What Does it Mean to be Carton Smart?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Carton Smart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Imagine if everyone made one small, smart decision a day. Swapping something bad for something good. Imagine how that would add up. There are a million ways to do that, but I’m going to talk to you about one you probably haven’t ever thought of – Cooking from cartons.

What does it mean to be carton smart?

We all strive to feed our families the freshest, healthiest food. But most of us do still rely on canned and frozen goods too – I mean, being a mom is a busy job, right? But have you ever thought about swapping some of those products for cartons? The infographic above gives you a lot of info, but here’s a bit more about why these cartons rock:

• Tetra Pak cartons are made of 70% paper – which is a renewable resource – and comes from selectively harvested, re-grown tress that are always FSC-certified. {Forest Stewardship Council.}
• Cartons use just 1/3 of the packaging compared to cans – so they’re truly friendly to the environment.
• And, there are practical reasons to prefer them – they’re stackable and save space, and super easy to store and open – no can openers needed. Plus, you can use the portion you need, then seal up the rest right in the carton until needed!
• The unique packaging process of cartons helps keep the flavor and nutrients of the food perfect, without the use of yucky preservatives. So it’s as close to fresh as you can get.
• And they’re recyclable too!

Make your holiday meals carton smart

Now that you know why cartons totally make sense – you might be wondering what types of dishes you can make with them. So, I took on a challenge to use some cartons from Pacific Foods Organic line in my holiday cooking. I swapped out the canned products I normally use for these delish cartons, and it was a massive success. My first creation was this uh-MAY-zing Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Bread…

Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Bread

I usually use a canned pumpkin for this, which worked just fine. But I could tell a difference in the quality as soon as I opened the Pacific Foods Organic Pumpkin Puree – it even smelled fresher! {Recipe coming up later today – stay tuned!

Organic Chicken Simply Stock

Next up was an absolute holiday cooking must – chicken stock. I use this like crazy all year, but even more so at the holidays. We entertain, a looooot. So I make a lot of big dinners. Want to see which recipe we made, swapping out our old chicken stock and replacing it with this Simply Stock?

Cranberry Almond Stuffing

Ohmyheck – this was so good. It was a new style of stuffing that the Mister decided to try this year. He just sort of made up a recipe – and it turned out incredible. And again, you could really tell the difference between other canned chicken stock we’ve used before, and this one from a carton.

Get #CartonSmart!

There are SO many other foods you can get in a handy-dandy carton too – like this Pacific Foods Organic Jellied Cranberry Sauce, which is another holiday-perfect pick. You can learn more about what’s available, and why you should be #CartonSmart, on their website – Become Carton Smart. You can also Follow #CartonSmart on Pinterest, or Tweet @CartonSmart if you have any questions!

And….. There’s more!

To celebrate the holiday season – which is a season of giving – I have an absolutely amazing way for you to win while doing good! One lucky person will win a $500 Visa gift card to do good things for their families – plus a $500 donation to a charity of the winner’s choice. How awesome is that, right? All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me one of the following things:

• What recipes do you make – or plan on making – using cartons this year?
• Or, what is your best entertaining tip for creating great tasting food with little waste?

Simply leave me a comment below to be entered to win! See official rules here: http://socialspark.com/carton-smart-rules. Winners chosen and prizes supplied by IZEA. Have fun and good luck!