Last week on my personal blog I created a post that discussed plastic and alternatives to plastic.  I casually recommended that people use a tiffin box in place of styrofoam take out boxes or doggie bags when eating out.  Since then, I have been asked several times to talk about the tiffin boxes in more depth.  Hey, it pertains to food and eating, and doing our part to help the planet is everybody’s responsibility.

See my original post here.

Behold the tiffin.  This is a marvelous little invention that is used in India and China as an everyday lunch box.  In the case of my tiffin, there are three bowls that fit together and are clamped together by a carrier.  I got this for $9.99 here.  It’s also dishwasher safe.  Yeah, now you’re out of excuses to NOT get one of these.  If you do some browsing and have no problem with paying a little more, these can come with a more “designer” feel to them with colors and patterns.  For me, the stainless steel is fine.

These are the three tiffin bowls and the top lid.

Here I have some Chinese takeout in the tiffin bowls.  These bowls actually hold quite a lot of food.  They hold just as much, if not more than those little takeout containers (which, depending on your takeout provider can be paper or styrofoam) usually provided.

Here I’m showing my hand next to the tiffin bowls to give a to-scale comparison.  These bowls are not tiny and they are great for takeout.  I warn you, you’ll have to argue with your provider to get them to use your own container instead of theirs.  They get confused.  Just try to explain to them why you are against using the styrofoam or paper and they usually cooperate.

I don’t know about you, but almost every time I go out to eat at a sit-down restaurant, I always have food leftover and the waitress/waiter is always offering me a box.  These “boxes” are styrofoam and completely wasteful.  Keep a tiffin on you and tell your server that you brought your own box.  You paid for it, it’s your food and I seriously doubt you’ll get any resistance.  If anything, you’re going to hear how cool that it is and how clever you are.  Who doesn’t love that?  Just remember who gave you the tip, huh kids?

TIFFIN.  You know you want one….or two.  Go on, save the world one tiffin at a time.