School lunch and bento box questions

[Anonymous]

I just reuse those baby food containers. If my son accidentally tosses one in the trash, no big deal.


https://www.gerber.com/products/baby-food-products/product/gerber-organic-1st-foods-apples/20


If you have a baby or know someone who does, ask them for some of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry--zip lock bags are messy, but I recommend them for a K kid. So much easier.

It's a lot of plastic to throw away though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just reuse those baby food containers. If my son accidentally tosses one in the trash, no big deal.


https://www.gerber.com/products/baby-food-products/product/gerber-organic-1st-foods-apples/20


If you have a baby or know someone who does, ask them for some of them.

I think this might be embarassing for the kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After 3 kids, and lots of money spent, I have perfected my lunches for the kids.

I use the 3 compartment ziplock containers but they are discontinued now. Once they run out (they each last a few months) then I will go to the other one on this page below. The zip locks are 100% leak proof. I have used yogurt, cottage cheese, fruits, applesauce, etc... and they do not leak in-between the other compartments.

http://www.easylunchboxes.com/blog/how-do-ziploc-3-compartment-lunch-containers-compare-to-easylunchboxes/

I use that and a thermos Funtainer bottle for a drink.

http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-12-Ounce-Funtainer-Bottle-Blue/dp/B00DAPQV0K/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1421620614&sr=1-1&keywords=thermos+funtainer

and they both fit inside a Lands End lunchbox that is machine washable.

http://www.landsend.com/products/solid-classmate-soft-sided-lunch-box/id_269655

I also use Thermos Funtainer Food Jars for soups, reheated dinners like mac n cheese, spaghetti, casseroles ect... When I use that, I usually add a small rubbermaid container with fruit and the thermos bottle for a drink.

The key for young kids is that they should only have to open one item. Don't mess with lots of containers or drink boxes. Don't add a bunch of food. They have 20 minutes tops to eat and that is with talking to all of their friends. I do one major item, one fruit, one other item. All healthy but things they will eat.

My one rule is to NEVER throw anything away. I even want to see crusts. It isn't to get mad at them. It is know that they are truly eating, if I am under packing, over packing, etc... It works.

That is soooo helicopter lol

Not that poster, but I don't think it is. Part of it is the economic and environmental waste of overpacking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just reuse those baby food containers. If my son accidentally tosses one in the trash, no big deal.


https://www.gerber.com/products/baby-food-products/product/gerber-organic-1st-foods-apples/20


If you have a baby or know someone who does, ask them for some of them.

I think this might be embarassing for the kid.

How? They look like clear plastic containers. It's embarrassing, not embarassing.

[Anonymous]

We have several Sistema pieces here, I've bought them all at TJ Maxx---sometimes in the clearance aisle. I like being able to SEE them so I know exactly how big they are

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have several Sistema pieces here, I've bought them all at TJ Maxx---sometimes in the clearance aisle. I like being able to SEE them so I know exactly how big they are

I love the Sistema lunch containers. They actually are airtight. I use them for cut fruit and never had any problems. They are easy for kids to open and close too. I have a bunch of them and they are all I use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just reuse those baby food containers. If my son accidentally tosses one in the trash, no big deal.


https://www.gerber.com/products/baby-food-products/product/gerber-organic-1st-foods-apples/20


If you have a baby or know someone who does, ask them for some of them.

I think this might be embarassing for the kid.

How? They look like clear plastic containers. It's embarrassing, not embarassing.

Agree about the containers being pretty nondescript.

Want to talk potentially embarrassing your kid with baby food? I send my 8 year old to school with Stonyfield YoBaby yogurt cups. He loves the peach and the pear flavors, and they aren't available in the YoKids product line. He doesn't care (I asked), and nobody has bothered him about it. Empty gerber food containers are great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who is obsessing about their child's lunchbox a full 9 months before s/he starts kindergarten (as the OP is) will surely buy a $50 bento whatever lunchbox and feel very superior. Until said child loses it.

Ha! OP here. I tend to research things to death, I admit. Like I said in my OP, various things are landing in my inbox reminding me that kindergarten is approaching. This crossed my mind so I wanted to ask now before I forgot. I've gotten a lot of great answers, and now I have bookmarked the thread to come back to it this summer and watch for sales on one of these brands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry--zip lock bags are messy, but I recommend them for a K kid. So much easier.

Totally disagree. Bento boxes or whatever you want to call them are easier and so much better for the environment. These ones were cheap and super convenient--I ended up loving that it's one shared lid rather than a bunch of small ones.

http://www.amazon.com/EasyLunchboxes-3-Compartment-Bento-Containers-Classic/dp/B004S129AQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422387710&sr=8-1&keywords=lunch+containers+for+kids&pebp=1422387716244&peasin=B004S129AQ

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After 3 kids, and lots of money spent, I have perfected my lunches for the kids.

I use the 3 compartment ziplock containers but they are discontinued now. Once they run out (they each last a few months) then I will go to the other one on this page below. The zip locks are 100% leak proof. I have used yogurt, cottage cheese, fruits, applesauce, etc... and they do not leak in-between the other compartments.

http://www.easylunchboxes.com/blog/how-do-ziploc-3-compartment-lunch-containers-compare-to-easylunchboxes/

I use that and a thermos Funtainer bottle for a drink.

http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-12-Ounce-Funtainer-Bottle-Blue/dp/B00DAPQV0K/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1421620614&sr=1-1&keywords=thermos+funtainer

and they both fit inside a Lands End lunchbox that is machine washable.

http://www.landsend.com/products/solid-classmate-soft-sided-lunch-box/id_269655

I also use Thermos Funtainer Food Jars for soups, reheated dinners like mac n cheese, spaghetti, casseroles ect... When I use that, I usually add a small rubbermaid container with fruit and the thermos bottle for a drink.

The key for young kids is that they should only have to open one item. Don't mess with lots of containers or drink boxes. Don't add a bunch of food. They have 20 minutes tops to eat and that is with talking to all of their friends. I do one major item, one fruit, one other item. All healthy but things they will eat.

My one rule is to NEVER throw anything away. I even want to see crusts. It isn't to get mad at them. It is know that they are truly eating, if I am under packing, over packing, etc... It works.

That is soooo helicopter lol

I am the PP and it is not to be helicopter. The reason I do it is two-fold.

1. My older daughter goes to private and I have to pick her up after my little one gets off the bus. She eats whatever she has left in her lunch box and small snack I bring on the way to pick her up.

2. I volunteer in lunch all the time. If you saw the amount of unopened food that went into the garbage, you would be shocked. I see kids throw all their veggies and fruit out and go to the lunch line and buy a cookie or ice pop. I am sure their parents have no idea. One is a friend of mine who is a RD and she packs these lunches with peppers, mushrooms, sliced melon etc... Her kid never touches them. She walks over to the trash and dumps it all in, closes the container and gets a snack or shares with her friends. I rather my kid come home and I can see what she eats and doesn't eat and adjust it so I am not wasting food.

Helicopter, no. Frugal, yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry--zip lock bags are messy, but I recommend them for a K kid. So much easier.

Totally disagree. Bento boxes or whatever you want to call them are easier and so much better for the environment. These ones were cheap and super convenient--I ended up loving that it's one shared lid rather than a bunch of small ones.

http://www.amazon.com/EasyLunchboxes-3-Compartment-Bento-Containers-Classic/dp/B004S129AQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422387710&sr=8-1&keywords=lunch+containers+for+kids&pebp=1422387716244&peasin=B004S129AQ

Yes and young kids can't re-zip the bags and food gets all over the inside of the lunchbox.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:K teacher here...
Don't waste your money. Kids either leave them, lose them, or accidentally throw them away. I have a little one, so I'm sympathetic to parents who are understandably upset, but with 18 kids it's hard to keep track of where their lunch boxes are. Plus, there lunch period is my planning period, so I'm not around to double check.

Ziploc bags may seem wasteful, but I can't tell you how many reusable containers my DC has lost.

In my experience, you can't generalize that all kids lose things. My daughter never made it through a week without losing something when she was young (she once lost her shoes in K!), but both my sons are very careful with their things. My youngest brought lunch in a lunchbot (or other similar container--we have a couple of different types) plus water in a thermos through three years of preschool and now half a year of kindergarten and has never left anything behind. He's never lost a coat or jacket either--not one single time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry--zip lock bags are messy, but I recommend them for a K kid. So much easier.

Totally disagree. Bento boxes or whatever you want to call them are easier and so much better for the environment. These ones were cheap and super convenient--I ended up loving that it's one shared lid rather than a bunch of small ones.

http://www.amazon.com/EasyLunchboxes-3-Compartment-Bento-Containers-Classic/dp/B004S129AQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422387710&sr=8-1&keywords=lunch+containers+for+kids&pebp=1422387716244&peasin=B004S129AQ

Lunchroom helper here. These ones are fine, there's only one lid to deal with and kids can open and close them. Some of them though with multiple containers are nothing but a pain. Most of the kids can't open or close them on their own, stuff is getting spilled when they try to open them etc. The one in the link though has been easy for all of the kids I've seen with them.

Tupperware containers are a huge PITA. The lids are too tight.

[Anonymous]

Also.. use these ones for things that might leak.

http://www.amazon.com/EasyLunchboxes-Dippers-Condiment-Containers-Leak-Resistant/dp/B00BBKTEDW/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_y

I've only seen a few kids with these but they've been easy to open so far, and no leaks.