Cool Gear Snack Time containers review

I bought these Cool Gear Snack Time containers at the container store the other day to take on our road trip over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. This company makes some fun and imaginative containers, many with gel inserts embedded into the walls of the vessels which can be frozen to keep things cold. I like the concept because it can eliminate the need for a separate ice pack and save space.

I saw them and immediately thought of the endless combinations of snacks I could assemble: dry cereal and milk, milk and cookies, cereal and milk, juice and crackers, soy milk and trail mix, yogurt smoothie and berries, etc.

The top container is a straw type cup with a straw insert that extends to the bottom of the container. The container itself has gel sandwiched between two layers of thick plastic which can be frozen. The claim is that it keeps liquids cold for four hours. The bottom container screws on to the bottom and can making a nifty compact vessel.

For our road trip I packed milk in the top and dry cereal in the bottom. I'm not sure if the gel cup kept things cold for four hours, but it was a hot day and the milk stayed cold for quite a while. The only concern I have about this product is that the vessel for the liquids is a bit small holding only 4oz of liquid. That size is just right for my kids with the tiny appetites, but might not be enough for most others.

The bright fun colors drew my attention immediately. I had a hard time choosing between the vibrant orange, lime green, aqua, and hot pink. Choosing the hot pink for my daughter was easy, but I kept going back and forth between the other colors for my son, finally settling on aqua Predictable pink and blue. I noticed on the company website that they have a product specifically for cereal and milk which includes a spoon. Very cool indeed. As far as BPA in this product, I'm not sure if it has it or not. It didn't have one of those "BPA free" labels, so I don't know for sure. The company's website prominently promoted a new line of products that is completely BPA free, so they are well aware that it is of concern to many consumers.

There is more to life than plastic

Poor stretchy Plastic Man is so two (or is that three?) decades ago. I remember this guy from Saturday morning cartoons - he could reshape himself, stretch out like a rubber band and roll up into a ball. Personally, as far as stretchy superheroes, he's got nothing on Elastigirl. She's a superhero and a cool mom who wears spandex. She packs a heck of a punch. I'll bet she packs a good lunch too.

Ah, but I digress... I am always on the lookout for eco-friendly (and economical) products and solutions for food storage and portability, preferably BPA free. I'm not an alarmist. I still use plastic, although I try to use it less than I did a few months ago. My kids have probably been exposed to quite a bit of BPA thanks to me. Sorry for that, guys. Who knew? I don't necessarily believe in the hype, but at the same time, better to be safe than sorry.

One of my good friends is expecting a baby in June and has been concerned about the recent publicity about BPA leaching out of baby bottles. I used Avent bottles, but with the concern about BPA exposure, many parents are looking for BPA-free alternatives. Enter glass bottles, circa 1970 that my generation, and most of the current generation of new moms grew up on.
Some good options are the classic Evenflo glass bottles, which are available at my Amazon store, as well as the big box retailers like Target, Wal-Mart, BabiesRUs, and BuyBuyBaby. If you're a little more modern, these Weego bottles from Shopbabylife.com are pretty cool too. They're not cheap, but the outer cover makes them quite safe. There are also some other BPA free plastic bottle and cups made by BornFree and Momo, both of which are available at Amazon. BornFree Also has a glass version available on their website.

I am also sharing this information that I received from my Ideal Bite daily e-mail about a boy from the NYC metro area who has created some fun and kid friendly products that are environmentally friendly. Hunter Gross, a 7th grader, was inspired to create eco-friendly lunch sacks and totebags, among other things as a way to reduce the number of plastic bags. Check out the ProjectKool website and products here. Way to go, Hunter! Keep up the great work!

(picture courtesy of these folks http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/gravity/alpha/images/plasticman.jpg)