My son is starting kindergarten this fall (Cue the frown!). This is the first time he is going to be away for six hours at a time and the first time he will be eating away from home for lunch everyday. In order to make the transition easier for him I have been in search for some great lunch containers and water bottles that will fit into his lunch box and make it easy for him to gain access to a healthy and nutritious lunch each day.
There are a few main components that in my opinion, need to be present in a lunch container or bottle in order for it to be a keeper in our household. If it's a container it needs to be able to close securely so nothing opens up or leaks out. That being said, it still needs to be easy to open so little hands can get to the food. I also prefer if the containers are dishwasher safe so they can get a good cleaning each day. Water bottles need to close securely as well so a leaky bottle doesn't ruin an entire lunch. It still needs to be able to close and open easily.
I purchased a water bottle from Land's End for my son to use at school. The bottle is stainless steel which is probably the safest product aside from glass that you can have your child use. The top screws open and close quite easily but it has a great seal. The product was $12.50 and I paid an extra $6 to have it engraved. That way my son will know with ease which bottle is his if it gets mixed up with a bunch of other ones.
New Wave Enviro makes some affordable, high quality stainless steel bottles that would work great for any member of the family. The screw top lid is nice and secure and the bottles come in a variety of colors. The bottles are also double walled so they hold not only cold liquids and keep them cold but also hot liquids that stay hot. This is a nice idea for older kids who maybe want to take a hot beverage or soup to school with them.
A company that makes some nice bottles is Contigo. I like their products for the entire family, not just for my son. A variety of different sizes are available and the closure system is really nice. The spout tucks down into the lid and snaps closed with no leaks when turned upside down. One button release the spout and allows for one handed drinking. I was worried tucking the spout back down would be too tough for my five year old but he actually has a blast closing it and pressing the button to watch it pop back up. Contigo bottles are plastic but BPA free. They are also dishwasher safe (top rack). A 24 ounce bottle costs approximately $12.99. They also have stainless insulated mugs and smaller 14 ounce bottles in all kinds of styles and colors.
In addition to the double walled stainless steel bottles available from New Wave Enviro, they also carry stainless steel food containers that I love. The lid on each container fits very nicely and stays in place. My son's lunchbox is an upright type so I don't worry too much, but if your child has the type that is narrow and requires you to tip containers on their side, you may want to think about a container with a better closure system.
A unique product idea I found from Fit & Fresh is their sandwich and snack containers that each house an ice pack under their lid. The ice packs are removable and easily click back in place. I like that they are filled with a non-toxic liquid that is safe just in case they become compromised or leak and your child touches it before you do. They also have a bento-type container available which tends to be my favorite type of container for my son. The Fit & Fresh boxes are easy to open and you can fit a nutritious lunch all in one box. Insulated lunch bags and hot lunch carriers are also available from Fit & Fresh.
Sometimes the older kids might not want to carry around large snack containers or a big bulky lunch box. In this case you can look for some of the reusable snack bags that are on the market. I have tried out a few different types and so far I seem to like the Fresh Snack Pack. I like this brand because of the material it is made out of. A lot of the bags I have purchased are cloth. This is nice except I don't think it does much for the freshness of the food you are keeping in the bags. The reusable Fresh Snack Pack is made of more of a vinyl / plastic material (although it is PVC and BPA free) and it keeps things much fresher. It's also much easier to rinse out and clean.
Back to my love for bento containers (Serisouly how can you not LOVE a container that fits an entire lunch in it?!). I have a few favorites for my son but it's also nice to keep some larger ones on hand for myself or for my husband. We like to eat some something along the lines of the Bentgo stackable lunch box works great for not only us but my son as well. This kit includes two containers with lids, a set of utensils and a stretchy strap that holds the stackable items in place. The containers are safe for the top rack of the dishwasher, you can microwave them and they are FDA approved (not something you see often in lunch containers).
I was worried about my son's lunchbox or water bottle getting lost in the shuffle at school so I always like to keep an eye out for items that can be personalized. In addition to his personalized water bottle from Lands End I also found a bento kit plus case that can be personalized (Yes! My love of bentos and monograms come together!) Yubo makes a lunchbox set that includes a personalizeable outside and come with containers and an ice pack. It's not a traditional bento box but all the containers fit nicely inside the box. You can even purchase a separate drink holder that attaches to the box so your child's water bottle or drink can be included.
What I found with my first round of back to school shopping is that there are tons of different products available on the market. Really you have to think about what features you are looking for and go from there otherwise you will quickly become overwhelmed and probably end up spending far more money than you should need to. The great thing about reusable containers is that you save a lot of money over the course of the school year. Adding up disposable sandwich bags, brown paper bags and juice boxes can cost a lot. Do some shopping around and it's fun to get your child involved. They might even get excited about going back to school once they see all the cool items they get to take with them!
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