17 Oct
Giveaway: A Greener Kitchen
I recently signed up for a pilot program with Rafflecopter, working toward developing a platform to connect companies looking to promote their products with bloggers interested in running giveaways, and so you’ll see several giveaways from me over the next little bit. It’s exciting to see new opportunities pop up, but I’m working hard to only apply for products that I know I’ll love. That way my reviews aren’t just marketing mumbo-jumbo, they’re what I really think!
First up, we have these re-usable product bags from A Greener Kitchen. I am in no way a model for 100% eco-friendly living, but I am trying to make small changes. Was anyone around when I posted about my transition to re-usable shopping bags? Each “green” step has felt like that, like a big deal or something, and then after I do it for a few months I wonder why I made such a big deal about it. One thing that I think about every time I go to the grocery store (and at the farmer’s market as well, though it isn’t as bad) is how many plastic bags get used up as I collect my produce. Avoiding ultra-processed foods and eating nearly-vegetarian means we buy a LOT of vegetables, and during the winter months when the farmer’s market is closed I depend on good old Treasure Island to keep our fridge stocked. I hate bagging up everything in individual plastic bags, but I’ve never taken the time to work out a better solution. I usually tie knots in the top of them, and sometimes I can’t get the knots out, so I’m left with ripped bags that just end up being thrown out.
Which is why I wrote a very passionate application to review and giveaway these 100% organic cotton produce bags from A Greener Kitchen. No more filling my cart with bags of plastic covered fruit! I can put everything in these bags, and the clerk can weigh my fruits and vegetables right in them. When I opened the package they were mailed in I was pleasantly surprised to see they were packaged up all pretty, Etsy-style. Whenever I order from a company that puts time into details like this I want to order them again. And it was really green packaging. they wrapped up 5 of the bags in the 6th one and printed the label on recycled paper. I like the green-topped ones but they have a few different patterns/colors to choose from.
A little bit about A Greener Kitchen’s origins and where they source their materials from:
Founded by Lacey Lybecker in 2009, A Greener Kitchen offers you sustainable style solutions for kitchen and dining with eco-friendly kitchen products and accessories, including organic cotton aprons and reusable produce bags. We are proud to be a Green America Approved Business and members of One Percent for the Planet.
Our organic cotton products are cut and sewn in the USA by family-owned Tailoredwear, Inc. using fabric from Harmony Art, one of the USA’s few eco-friendly textile artisans. Harmony Art sources their organic cotton from Texas and India. For their fabrics made in India, the fiber is Fair Trade Certified, and the fabric is produced in a Fair Trade certified facility. Working together, A Greener Kitchen, Tailoredwear, and Harmony Art are bringing eco-chic into the kitchen.
I’m still visiting the farmer’s market each week, and when I brought these out some of the vendors were really impressed. Most of the stalls at the market rely pretty heavily on plastic bags when giving out produce, something they might not like but don’t really have a lot of power to change. I picked up a little green bin of grapes and turned them over right into my bag.
Then I took the elastic loop in the corner and cinched it shut. I put the grapes and the bag right in the fridge and snacked on grapes with T1 throughout the week. Once the grapes were all gone I rinsed the bag out and laid it out to dry overnight.
Pros:
A light organic cotton that dries quickly after being washed
The elastic loop that cinches it closed
Very light, so won’t add extra costs to your grocery bill
Can be used to store your produce as well as to transport it (I have a bunch of onions sitting in the larger sized bags right now.)
I received 2 large, 2 medium, and 2 small bags. I liked the variety of sizes.
They make you feel good about yourself (being nice to the earth (and to the workers who make the products) feels nice!)
Cons:
This is a product I think you could make yourself if you know how to sew, and if you’re willing to figure out how to source the eco-friendly materials and how to attach the elastic and such. I am one of those people who does not know how to sew, and I have a husband who has taught me that it is often better to capitalize on my talents instead of trying to do it all but doing it all poorly. If you’re like me, going DISE (do-it-someone-else) on this one is the way to go!
I buy a lot of stuff at once, so I would prefer 1 small, 2 medium, and 3 large bags (but that isn’t really a problem with the product, just a personal preference).
——————————-
As the title suggest, this isn’t just a review, it’s a giveaway! Use the Rafflecopter widget to enter below. If you don’t win, I’ve got some good news — A Greener Kitchen is offering $5 off a set of produce bags at checkout when you use the code THATWIFE at checkout. Offer expires 11/30/11.
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
What a great idea! I’d love to win a set
Reply
1I’m loving the honey roasted pumpkin seed recipe from A Greener Kitchen. I might have to go buy another pumpkin just so I can roast up another batch.
I LOVE those bags. I’m trying to improve my sewing skills but like you said, sometimes it’s better to let someone else do the work for you.
Reply
2I really liked the tip/video on how to clean your bamboo cutting boards!
I would love to have a set of these bags for the farmer’s markets!
Reply
3Mmm.. the blackberry-peach crisp recipe looks delicious to me!
Fun giveaway!
Reply
4I switched to reusable grocery bags a while ago as well and I could really use some produce bags.
Reply
5These look great! I’m always on the lookout for bags like this because I use them for everything - lunch bags, extra baby stuff that does fit in the diaper bag, etc.
Reply
6Those bags look awesome! I checked out A Greener Kitchen and thought the post about composting looked interesting. We always had a compost pile growing up, but I never really paid attention to the in’s and out’s of it all.
Reply
7Those look great! And the blackberry-peach crisp looks like a must try!
Reply
8Such a great idea! I’d love a set!
Reply
9I’m so happy they have a recipe for popcorn balls without icky corn syrup! Even if I don’t win, I need to invest in bags like these!
Reply
10These sound awesome! I wonder though if they add signifiantly to the weight of your produce thus increasing your price if by weight (not quantity)? I wouldn’t want to pay for the weight of the bag in grapes!
Reply
11I would love to try the recipe for Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. When I was a kid my stepmother would roast them with worsteshire sauce and it was delicious! I would definitely try another recipe!
Reply
12Love the tips on how to use these-these would be great to take when we pick up our CSA share!
Reply
13Awesome! I love reusable bags.
Reply
14Looks like a great product, but did you see the price? It’s pretty spendy, even with only $5 off. I’d definitely recommend making yourself if you can sew since they’re so easy to make
Reply
15Blackberry Peach Crisp Recipe
Reply
16the braised lamb riblets look amazing!
Reply
17Mmm … I really want to try the Blackberry Peach Crisp recipe from the blog; it’s my favorite from what I’ve seen. It sounds so delicious and perfect for fall.
Reply
18I don’t know what my favorite tip or recipe is but I want their aprons. ALL OF THEM.
Reply
19Awesome! I use reusable shopping bags (they are 100 percent easier to use for shopping when you live in a city and have to walk to get food) but I do find myself using plastic produce bags. Even though my mom could probably whip these up herself, I certaintly couldn’t, so I’d love to win these. I checked out the GK blog and I want to make a crisp now…
Reply
20I would love a set of produce bags! I especially like the tip they give of gifting a large produce bag with two bottles of wine wrapped up inside. Perfect holiday or hostess gift.
Reply
21These sound great - I do try to reuse some plastic bags when storing my CSA produce in the fridge, but these would get me one step closer to using even less of them, which I love!
Reply
22At first I thought you were going to talk about the regular shopping bags. I love the idea of a produce bag. I often get frustrated when I buy produce because while I can put some without anything in my regular fabric bag, some are more fragile and need to be separated.
They are also very pretty.
Reply
Cécy Reply:
October 17th, 2011 at 10:07 am
Oh and my favorite tip would have to be about the composting container. It’s something I’ve been wanting to work on.
Reply
That recipe for Chicken Pizza with Blue Cheese, Apples and Walnuts looks super yum!
Reply
24I love these! I’ve always wanted some. And I love the tip on their blog about the various ways you could use them - I know I would!!
Reply
25The best thing I’ve seen on that website are reusable napkins! The pink one reminds me of a kimono. I wonder how many napkins I use per year…
Reply
26This is something I haven’t done yet, but I’d love to use these bags! The blog didn’t have as many recipes as I expected, but the braised lamb riblets looks really amazing.
Reply
27Parmesan polenta….mmm! That’s my favorite recipe on their blog.
Reply
28I’m pretty bonkers for the produce bags, but I love the table runners as well. They’re really pretty!
Reply
29I’d love these bags. We’re trying to get away from plastic whenever possible, but sometimes I just don’t feel like lugging around a glass container for some grapes when a plastic bag is so much easier. These would solve that problem
Reply
30These look great…I hate all those little produce plastic bags!
Reply
31The recipe for spiced apple cider cupcakes sounds delicious!
Reply
32Looks great!
Reply
33I really dislike the little plastic bags for produce. I often just put the produce directly in my cart to avoid them but find that my produce gets kind of bruised and dirty that way.
I liked the post that a greener kitchen did on how to use the reusable produce bags for other purposes like cotton balls or bottles of wine.
Reply
34Mmm Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds…I’ve been wanting to make some for awhile!
Reply
35I like the idea of using these bags, filled with beans, as heating pads.
Reply
36I would LOVE something like this because I too hate the feeling of using up tons of plastic bags in the produce section.
If I don’t win, I might make some myself. . .
Reply
37Cute! I bet I’d use these all the time!
Reply
38I like their tips on how to do a green spring cleaning of your house!
Reply
39I like the crisp recipes!
Reply
40The blackberry peach crisp looks like it would taste delicious. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything with blackberry and peach together, but it sounds amazing!
Reply
41I was just wondering if freshness length changed at all with these bags?
Reply
42We’re also big vegetable eaters. At the farmers’ market, we just buy our fruits and veggies and stick them straight in our canvas grocery bags-we wash them at home and then put them into glass containers in the fridge. But lately we’ve been juicing vegetables, and we buy SO MUCH leafy stuff that we don’t have enough Pyrex to hold it all (and if we bought more of them, we’d run out of space to store them). Plus, it’d be great to have these cotton bags for trips to the grocery store, where we’re pretty dependent on the plastic bags. I would love to win these, and I would use them a lot!
The Greener Kitchen Blog looks like it has some pretty great recipes for fresh ingredients. I’d love to try the Fall Fruit Crisp. Yum!
Reply
43My favorite recipe on the blog is the 7-ingredient pantry salad. yum!!
Reply
44Great idea! I have re-useable grocery bags, but I’ve still been using plastic for produce. <— naughty me!
Reply
45The Grilled Chilled Zucchini Appetizer on the Green Kitchen blog sounded delicious to me. I haven’t met a Zucchini recipe I didn’t like yet!
Reply
46Really cool idea.
the braised lamb and polenta looks good this time of year.
Reply
47I’m all about the blueberry crisp recipe! yum…
Reply
48Honey popcorn balls sound very tasty!
Reply
49Love the idea! Would love to win them.. although my only question is if they are sheer enough to see through if you are going through a grocery line. Obviously they are perfect at a farmers’ market where you can purchase something and dump it in, but I tried making my own with fabric, and the cashiers asked me to stop using them because it took too much time to open each bag to see what was in it before ringing it up. Can you see through these just enough to tell if it’s a peach vs a pear, or an onion vs a shallot inside?
Reply
50