Lunch box ideas - Part one
Kiddley reader Krista suggested a post on school lunches so here we go with part one!
Here in Australia we are heading into our September Holidays - which means I don’t have to run around like crazy packing a balanced school lunch before Kinder for the next few weeks. Hooray! But the first of September saw the launch of the Australian lunchbox website and online store LunchMatters, which has me leaping with excitement. Not only do they provide some wonderful lunchbox menu ideas, but they are selling Laptop Lunchboxes here without the ridiculous shipping costs. We bought a set from overseas a little while ago and are really impressed with it. Even when we are having lunch at home it makes eating fun for a pre-schooler.
So now I am thinking about lunchbox ideas again which is nice and timely for the beginning of the school year in other parts of the world.
For inspiration, you can’t go past the Vegan Lunch Box archives. Jennifer Schmoo is no longer making up daily school lunches but there is still plenty of interesting information on her site especially for vegan readers. Recently she has unearthed Bento TV - a quirky video podcast of daily lunch ideas that we are loving, and Dr Fuhrman’s “Packing A Lunch For School” and vegetarian lunch ideas from VegCooking.
Some flickr groups of interest - Laptop Lunchbox and Bento Boxes will keep your mouth watering.
Choice.com has a great interactive lunchbox. Drag and drop some typical lunchbox snacks and see how much sugar, fat and salt your kids are consuming.
** LunchMatters is kindly offering Kiddley readers from Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region a special treat with every order for the month of September (2006). Just mention “Kiddley” in the message section at the end of the ordering process and you will receive a little gift (such as a cookie cutter, extra containers, forks, spoons and so on) with your parcel. Be sure to mention whether you are shopping for a girl, boy or adult so that you will get an appropriate gift. Thanks LunchMatters! **
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love the ideas with the laptop lunchboxes, but when i went to investigate one for myself and my kid, i discovered that they are pretty ridiculously expensive, and i live here in the states. you have a great website, but sometimes i wish you could feature some products that are a little more realistic for the most of us. i am not flat broke all the time, but i’ll not pay $100 for a lunch box either. thanks for listening, dawna
Dawna September 8th, 2006 13:37
Hi Dawna. I was actually referring to the cheaper version (the one without the designer fabric bag, thermos flask and stainless steel drink bottle) which is USD $33.99. I think the $100 version is actually pitched at adults.
Claire September 8th, 2006 16:29
Great inspiration! Thanks Claire!
Krista September 8th, 2006 23:17
I think that the $100 is more for adults as well however I noticed that if you look at the items sold individually you can get the laptop lunch bag (with containers) for just under $20 which I think is reasonable considering how much you would spend on a basic lunch sack and then all the plastic containers or throw away bags and whatnot that would go into it. This seems like a much better deal in the long run AND some stores around the county carry them so you could save the shipping charges too which is always a bonus. Thanks for showing us such a great option!
LisaBeth September 9th, 2006 06:16
If you go to BentoTv and click on the link to their products you could find a similar, compartmentalized (whoa, is that a word?) lunchbox.
By the way, thanks for sharing the BentoTV site. It rocks!
Christina Shaver September 10th, 2006 06:09
I too was especially excited by this article! I visited every site and will probably order the laptop lunch set. It is just $20 US. (The afore mentioned $100 is for a big kit that has several unnessessary albeit exciting things.) When you view “all products” on the laptop lunchbox site, you can see the individual prices. You can get 2 sets for under $40! I am excited and the healthy food is so visually appealing!
jennifer September 10th, 2006 21:17
you sooooo rock, claire!
wendy September 11th, 2006 06:45
Hi, great idea! I hear how hard it is to get kids to eat a variety of good foods these days. I’m sure by packaging the lunch in a more visually appealing way will help! Another good site for fun and yummy recipes for kids is marthastewart.com, in the kids section! I loved her mag for Kids but unfortunately it was discontinued : (
Kat September 11th, 2006 07:28
Hi Claire
Thanks for that…have just gone through and ordered 2 boxes for my school kids
Can’t believe how excited i am about a lunch box!!
Re: the cost…think of how money will be saved over the years less all the packaging…not to mention the environment!
thanks again
Rebecca September 11th, 2006 13:57
hi claire
i was just wondering if the food got messy in the laptop lunch box. it looks as if the photos are all taken before it is in the kinder bag, put in the boot of the car and jiggled on the back of an excited kid on the way to the locker.
i love the look of the lunchboxes but can’t imagine it looks the same by the time it is to be eaten.
just checking before i outlay the money.
cheers
amy September 19th, 2006 20:21