So what does it mean to snack with love? This Valentine’s Day, consider the possibility of choosing your snacks mindfully as an act of love for both people and the planet.

To inspire you to think outside the box, we’ve put together a line-up of snacks that we think epitomize this concept. When it comes to the edibles, we’re featuring a fun line-up of unusual snacks made from upcycled fruit, humble bugs, crunchy seaweed, and nuts with a karmic twist.

When it comes to reducing packaging waste while snacking, we’re introducing you to a couple of zero-waste snack packing solutions, including reusable containers and sacks.

Here are our Top 5 tips to help you snack with love:

1. By choosing organic, waste-free, and nourishing snacks, and taking the time to fully enjoy each bite, we’re confident you can turn snacking into a mindful practice that nourishes both your body and your mind.
   
   
2. Snacking can also be a great opportunity to connect with others. Instead of snacking alone, consider sharing a snack with a friend or loved one. This can be a fun and enjoyable way to bond and strengthen your relationships, while also allowing you to practice mindfulness and share your eco-friendly values in a social setting.
   
   
3. Shopping for nuts, dried fruits and other healthy snacks in the bulk aisles and bringing your own reusable containers with tare weights can be a fun and rewarding way to reduce waste and save money. This way you don’t have to buy a whole box of any particular snack. Instead bring several small snack containers, like our Blue Water Bento Seal Cups, and buy small quantities of several snacks to sample.
   
   

1. Pay attention to the ingredients and nutrients in your snacks. Many pre-packaged snacks are high in added sugars, artificial ingredients, and unhealthy fats, which can have negative impacts on your health and well-being. By selecting snacks that are made with whole, natural ingredients, you can nourish your body and mind while still indulging in a tasty treat.
   
   
2. Snacking is an often-mindless activity that most of us engage in daily. Whether it's grabbing a quick snack while driving, watching TV or while doing many other things, we often don’t pay much attention to what we’re snacking on or how much. By being present and fully enjoying each bite, snacking can go from mindless -- to mindful. Pay attention to the texture, flavor, and aroma of your snack, and really savor each bite. This practice can help you become more present and aware in your daily life.

To celebrate snacking with love ECOlunchbox is featuring a few companies with lovely snacking solutions. We hope you’ll find the eco-friendly missions and products of all these companies inspiring.

• 12 Tides - Kelp Snacks
• Don Bugito - Cricket Granola Bites
• Frog Hollow Farm - Artisan Dried Fruit
• Lunchskins - Eco-friendly Snack Sacks
• Karma Nuts - Good Vibes Cashews
• ECOlunchbox - Stainless Steel Snack Tins

12 Tides

12 Tides shows its love of our oceans by starring kelp in its line of healthy puffed snacks in three flavors: sea salt, chili pepper and everything. The company was founded with the goal of introducing more people to the nutritional benefits of seaweed and showcasing its delicious taste and versatility.

Seaweed is an incredibly nutritious food, rich in vitamins and minerals, including iodine, which is important for thyroid function. It is also a good source of protein, and has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. 12 Tides' products are a convenient and tasty way to incorporate seaweed into one's diet and reap its health benefits.

The company’s founder had previously worked in old-school seafood industries. In response to the overfishing, pollution and coastline destruction he witnessed, 12 Tides was founded to produce snacks made from ocean kelp that are healthy for people and planet. Sustainably grown kelp, which removes carbon from the atmosphere 20 times more efficiently than land crops, doesn’t require fertilizers, pesticides, arable land, or freshwater to grow! 12 Tides is a certified B Corporation and 1% For The Planet company.

Don Bugito

Don Bugito is a snack company based in San Francisco, California that specializes in creating unique and flavorful snacks using edible insects and native American ingredients . The company was founded by Monica Martinez, an educator and designer, who is passionate about promoting edible insects as a sustainable and nutritious food source. One of Don Bugito's most popular products is their cricket granola bites, which are made with roasted crickets and a variety of nuts and seeds. They also offer a variety of other insect-based snacks.

Don Bugito is committed to shaping the future by changing the way we eat. Its mission is to promote the consumption of insects as a sustainable food source. Insects are a highly efficient protein source, requiring far less land, water, and feed to produce compared to traditional livestock. This makes them an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional protein sources. Additionally, the company also aims to showcase the delicious taste and nutritional benefits of edible insects to change the perception of them in the Western world.

Don Bugito has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including the New York Times, WSJ, National Geographic, and Forbes. They have also been recognized by various organizations for their innovative approach to food production, including being a finalist in the REI Co-op's Path Ahead Ventures Navigate Program, 2022, which recognizes and rewards social entrepreneurs around the world.

Frog Hollow Farm

Frog Hollow Farm is a family-owned and operated organic and regenerative farm located in Brentwood, California, that specializes in growing organic tree fruit and producing artisan foods in their Farm Kitchen. The farm was founded in 1976 by farmer Al Courchesne with the goal of producing exceptionally delicious, healthy, and sustainable food.

Frog Hollow Farm grows a wide variety of tree fruits, including apricots, peaches, plums, and nectarines, which are harvested by hand at their peak ripeness, ensuring that they retain the maximum amount of flavor, nutrients, and sweetness. As part of their commitment to eliminating food waste, fruits that are too ripe or cosmetically damaged to sell through traditional retail channels are dried to perfection by the company's team of skilled craftspeople. These “upcycled” dried fruits are perfect for snacking, adding to cereal or yogurt, baking, or as a topping for ice cream.

Frog Hollow Farm is committed to organic and regenerative farming practices supporting the health of life forms both big and small, from their trees and the crew that cares for them down to the billions of microorganisms that reside in their soil. They go above and beyond organic requirements to ensure that the health and productivity of their land is not only maintained but improved upon and continually revitalized.

Frog Hollow Farm has won several awards and accolades for their delicious and healthy dried fruit products, and have been featured in various media outlets such as Food & Wine, Sunset Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. 

Lunchskins 

Lunchskins was founded with the goal of reducing the amount of single-use plastic waste in the environment. One of their most popular products is their reusable sandwich and snack bags, which are made from a durable and food-safe fabric that is both machine washable and dishwasher safe. The bags come in a variety of fun and colorful designs, making them appealing to both children and adults.

As an alternative to disposable plastic Ziploc bags, Lunchskins also offers 2 disposable snack bags. One is made from unbleached Kraft paper that’s not coated or treated with petroleum-based paraffin wax or soy, so they are compostable. The other snack sack option, which is also made from paper, is moisture and grease resistant thanks to it being made from all natural glassine - a translucent but very durable form of paper. These bags include a self-adhesive closure strip that is recyclable.

The company is also committed to sustainability and ethical manufacturing, using eco-friendly materials and ensuring that their production processes are ethically sound.

Karma Nuts

When it comes to Karma Nuts snacks, cashews are the star of the show. These are no ordinary cashews! The company has developed an innovative method of “wrapping” the cashews in a variety of flavors for maximum taste and nutrition. Karma Nuts’ “wrapped” cashew nuts retain their natural skins for 2x the fiber, antioxidant activity comparable to blueberries, and amazing crunch.

Karma Nuts is also dedicated to living its mission of "Do Good. Eat Good. Feel Good" and donates 1% of total sales (or 10% of profits, whichever is larger) to charities focused on the health and well-being of children. Check out their 11 delicious flavors -- from toasted coconut and cocoa to spicy peri peri and zesty lime twist. The company’s founder Ganesh Nair developed the recipes as a healthy alternative to common fried and sugary snacks.

ECOlunchbox

Ecolunchbox is a company that produces a plastic-free snack tins and lunch boxes for people who are looking to reduce their environmental impact. The company was founded with the goal of providing sustainable and healthy alternatives to single-use plastic containers, which are commonly used for packing lunches and snacks.

One of Ecolunchbox's most popular products is their stainless-steel food containers, which are perfect for packing lunches and snacks on the go. The containers come in a variety of sizes and are leak-proof, making them ideal for packing wet or dry foods. They are also dishwasher safe and durable, which makes them a long-lasting and sustainable alternative to plastic containers.

In addition to their stainless-steel food containers, Ecolunchbox also offers a wide range of other plastic-free food storage solutions, including bamboo utensils, beeswax wraps, and cotton napkins. All of their products are designed to replace single-use plastic containers and to reduce the amount of plastic waste in the environment.