Happy 250th Birthday, Sandwich! - reusable sandwich wrap giveaway

It's the 250th anniversary of the sandwich this week – thanks to John Montagu, the UK's Earl of Sandwich, who in 1762 asked for "a slice of beef between two toasted pieces of bread," a meal he could eat one-handed without having to put his cards down. We think 250 years of eating sandwiches – the ultimate food to go –  is well worth celebrating so we're giving away a reusable sandwich wrap to one lucky winner! That means one entrant will be able to make and take sandwiches on the go for a whole year, and beyond - with no plastic baggies required. Made with an FDA-approved LDPE easy wipe interior and a 100% cotton exterior, the sandwich wrap has a velcro closure and opens up to double as a place mat. Simply tell us what's your favourite sandwich and you'll be in with a chance of winning a sandwich wrap in the design of your choice!

**THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!**

WIN IT!
You could win a reusable sandwich wrap of your choice. You can view all sandwich wrap designs here. To enter, simply tell us about your favourite sandwich in a comment below or email it with 'Sandwich Wrap Giveaway' in the subject line to us at customerservice(at)lavishandlime(dot)com. This giveaway closes at midnight PST, May 21st, 2012. ****Please be sure to include your email address & name so we can contact you if you win!****

Extra Entries:
Leave separate comments for each extra entry to tell us you did them!
- Like or comment on a post about this Giveaway on our Lavish & Lime Facebook Page - the more likes and comments, the more chances to win
- Share a post about this Giveaway on Facebook and tell your friends
- Follow us on Pinterest
- Subscribe to receive our Lavish & Lime email newsletter
- Leave a sandwich recipe or link to a recipe
- Follow us on Twitter and tweet:
Happy 250th birthday, Sandwich! #Win a reusable #sandwich wrap http://bit.ly/ISlKEd via @LavishandLime #giveaway #canwin
*you can tweet once per day – the more tweets the more chances to win

The winner will be chosen in a random draw. Deadline for entries is 11:59pm PST Monday, May 21st, the giveaway closing date. The winner will be notified by email Tuesday, May 22nd. Open to residents of both Canada and the U.S. who are over the age of majority in their province, territory or state of residence. Prize must be accepted as awarded and may not be transferred or exchanged. It is not redeemable for cash and is non-refundable.

The Quickie: WIN a Sandwich Wrap Tomorrow

We're loving our new reusable sandwich wrap designs so much it's taken us a couple of weeks to decide to part with one - and give it away for free! We have to do it quickly before we change our minds, so we're choosing the winner tomorrow. Our easy-to-clean sandwich wraps are a great way to reduce the amount of plastic you use. This is one innovative product you'll find yourself using again and again for well over an entire school year! Plus, it keeps sandwiches - and snacks - fresh and opens up to provide a clean place to eat (a healthier alternative to a bacteria-ridden desktop). Just arrived are these fantastic designs: stars on black, tattoo hearts, green dinosaurs and hockey. We also received more of our best selling picnick-y red gingham. Check them all out for yourself and our 'how to' video - click here.


WIN IT!
Tell us which is your favourite NEW reusable sandwich wrap design and it could be yours - tomorrow! View all wraps here.

Leave your answer in a comment below or email it to us at customerservice@lavishandlime.com with 'Sandwich Wrap Giveaway' in the subject line. Please be sure to include your name, email address and telephone number so we can contact you if you win.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
Do any of the following and be sure to tell us you did!
- Like us on our Lavish & Lime Facebook Page and leave this comment on our wall:
"I just entered the Quickie to win a reusable sandwich wrap at Lavish & Lime"
- Sign up to receive our email newsletter
- Follow us on Twitter



One entry per person. The winner will be chosen in a random draw by Lavish & Lime. Deadline for entries is noon PST Friday, October 21st. The winner will be notified by the end of Friday, October 21st. Open to Canadian residents only.

The Sandwich Solution

Forgo the boring old plastic baggie and dress up your sandwich instead in funky dots, trendy cupcakes, classic camo or monochrome soccer balls. New reusable sandwich wrap designs have just arrived. Easy to use and even easier to wipe clean, innovative sandwich wraps are the answer to any sandwich storage issue. Perfect for picnics, school and work. Simply fold up your sammy, attach the velcro strip and your lunch is good to go. Open it up when your hunger pangs hit and you have a clean place mat from which to eat. Our sandwich wraps are free of nasties like BPA, lead, PVC, phthalates and last at least a school year, usually longer. Why wouldn't you invest in a gorgeous reusable like this rather than load up the landfill with disposable alternatives? For more details and to view our 'how to' video, click here.



For more green living ideas, visit our eco boutique Lavish & Lime where you'll find hundreds of everyday eco finds and unusual gift ideas that are good for you, your family and the planet too.

Plastic Sandwich Bag Lands Quebec Boy on Wrong Side of Eco Fence

The recent story of the Quebec boy who was excluded from a kindergarten draw because he had a plastic sandwich bag is unfortunate. It's also a great lesson about the key role information plays in generating positive change.

Special school activities around planet-friendly practices can have a positive, memorable effect on learning as long as they're backed up with education and adequate advance information. Incorporating background lessons into the curriculum and sending notices home or posting on the school website are great ways to inform everyone involved - including parents - and get some buzz going about the activity so the kids are excited about participating in it.

In the case of six-year-old Felix from Laval, Quebec, somehow the information didn't reach everyone.

As reported in the National Post, Felix's father, Marc-Andre Lanciault says he'd heard nothing of the draw for a stuffie for students who did not bring plastic sandwich bags to school or anything about the school's environmental policy until his son was begging for his sandwich not to be put in a plastic bag.

"Felix explained with lots of emotion and tears in his eyes that there was a simple condition to entering the drawing: Don't use a Ziploc bag in their lunch," Lanciault wrote on his blog, Notre Vie (Our Life). "Seeing the use of a ziploc by his Mum, Felix reacted as if someone had slaughtered a pig for slicing into his ham sandwich," wrote Lanciault.

Normally, Felix takes Tupperware to school, but on this occasion it was all in the dishwasher so his sandwich was packed in a plastic sandwich bag.

When questioned about Felix's exclusion from the contest because of a plastic bag, his teacher said, "You know Mr. Lanciault, it is not very good for the environment, we have to take care of our planet, and the bags do not decompose well, etc."

Education and encouragement through positive reinforcement are undoubtedly the better choice over penalty and preaching. In this case, while the kids in Felix's class who didn't bring a plastic sandwich bag that day were rewarded positively with entry into the draw, the unfortunate plastic sandwich bag faux pas landed poor Felix on the other unfriendly side of the environmental fence.

Should Felix be held responsible for his parents' actions at such a young age? No. A good alternative is to run activities by class, especially at the primary levels. 'Waste-free lunch days' or 'walk to school challenges' run as a competition between classes within a school rather than between individuals can be effective without singling out students in a potentially negative way.

Are activities like contests the proper vehicle for educating kids about environmental responsibility? Yes, if they're backed up by an educational component and the science behind it - naturally at a level the kids can understand. A contest is far more interesting and memorable than hearing the same message from the teacher.

And if our child tearily begged us to pack a reusable container that was in the dishwasher? We have to say, we'd probably take a few minutes to wash one by hand.

If you have any thoughts or ideas about eco-friendly activities in schools or generating positive change, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

For the latest waste-free lunch gear, including the bestselling reusable sandwich wrap - a great alternative to plastic sandwich bags - visit eco boutique Lavish & Lime. Packed with hundreds of everyday eco finds, Lavish & Lime is a great source for ideas about greener living.

Top Eco Tip Giveaway - Win an Envirosax Pouch

Have a great eco-friendly tip? What about a greener living idea you've shared with your friends and now they're all doing it too? We're looking for the best, most useful eco tip ever.

Send us your best tip about living life a little greener - whether you've heard about, tried it, or live by it every day - and you could win a 5-pack pouch of Envirosax reusable shopping bags!

Simply post your tip on our Facebook page, email it to us at customerservice@lavishandlime.com or post it below as a comment. We'll compile them all, then post the finalists on our Facebook page for a vote. The best-loved tip will win the Envirosax pouch and runners up will receive a reusable sandwich wrap.

So go on, send us your tip - big or small - we're all ears!

Giveaway Details
All tips must be received by email or posted on Lavish & Lime's Facebook page or blog by July 12, 2010 to be considered as entries. Winners will be notified no later than August 1, 2010. Actual Envirosax pouch prizes may vary from style shown. By sending a tip to Lavish & Lime you are agreeing to allow Lavish & Lime to publish the tip and/or use the tip in their promotional materials.

Sandwich Wrap Saves Egg Salad

We know and love how effective our eco-friendly reusable sandwich wrap can be as an alternative to plastic sandwich bags. It's great to hear how much our customers love them too.

Here's the prize-winning story that helped Tiff Gil win the sandwich wrap giveaway on our Lavish & Lime Facebook page last week.

"The absolute best part was that I had stored an egg salad sandwich in my wrap. Normally I pack the egg salad and bread separately as the sandwich ends up soggy by lunch, but I was not thinking when I made my lunch as it was the first time making lunch for work since being off on maternity leave. Anyway, the point is that my egg salad sandwich was perfect...as if I had just made it moments before eating it...instead of the night before. I’m sure the sandwich wrap had something to do with this. Regardless, I am hooked and will be snagging more reusable sandwich wraps, whether I win one or not." Tiff Gil

We think the sandwich wrap probably had something to do with keeping Tiff's sandwich fresh too. It's made from the same material as plastic sandwich bags but a thicker grade, to ensure its re-usability. The thicker material allows less air to penetrate, keeping what’s inside fresher than the typical plastic sandwich bag.

Sandwich wraps fold out flat into a place mat for a clean place to eat and are easy to wash, just wipe clean and air dry. There's no hidden corners or fabric weave for bacteria to build up. They come in loads of fun and funky designs for adults and kids and are free of BPA, lead and phthalates. Once you go for an eco-friendly wrap, you'll never go back to plastic sandwich bags again.

Check out our eco-friendly sandwich wraps at Lavish & Lime. Become a fan on our official Facebook page and you too will be privy to our exclusive facebook giveaways where fans are winning some great prizes!

WIN an Eco-Friendly Reusable Sandwich Wrap!

It's back-to-school time and to help make things a little easier - and a bit more fun - we're giving away a reusable sandwich wrap to one lucky Lavish & Lime Facebook fan.

Simply become a fan here then post a message on our discussion board topic called 'Enter to Win...' and voila - you're entered. If you're already a fan, then just simply go to our official Facebook page and leave a comment on the discussion board. The discussion board is located under the 'Boxes' tab at the top of the page.

If you share this contest with your friends on Facebook, leave a comment letting us know and you'll be entered twice. Tweet it, let us know, and you'll be entered again.

Our sandwich wrap is a simple idea, but a fantastic one. It eliminates the need for plastic baggies! The wrap is BPA-, PVC- and lead-free, it folds out into a place mat for a clean place to eat and can last a whole school year. Ideal for sandwiches, it's also great for crackers, cookies, carrot sticks and more!

The draw for a wrap (random style to be chosen) will take place on September 16th - so you have until the 15th to enter. Good luck!

Browse our Back to School collection at Lavish & Lime for a great selection of eco-friendly and non-toxic lunch and school gear.

Even Santa Said Go Green

We've been talking about it, you've been talking about it and now the big man's been talking about it too.

This year - for the first time ever - Santa included messages about going green in his letters to children.

He even made special mention of his own reusable lunch bag, like in this excerpt from a letter to Lizzie and Stewart Batho of Prince George, B.C., in which he said: "I'm always amazed how beautiful our planet is and how much I wish to protect it. Mrs. Claus always packs my cookies in my favourite reusable lunch bag."

We say hooray for Santa and his helpers at Canada Post. What better way to teach kids the importance of respecting the environment than through the one man they worship for the better part of childhood?

Visit Lavish & Lime for a full range of reusable lunch bags and sandwich wraps for both adults and children.

Reduce the Landfill One Baggy at a Time

Did you know that 20 million plastic baggies are added each day to the U.S. landfills alone?

Just imagine what the numbers are worldwide.

Let's face it. When you pack a lunch, it usually contains more than one plastic sandwich bag. These get tossed in the garbage after just one use. They add up and they fill up the landfill.

Instead of waiting for the bureaucrats to talk about banning baggies as they're doing with plastic bottles and shopping bags, why not take a small step toward reducing waste on your own? Try our NEW reusable sandwich wrap - a simple concept that's brilliant for the environment - and help reduce the landfill one baggy at a time.

Fold your sandwich up in this octagonal-shaped wrap, secure with the velcro closure and your lunch is ready to go! It's great for snacks too - muffins, crackers, cookies, veggies and more. Plus it doubles as a place mat for a clean place to eat - anywhere.

To clean, simply hand wash in warm water and hang to dry. One wrap can last an entire school year.

The wrap is made in the U.S. out of LDPE (low-density polyethylene), the same material as plastic baggies but a thicker grade to ensure its re-usability. The thicker material also allows less air to penetrate, keeping what's inside fresher for longer than the typical plastic sandwich bag.

It comes in variety of colourful patterns - green and brown dots, classic red gingham plus rainbow fish, sports balls and stars on pink for kids. Due to the high demand for this product, we're getting new designs in every week so check back for new product.

For our full range of eco-friendly food carriers and recyclable Laken water bottles, visit Lavish & Lime.

Pack a Lunch that Won't be Traded

Back to school doesn't have to mean back to boring lunches - for you or for them.

Keeping in mind research claims it takes 10-12 introductions to new food before a child is usually even willing to taste it, here are some ideas to keep the sandwich-making mill fresh and the lunch you make in your child's own tum.

• Think small. Small-sized foods are easier for children to handle and more fun to eat. Cut sandwiches into smaller pieces, use tiny tortillas for wraps and small sandwich buns. Peel, cut and pack smaller pieces of different fruits to keep their interest.
• Try different types of bread for sandwiches and dippers - crackers, rice cakes, mini croissants, pita bread, mini muffins, little bagels, tortillas, focaccia, raisin or cheese bread.
• Take a look at those prepackaged lunches the kids always pester you for. They may not be overly nutritious, but you can pack the same types of snack foods, using healthier choices.
• Think about food safety. Freeze juice boxes or small gel packs to keep the rest of the lunch cool. Better yet, use an insulated lunch box. Lime Tip: Before filling a thermos with hot soup, rinse it with hot water (from the kettle), to heat it before adding the soup.
• Make your own snack mixes by combining dried fruits, unsalted nuts, pretzels, and baked crackers. Your kids will love munching on something crunchy and sweet or savoury.

Then there’s the sandwich option, which isn’t always as easy as it first seems. Deciding what to put inside can prove challenging, day after day. For some different sandwich fillings, try these:

• roasted vegetables with low fat cream cheese
• ham, pineapple, lettuce and cucumber
• tuna and corn mixed with mayonnaise
• turkey or chicken with pickle, chutney or salsa
• homous, grated carrot and lettuce leaves

Lime Tip: To make the whole process easier, why not have your kids to plan their own lunch menu for the week? A good friend swears by this method. Simply ask them to write down or tell you while you write down their choices for each day of the week (perhaps with a little nutritional guidance from you), post them on the fridge or cupboard and that's it - no battles.

The Outside Counts Too
Although we all know it's what's inside that counts, there is something to be said for the outside packaging to keep kids keen on lunch. Especially since the more disposable the bag, the more likely it is the whole lunch will end up in the garbage, as reported in the Seattle Times.

We say, bring on cute and funky reusable lunch carriers and keep our kids' lunches from getting traded or worse, turfed.

Check out our NEW arrivals: tiger, panda and rabbit insulated lunch boxes that unzip to place mats, reusable sandwich wraps in funky fish and camo shark designs, and stretchy neoprene totes that insulate hot or cold for up to four hours.

Visit Lavish & Lime for more fresh ideas for back to school must-haves.

Brown Bagging Turns Green

Back to school means back to brown bagging it, but this autumn the brown bag comes in a variety of eco-friendly options.

Green foodies, or groodies – and any of us who perpetually intend to take our lunch rather than buy it - can choose from an array of colourful, stylish reusable bags and totes to transport their gourmet lunch goodies to school or work.

Try our new Munchlers – insulated, soft-sided lunch boxes that unzip into a placemat, all in the shape of a zoo animal. Choose from Benny the tiger, Boo the pink panda or Meadow, the green rabbit. Great for ages 3+ through elementary school.

Older kids – and adults too – will love our Gourmet Getaway lunch totes that have just arrived. Made of neoprene, the wetsuit material, these bags have a sturdy zip, insulate hot or cold food and drink for up to four hours and stretch to fit any combination of stacked containers and food items.

The options are out there. Now, it’s up to us. Think about buying green bags rather than brown.

View our complete selection of eco-friendly lunch carriers and 100% recyclable water bottles at Lavish & Lime.