Reusable canning lids?

For those that have read my blog for a while, you'll know that I do quite a bit of canning.   In the past few years I've become concerned about a few things.  First the lids are not supposed to be reused.  I know that many people still do reuse them, but I'm not very comfortable with it.  Second, the lids have a coating that contains BPA.  I'd really like to avoid that if at all possible. 

Today I was reading a canning forum and saw a thread about some reusable lids.  They're called Tattler reusable lids.  They're made of plastic and have a separate rubber ring that is also reusable.  Have any of you heard of these or used these?  I still have tons of lids that I bought in bulk, but would be thrilled if there was an alternative.  They wouldn't rust and destroy the seal either.  Moisture wouldn't be such an issue.  I'm going to have to think about these a bit more. 

My chickens and Crunchy Chicken's challenge

Crunchy Chicken is running another challenge.  This one is about reducing our waste in the kitchen.  The problem is that I've become rather lax in this area as a result of the chickens.  It's far too easy to just give the leftovers to them, than to find a way to use them for us.  Sad, but true.  Crunchy caught on to this chicken loophole pretty quickly and closed it for us.  Darn her!  

 

They get so excited whenever I come out to see them.  Their little food bowl (an old dog dish) is empty and they'd really like some treats please.  "But Crunchy says I have to eat the people food myself!"  They didn't like that one bit and said some not so nice things about her that I won't repeat here.  "Don't worry" I tell them. "I just read an article in Mother Earth News about growing chicken feed.  I had already planned to grow some extra greens for you."  They still aren't very happy, but what can you do, they're chickens.  These are the same animals that when given yogurt to help their tummies, decided to step in it and then eat it off of each other's feet.

So, onto the challenge.  This is actually a good time of year for this one.  The garden isn't producing and we're using up everything that has been canned and frozen.  My biggest issue will be making just enough for us and/or freezing any leftovers, until we can get to them.  I'm sure the chickens will still get a few things here and there, but I need to make a concerted effort to reduce our waste, and not cop out and give it to the chickens.