I try to cut down on plastic use at home as much as possible, but I get why plastic baggies are handy for on-the-go snacks. When I’m out with the kids, I like to keep some healthy snacks in my purse for whenever they get hungry.
There are many excellent ways to reduce plastic at home. Personally, I love using stainless steel lunch containers to pack healthy lunches for my kids on field trips. However, stainless steel and glass can be impractical for quick outings since they make my purse quite heavy.
A straightforward solution for portable snacks is to use cloth snack bags. Etsy has a fantastic selection of reusable snack bags, many of which are handmade by stay-at-home moms. If you have some basic sewing skills, you can even make your own.
A few weeks back, I made some baby bibs for a friend and decided to create matching reusable snack bags. We use them for popcorn, energy bars, Magic Spoon cereal, and more!
Since I wanted the bags to match the bibs, I chose an organic cotton print, dyed with low-impact dyes, for the outside, and an organic cotton muslin for the inside lining—the same fabric I used for the bibs. Cotton is easy to work with, washable, and comes in lots of cute prints. The only downside is they’re best for dry snacks like trail mix, homemade jerky, wellness energy bars, and grain-free crackers.
If you need something sturdier, canvas or home decorator fabric would be thicker and suitable for foods like sliced carrots, grapes, or snap peas, though it still wouldn’t be waterproof.
Use a 1/4″ seam allowance. The finished bag will be 6″ wide by 5.5″ high.
If making these bags interests you, check out my tutorial for making your own produce bags too! Do you use reusable snack bags? Will you give making your own a try?
