talk to me about your kids lunch box set and thermos....

[carolinamama]

We are a bit spoiled by my DSs' school since they refrigerate lunches each morning until lunchtime and will heat food in the microwave on a paper plate if necessary for the kids. But, we use a laptop lunchbox setup for each kid and then their drink goes into a Thermos funtainer. DS1 takes water, DS2 takes milk. Again, they are refrigerated until lunch though. I am thinking about ordering the planetboxes already referenced by crl on this thread for DS1 to take next year to kindergarten and then using the funtainers for his water. Both boys now have a Crocodile Creek lunchbox that fits the laptop lunchbox perfectly. They have held up well as have the matching backpacks that they each use.

[Dr C]

We use a Mimi the Sardine Lunch Bug and a Klean Kanteen for milk. I grabbed a bunch of cheap washcloths at WalMart and use those as napkins. Snacks usually go in 4 oz round gladware containers.

[hellokitty]

I'm switching over from the rubbermaid literless juice boxes to the FUEL version, which are not leaking and are a lot cuter looking than the rubbermaid ones. I can't find a link, but they are more modern looking, about the same size, come in bright colors and are BPA free. I got them at meijers, which is regional to the midwest.

For food containers, I use a variety of them, from the ziplock ones, to bento box styles and oggi ones. They are all plastic, bpa free. DS1's (first grade) favorite one is this...

http://www.amazon.com/Sassy-On-The-G...9206668&sr=8-2

It is supposed to be for a TODDLER, but DS1 is a poor eater at school (easily distracted). So, the size actually suits him quite well. I think Target clearanced these out, but baby depot should still have them. For the price, it's a nifty, "bento" box for a young child, and the spoon even fits onto the lid, and each compartment has its own lid. I wasted a lot of $ on containers and should have just gotten a couple of these and left it at that. It comes in pink too and was cheap, like less than $7 when I bought it at target.

Oh and all of it goes into his LL Bean little critter lunchbox. I stopped using the soft ice packs, b/c for some weird reason my son has exploded a couple of them already. I found hard shell ones at the dollar tree (Pixar CARS theme), and they have worked out really well.

[hellokitty]

Oh and our thermos funtainers, in which I spent a fortune on, LEAK! I also tried another SS option and that leaked too. So, that's why I've resorted to BPA free plastic drink containers, b/c none of the SS ones have worked out for us.

[kristac]

I'm switching over from the rubbermaid literless juice boxes to the FUEL version, which are not leaking and are a lot cuter looking than the rubbermaid ones. I can't find a link, but they are more modern looking, about the same size, come in bright colors and are BPA free. I got them at meijers, which is regional to the midwest.

Would love a pic or link for these- we don'y have a meijers.

We use the ziploc divided containers- though my set it looking a bit shabby- I should probably replace it soon. They have these from lands end http://www.landsend.com/pp/DeluxeLun...&origin=search . I like that it keeps the funtainers outside the lunchbox. I've never had a funtainer leak except yesterday DS2 didn't close his before he put it away. But clearly that was user error

[SnuggleBuggles]

I send a cup or empty bottle for him to fill in the water fountain. That way things aren't really heavy and I don't have to worry about leaks. If I did fill up his water bottle I would often put it in a ziplock just to be sure of no leaks. Some days I just have him buy milk.

He uses a Lands' End lunch box.

Luckily the food rocks at his school and he buys most days.

Beth

[KrisM]

I'm switching over from the rubbermaid literless juice boxes to the FUEL version, which are not leaking and are a lot cuter looking than the rubbermaid ones. I can't find a link, but they are more modern looking, about the same size, come in bright colors and are BPA free. I got them at meijers, which is regional to the midwest.

I tried some Fuel drink boxes a couple years ago and had bad leaks.

Here is their webpage: http://www.trudeaucorp.com/us/produc.../juice-bottle/. I had one that looked like the 250 sport bottle. Is this what you have?

We tried the Rubbermaid litterless, too, but had leaks. I tried the bottle that comes with the Laptop, but it's so narrow, it's really hard to clean, so I only used it with water. He wants to drink milk at lunch, so right now he buys it daily. I would much rather send it with him!

OP, DS uses a Laptop Lunch and I like it. He has a bag from Lands End and it's worked well. I put his snack in the outer pocket, which makes it easier for him. It's holding up well and I don't expect we'll need to replace it in September. We also have a Thermos Funtainer for bringing hot lunch.

[happymomma]

I was able to find this really cute stainless steel tupperware set. It has plastic top but the bottom is stainless steel so I don't worry about the kids dropping it. It also came with separators to divide the food and a cute bag. My DD and DS love using it. We use that for cold lunches and when it's hot lunches, we use the Mr. Zojiroshi Jr. Bento container. It keeps things hot till lunch time.

[BeachBum]

We like ds' planetbox if you are looking for a stainless steel alternative to the laptop lunch boxes.

http://www.planetbox.com/

Catherine

This looks like a good find...but pretty pricey. Do you have the lunch bag too? Just one set per kid and you wash everyday? Do you find you have enough food to fill it each day?
I'd love to hear any other thoughts on how you make it work for your kiddo.
thanks!

[crl]

This looks like a good find...but pretty pricey. Do you have the lunch bag too? Just one set per kid and you wash everyday? Do you find you have enough food to fill it each day?
I'd love to hear any other thoughts on how you make it work for your kiddo.
thanks!

Yes. I do not like the bag much, but the planet box is a different shape than most lunch systems and I couldn't find anything else I thought would work.

I wash the box everyday to reuse. Since it can go in the dishwasher, it isn't hard. I run the dishwasher nearly everyday after dinner any way so it just goes in there--take the magnets off first. (We also have a Funtainer and when I send that with soup or pasta, I do not send the planet box and I use a different lunch bag.)

I usually send four things to eat. I leave the tiny middle space empty almost all the time. I do not always fill the other spaces to the top, iykwim. A typical lunch would be a sandwich in the biggest space, lentil chips, grapes and kiwi. I also sometimes fill the biggest space with a fruit (like Asian pear) and then do salami and crackers and a veggie.

It is definitely expensive, bit I was looking to reduce our plastic use, especially for food for the kids. Also stainless is very durable. IMO, the planet box is well made and I expect ds will use it for the remainder of grade school (he is in first grade) and that we may even be able to hand it down to dd. One of our laptop lunch boxes broke at the hinge after three years of use. So over the long run, I think the planet box will be cheaper.

Hope that helps,
Catherine