buy in jars are mostly legumes and vegetables.
| Product | BPA Package | Non-BPA Package |
|---|---|---|
| Beans | Can | Buy and store dry in glass |
| Tomatoes | Can | Freeze or can fresh in glass |
| Tomato Sauce | Can | Glass jar |
| Soup | Can | Aseptic (paperboard carton) |
| Jalapenos | Can | Freeze or can fresh in glass |
| Coconut Milk | Can | TBD |
A little side story for you...
During the last grocery trip, I was shopping for ingredients to make a Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe that called for canned tomatoes. As I stood in the canned goods aisle, the little "greenie" on my shoulder reminded me of this week's challenge. I turned around and went back to the produce section to pick up 5 tomatoes. I decided they would taste better and I would eliminate exposure to BPA and one more can going into the recycle bin.
>> What are some items in your pantry that can be switched for BPA-free packaging??
2 comments:
I liked your "buy fresh tomato" idea. Canned goods may be fine in emergencies or the depth of winter, but fresh, frozen and dried work as well or better most of the time.
I NEVER buy canned beans anymore. A bag of dried is a lot cheaper per unit of eating; I just have to remember to cook some ahead of time. The flavor is ALWAYS better too.
Thank you for the table ... those are items that many people just grab from the canned food isle but there are safer alternatives. And I LOVE that your little green voice kicked in and nudged you to buy fresh tomatoes. We buy fresh or frozen veggies ... we also can our own. I don't know if BPA has a flavor but the last time that I bought a can of tomatoes (I was in a bind), it tasted terrible ... had a very strong metallic/chemical flavor. Whether it was the BPA or not, I found that the flavor was so bad that it truly wasn't worth buying. If I can't find fresh or frozen ... I think I'd be better off just changing my menu plan. Thanks for a terrific post!
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