A Plastic-Free Food Wrap Set - for Free!

We're giving away a set of our  Flat Wrap Covers for Food to one lucky person, if we can hit 5, 570 facebook fans this weekend! These new reusable food covers are amazing. Made of beeswax, tree resin and jojoba oil infused into a hemp/cotton fabric, they're a great plastic-free alternative for wrapping up cheese, bread, fruit, vegetables, bowls and platters. We're so excited about these food covers, we want to send a set – for free – to someone who likes them too! (Or at least likes our post about them on Facebook.) We'll do this Monday as long as a few more people 'like' our Lavish & Lime Facebook page between now and then. What would you wrap in a set of new food covers? Check out the Facebook post now – and share, share, share! If you've liked the post, feel free to tell us in a comment below.

Our plastic-free Flat Wrap Covers for Food are ideal for Thanksgiving.

5 Eco-Friendly Ideas for Thanksgiving Dinner

This Thanksgiving why not include Mother Nature when giving thanks and choose planet-friendly alternatives for your holiday dinner? It's easy – with just a bit of planning – and will make this day of thanks even more special. From buying locally produced, organic foods to setting the table with reusable napkins, there are plenty of eco-friendly ideas for Thanksgiving. Here are five of our favourite ways to green your Thanksgiving table.

Prepping food with natural flat wraps reduces waste and the potential for chemicals leaching into your food.

1. Plastic-free food prep. There’s no talking turkey when it comes to food and plastic. Avoid the use of plastic wrap and you'll be avoiding potentially risky chemicals leaching into your Thanksgiving dinner, not to mention reducing waste heading for the landfill. For reusable, plastic-free food prep and storage, these Flat Wrap Covers for Food tick all the boxes. Natural, non-leaching and compostable, these innovative Canadian-made covers are easily molded to wrap up fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese, bowls, platters and even your cooked turkey! They also make a useful and unique hostess gift.

2. Add eco-chic colour to your table. Add a splash of colour to your Thanksgiving table with these stainless steel dishes hand painted by Kashmiri craftspeople. These beautiful cups and bowls are non-leaching and unbreakable – perfect for some festive eco-chic decor and ideal for withstanding any potential damage done at the kids’ table!

3. Nature makes for easy, elegant eco-friendly decor. Decorate your table and beyond with colourful fall leaves, branches and nuts. Go chestnut picking and fill tall vases and glasses with these richly hued autumn gems for seasonal accents on the dining table, mantle and throughout your dining and living room. For warm ambiance, place a candle inside the vase first and chestnuts around and up about a third of the candle's height.  For eco-friendly place cards, write guests' names on leaves or stones with a felt tip pen. A gold metallic pen works well on yellow/green leaves and silver is ideal on dark grey stones. You can even have a few extras on hand and ask guests to write down what they're thankful for, then place these thanking stones on display in the centre of the table.

4. Leftover layaway plan. Plan for leftovers and avoid unnecessary food waste. Storing them in stainless steel is a smart choice, not just for the planet but for you too. Stainless steel is highly durable so any stainless steel food storage containers you use, will probably outlast you. Stainless steel is also non-leaching, so there's never any worry about nasty chemicals leaching into your leftovers, whether wet or dry. This sleek trio of leak proof, square stainless steel nesting containers is long on practicality and short on taking up storage space. For smaller quantities of food, perhaps cranberry sauce, try these round leak proof steel containers and if leakage is less important, the Lunchbots eco food container with a steel lid is ideal.

5. Be sure to use your leftovers. Sometimes the best laid plans... Keeping leftovers doesn't always translate into eating leftovers and trust us, the result can turn out to be something akin to a science experiment. Keep an eye out now for recipes you want to try. With them on hand, you'll be more likely to use your Thanksgiving dinner leftovers post-holiday. For starters, check out this collection of 5 Must-Try Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Recipes.

5 Must-Try Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Recipes

Leftovers were always a mainstay in our family fridge, especially at Thanksgiving. Lattice turkey pie and turkey on toast dowsed in gravy were meals enjoyed almost religiously the week following the big turkey blowout. Food waste was simply not an option in our household of six reared by parents of The Depression. Nor should it be in this era of waste-free living. With a little planning, Thanksgiving leftovers can be a godsend – take them out of their food storage containers and put them to work for a quick answer to a weekday meal or something a little more involved. Here are some of our favourite recipe picks to help you enjoy your Thanksgiving turkey post-holiday.

Turkey croquettes and slow cooker soup are great ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers.

Hot Turkey on Toast
(Serves 2)

1 cup chopped turkey
1 cup gravy
2 slices whole wheat bread
Cranberry sauce (optional)

Place turkey and gravy in a saucepan and simmer until heated through. Toast bread. Place toast on plate and top with turkey/gravy mixture. Spoon cranberry sauce on side or top, as desired. Serve immediately, steaming hot.

Here's a traditional turkey soup recipe adapted for the must-have slow cooker from Canada's trusted cooking authority, Canadian Living: Slow Cooker Smoked Turkey and Noodle Soup.

For something different, try a taste from the South with these Turkey and Mashed Potato Croquettes. Great as a meal or make them slightly smaller to serve as appetizers.

Great for filling wraps, rolls or spreading on crackers is this Festive Fall Turkey Salad recipe.

From Epicurious.com here's a tried and true classic casserole recipe with a curry twist all the way from 1965: Casserole of Turkey with Rice.

Do you have any favourite leftover turkey recipes to share?

Keeping Cheese Fresh: Plastic-Free Cheese Storage

We love cheese. Besides the ridiculously high prices we pay for it here in Canada, the only other thing that can potentially affect the moment when a wave of rich creamy brie rolls over our taste buds is when we think about how to store the remainder of the round – until now. A plastic container? Ziploc bag? Plastic wrap? Foil? They've all come up wanting in one way or another for keeping cheese fresh. Not so with our newest eco find: Abeego Flat Wrap Covers for Food. This innovative food storage idea ticks all the boxes - and not just for cheese. Wrapping up fruit, bread, vegetables, dishes and more has never been easier, or healthier. Made of beeswax, tree resin and jojoba oil infused in a fabric of hemp and cotton, these all natural food storage wraps do not leach chemicals into your food, on contact or otherwise. With the heat from your hands and a little pressure, they mold to cover any food or dish you want to store plus they're fluid resistant and breathable so they keep food fresh. Compostable and easy to clean, they'll last well over a year with cold water washing and eco-friendly dish soap. Another big plus? Abeego flat wraps are made by hand, in Canada. No more bits of nasty-smelling, moldy cheese within what often seems like mere hours of putting your cheesy leftovers in the fridge - just tasty remnants to enjoy another day.

Abeego flat wrap covers for food are a plastic-free way for keeping cheese fresh.

Top 3 Eco-Friendly Ways to Store Thanksgiving Leftovers

Cranberries and pumpkin filling are front and centre in the grocery stores which means Thanksgiving isn't far off. Much time is spent planning and cooking our spectacular turkey meals, but what about post-feast? Historically, we've not given this aspect of Thanksgiving dinner too much thought until lately, when we've started considering the downside of storing food in potentially toxic plastic containers, using oodles of disposable plastic wrap and far-from-eco-friendly tin foil. This year, why not try a few reusable eco-friendly food storage alternatives? Instead of covering bowls with plastic wrap or foil during food prep, try these flat wrap covers for food. Made of beeswax, tree resin and jojoba oil infused in a washable hemp/cotton fabric, these innovative compostable covers are ideal for wrapping vegetables, fruit, bread, cheese, bowls and platters. Glass containers are one of our favourites for leftovers. Not only is glass 100% recyclable, non-leaching and easy to clean, but you can actually see what's inside - and the state it's in. These smaller glass cube containers with leak proof locking lids are a great option for small quantities. Finally, for durability you can't beat stainless steel food storage containers. These too are non-leaching, recyclable and they'll probably outlast you!

Natural Flat Wrap Covers for Food are a great alternative to disposable plastic wrap.