Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

A Safer Kitchen ~ From Plastic to Glass

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We’ve talked the past two weeks about switching from Teflon to cast iron and stainless steel and switching from aluminum to safer bakeware.

Today, let’s talk about one of my favorites (right, like the others aren’t also my favorites too?). It’s just that this one involves jars and Pyrex. I super love jars, and with all the Pyrex I have in my kitchen now, it may look to an outsider that I have an addiction to glassware.  I won’t deny it.

A Safer Kitchen

Why do I love glass so much? Because hello, it’s pretty. And then there’s all the others stuff about it being much healthier and safer for us to use. You can read this post to learn more about why storing food in glass is safer than storing food in plastic.

It has taken me a few years to switch out all my plastic containers and replace them with glass. Beyond better health, I love that I can see through my containers to easily identify my leftovers in the fridge! Glass is very nice like that. :)

One of my favorite ways to store leftovers is in wide mouth jars. Wide mouth pints and quarts are my favorites, which I use with lids like these. (I don’t mind these lids being plastic as they don’t touch the food to cause harm.)

jars_for_leftovers

jars

And what about Pyrex?

I have two complete sets of this variety of bowls with lids. I love them so, so much.

pyrex bowls 2

See how perfect they are for prepping salads and fruits and veggies? These also double as mixing bowls, of course.

pyrex bowls in fridge2

The following set, with a mixture of rectangle and circle containers with lids is one of my favorites for storing leftovers. I love the variety of sizes, and of course, I love that they have lids to match. A glass container without a lid is really not very beneficial to me.

pyrex

Fruits and Veggies On the Go 2

Of course, I use the following oblong Pyrex dishes all the time for making and baking casseroles. I also use these to freeze extra casseroles for future meals on the fly.

pyrex 5

Without a doubt, I have found that having a wide variety of shapes and sizes of jars and Pyrex dishes with lids is key to efficiently storing food. I use larger containers when I’m preparing food ahead of time for us to pull out and eat. I use smaller containers for leftovers, shredded cheese, or veggie dips.

Switching over from plastic to glass has been a huge help in my kitchen in so many ways! I’ll end with a contented sigh as I think about my lovely glass container selection. Some girls love jewelry and flowers; I love jars and Pyrex. What can I say? 

What are your favorite ways to store leftovers?

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Re-Usable Containers For Your Make-Ahead Lunch Box

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Let’s talk about food containers to go along with our Make-Ahead Lunch Box series.

I love all the eco-friendly packaging available now. Occasionally, we still use a disposable ziplock baggie or two. But if at all possible, packaging “to-go” foods in containers we can wash and reuse just makes so much more sense – and saves so much money!

You all know I have and love this Pyrex Storage 10-Piece Set. The lids in this set seal very well. The variety of sizes offer great options for packing side dishes of cut fruits and veggies, or main dishes like pasta salads and wraps.

pyrex

As I was looking at other great options to share with you, I came across a good price on this 10-Piece Set of Round Glass Storage Bowls. Oh yeah, I filled them up in my head within about 2 seconds of looking at them. Fruit salad, potato salad, soup, pasta salad, tossed salad, pasta leftovers…

glass storage

If you’re more into BPA free plastic for packing lunches, I like these Fit & Fresh 1-cup containers at iHerb. I love that they have a built-in ice pack to keep food cold. Even better, iHerb will give you a free $10 (with $40 purchase) if you purchase through my referral links. So click here if you want to get these containers for FREE, along with some other goodies! (You can also use the code BID487 at check-out to receive $10 off your $40 purchase. Shipping at iHerb is free with orders over $20.

fit fresh

I really like these Lunchskins re-usable sandwich and snack bags. BUT, I don’t recommend you pay these Amazon prices. Surely you can find them cheaper at an actual store? What has been your experience purchasing these types of bags? Is there a store you can suggest? My small town doesn’t offer items like this that I know of.

lunchskins

How about for packing hot food? I’ve heard from several of you that thermoses just don’t hold enough food. I found this 16-ounce stainless steel thermos that seems to be a good option. At least it would hold more than a 10-ounce thermos, right?

thermos

What do you use for packing food to go?

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These Pyrex Bowls Are Being Used Constantly!

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pyrex bowls 2

First let me say that I can’t believe this 8-piece Pyrex Bowl Set With Lids is still at Amazon. This is an incredible price. I now have two sets of these bowls in my kitchen, and I can’t remember how I ever lived without them. Take advantage of this 46% discount. You will love these bowls with their handy lids!

Below is an example of one shelf in my fridge, just to give you an idea of how I’m using these sets:

pyrex bowls in fridge2
I love that I can see exactly what I have in these bowls.

I find these are great to store prepped fruits and veggies to pull out and go with our meals or for snacks. In the above picture, you can see that we have a bowl full of grapes, one of sweet peppers, one with sliced strawberries, and one with Chocolate Whipped Cream.

These bowls are great for pasta salads, potato salads, and tossed salads. Of course, they are also great for mixing up muffins and breads. In fact, last night I stirred together all the dry ingredients I needed for our breakfast muffins, put on the lid, and went to bed. This morning, all I had to do was add liquid ingredients and bake the muffins. So handy!

I’m not sure how much longer this , but I really want to encourage you to look into these. I use them constantly at my house, from prep to serve. They are awesome!

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How We Can All Get a Four-Piece Set of Pyrex For Just $2.24 Plus Tax

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Ready for Freezer Cooking

TopCashBack heard how much we all love Pyrex around here, so they created an offer, just for you, my lovely Heavenly Homemakers readers!

While I love all varieties of Pyrex dishes, I especially love their casserole dishes with lids to use in freezer cooking. Many of you are interested in stocking up on Pyrex too. So, how about getting this wonderful 4-piece set for just $2.24 plus tax? Yes? I thought you’d love that!

pyrex_4

This set includes one 9×13 inch dish and one smaller 7×11 inch dish, both with lids. I have two sets of these and use them alllllll the time. Here’s how to get yours for around $3.00:

1. Sign up for a new account at TopCashBack through this link. This offer is for new members only, so if you’re already a member, you’ll need to ask your husband or someone else in your household to sign up with his/her account). <— That’s perfectly fine, by the way. It’s not cheating – their website states that it’s legit to have more than one account per household. :)

2. Read all the details so you understand how this works. You must click the button on that page to receive money back on this offer. It looks like this —>

top cash back button

3. Add this Pyrex 4-Piece Glass Bakeware Set to your cart. Don’t add anything else. Don’t add something else instead. It must be only this set:

top cash back pyrex

4. Head to check-out. Click on “Store Pickup.” This is a required option for this purchase, but it also means you won’t have to pay shipping.

top cash back store pickup

5. Proceed with check-out, paying the full $11.24 plus tax. My total for my location ended up being $12.03, which means that I’ll only be paying $3.03 for this great set of Pyrex!

6. You’ll be able to pick up your Pyrex the next time you’re out at Wal-mart!

7. Within 7 days, you’ll see the $9.00 cashback show up in your TopCashBack account.

Does this really work?

Yep! I’ve been working with TopCashBack for a few months now and they’ve paid me every penny they said they would. I trust them. I’ve learned to shop through their site when I make an online purchase so that I get a percentage back on purchase I’m making. There’s no catch. You just get money back for the purchases you’d be making anyway!

How to get your $9.00 back:

Your money will become payable after 30-90 days (usually sooner in my experience). To earn even more, simply shop through your TopCashBack account links next time you make another online purchase. You’ll get a percentage back on each purchase, just for shopping through their links. I love this! I’ve seen some great savings this way, especially with Target and Kohls purchases. What a bonus!

top cash back target

Any questions? Let me know. Now go grab your set of Pyrex! Feel free to spread the word about this deal to your friends too. Even if you don’t need this Pyrex set (wait, who doesn’t need Pyrex?!), you could take advantage of this deal and gift the set to someone.

And hurry, because this offer is only available as long as supplies last through the Walmart website. Have fun!

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Easy Fruits and Veggies On the Go

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Last weekend, we headed out of state to a weekend-long basketball tournament for our boys. It was two and a half days full of hotel continental breakfasts, fast food, and other treats. Weekends like that can be a lot of fun. At the same time, we knew our stomachs would start to rebel after a meal or two of white flour, white sugar, and grease. In an effort to give us some good nutrition in the midst of ice cream cones and burgers, I packed as many colorful fruits and vegetables as I could.

While I was getting it prepared the morning we were to leave, it occurred to me how pretty it all was. Out came the camera.  After all, I had plenty of time for food photography in the midst of laundry, packing, and making last minute preparations, right?

Fruits and Veggies On the Go 2

I made good use of my Pyrex dishes with lids. These travel well, and keep fruits and vegetables from getting squished. They all stack nicely together in a cooler, and keep the food fresh. I simply stuck a few ice packs in and around the food containers, and it all stayed chilled and nice all weekend long.

My encouragement to you with this post is to think outside the box a little bit as you pack fruits and veggies for travel. Before just a year or two ago, I didn’t really think beyond packing apples and carrots. Those got old after a while. Then I started noticing what other families had packed to eat during games. Oh, there are so many great options!

For this round of travel, beyond apples and clementines, we washed, prepared, and packed 2 pounds of strawberries to munch on, grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and ranch dip, and sweet peppers. We also had a few applesauce and peach cups packed with spoons.

Fruits and Veggies On the Go

While we enjoyed our fair share of restaurant food, we were able to counter it with nutrient-filled food too. This was especially important, we felt, for our boys who were playing hard and sweating all weekend long. They needed energy and nourishment!

Here’s a list I created so you can get some fruits-and-veggies-on-the-go ideas at a quick glance:

  • Apples
  • Oranges or Clementines
  • Pears
  • Grapes
  • Cherries
  • Blueberries
  • Raspberries
  • Strawberries
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Cucumber Slices
  • Applesauce Cups
  • Peaches, Pears, Mixed Fruit Cups in 100% Juice
  • Fruit Leather

I would add bananas to the list, but have found that they get squishy quickly while being carried in bags from car to gym. What fruits and vegetables would you add to this list?

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Somehow I Still Don’t Have Enough Pyrex

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You would think that with my lovely collection of 9×13 inch dishes, I would have plenty of Pyrex. You would think. But when freezer cooking and baking up a storm, I still find that I still run out of needed casserole and storage dishes.

I hold to the truth that buying Pyrex saves me money…because it does. Having healthy meals and snacks prepared and in the freezer keeps our food budget from exploding. It is also worth mentioning that having healthy meals and snacks prepared and in the freezer also keeps my brain from exploding while trying to feed five enormous appetites (plus my own normal person appetite) three meals each day.

That is why I found myself searching the internet today for yet another good deal on glass dishes with lids. These dishes must have lids, otherwise they are not nearly as useful to me.

I was searching for a set of 9×13 dishes with lids, but everything I found was too pricey. Then I came across this:  Pyrex Easy Grab 6-Piece Value Pack, includes 1-ea 3-qt Oblong, 3-cupRectangleStorage, 6-cup Rectangle Storage.Yes! I have all of these pieces and use them alllll the time, so I already know I love them. Having more for casserole making, food storage, and for freezing goodies will be perfect!

pyrex_3

I snatched this set up, and thought you might be interested too. Keep in mind, when you click on the link, the set with blue lids will show up – and that set costs a few dollars more. It’s the dishes with red lids that are the lower price. You just have to select red lids instead of blue when ordering. :)

The top dish pictured is a wonderful 9×13 casserole dish with handles. Super nice! The middle dish is 7×5 – perfect for storing leftovers or prepared veggies or cheese for snacking. The bottom dish is one of my favorites. It’s 8×6 and can be used to bake a batch of brownies or a side dish. It’s also great for storing leftovers and prepared snacks. And they all have lids! (I know. I said that already.)

I have plans for them already once they arrive on my door step. Getting organized and freezer cooking for the new year…here I come! (And thanks to Swagbucks, I hardly have to pay anything out of pocket. Bonus!)

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