Travesuras & Tupperware

There’s one thing you can always count on at a family fiesta:  plenty of food! And when it comes to the leftovers, you better believe you’re taking some home…even if you swore you weren’t going to.

You see, family will insist—demand, actually—that you take food home. “Llévate un plato, mija!…piensa en tu hombre!” But careful, this is all a test, you better NOT touch the good tupperware—unless you’re immediate family—and even then, it’s questionable.

Para los invitados, solamente the recycled stuff. You’ll be directed to the cabinet that’s literally a boobie trap of mantequilla, sour cream and Cool Whip tubs stacked like Jenga towers, waiting to ambush you!  That’s how you know you’re not that close to your tía, she handed you arroz in a Country Crock container.

But if you somehow score uno de los buenos—like actual tupperware with a matching lid—you’re considered a concentida! Pero olvídate, don’t screw that one up. You better return it ASAP, y no vacío eh?  It better come back filled—with food, a lottery scratcher, a pinche pan dulce…algo. Otherwise? You’ll officially be the malagradecida that future generations will whisper about!“Mírala! La que se llevo the last of the birria AND the good tupperware…”

But you know what? Mexicans have been living sustainably before it was a hashtag. But has this created PTSD in anyone else? Post-Tupperware Stress Disorder. Or am I alone? Take for example, the frijoles in the LaLa Crema tub. Look, I love frijoles like every other paisa, but there’s nothing  that triggers a gag reflex more than opening what you think is sour cream and being face-to-face with a chunky, brown, mysterious clump of refried beans! Now you have trust issues, and you’re smelling every container before committing. It’s traumatic!

But here’s the thing, Mexicans are low-key saving the planet. We’ve been reusing and recycling EVERYTHING before it was trendy. Drawers full of plastic bags, gift bags passed back and forth between families for years,  we even refold tissue paper, and yes, some of us even reuse foil.  Let’s not get too out of control though,like Tia Letty washing out ziplocks OR I’ve even caught Abuelita washing paper plates! Se pasan! Although… I admit, I’ve been washing Ziplocks lately too. All for the planet of course!

Either way, next time someone clowns your frijoles-in-a-LaLa-Crema-tub-life, tell them you’re not cheap, you’re eco-chic, baby.