Lunchbox suggestions?

la79al

DD1 will be starting full day kindergarten in the fall.  This will be the first time she's had to pack a lunch to be away from me.  Generally when we pack lunches for playdates, she has about 5-6 things and gets to pick and choose what she wants to eat and what she wants to save for later.  I'm looking for recommendations on a lunchbox/lunchbox setup for her. 

jehprb

Planet Box - hands down.  It's stainless steel, all one piece, dishwasher safe, and eliminates any need for lids/covers (unless you want to buy the optional pieces) that little hands often struggle to open and even if they do they end up losing half the contents.

julie1408

We also got a planet box and really like it.  I bought it through PBK.

DragonflyBelle

I was just about to start a thread asking if the Planet Box was worth the investment and here is my answer!

neverblushed

My DD uses a "bento" style box for her lunch, although hers is collapsible silicone.  DS needs a more traditional lunch bag.  I got his from Land's End, and it's been a great lunchbox.

jlw2505

I get my girls soft ones from Target.  They last for the year (they use them all summer as well for their summer programs/daycamp) and they are still in decent shape.  The ones they have this year are tall and thin - I would go for more boxy in the future since we use reusable containers and I think they will fit better.  The ones this year have a separate zip section on the bottom that I use for extra bars or small stuff that is not part of lunch but they keep a small snack for pick-up to eat on the way home.  We pack about 3 things on average - a main dish (sandwich, noodles in a thermos, etc), a fruit or veggie and sometimes crackers or cheese or a yogurt, etc.  I would put in just what you think she will eat for the meal and not overload the lunchbox with 6 choices - way to many choices as she will have a limited time to eat.  We have my kids go through the lunch menu over the weekend (before we grocery shop, while we meal plan for the week).  They decide which days they want to buy lunch and if they are bringing, we go through the options and write down what they will bring and then we grocery shop for what we need.

mandymack

E had two lunchboxes that lasted through K and 1st grade: one from Garnet Hill (like PBK) and a Pack-It.

The Pack-It, hands down, has been the best lunch box! 

-It sits upright naturally so no leakage/spillage from her water bottle (Camelback- you can find at Target)

-Keeps everything cold so nothing is slimy, melted, or too hot to enjoy

-Soft outer shell so when she runs by her classroom and flings her lunchbox (they all do it!) against the classroom wall, it doesn't dent, bend, break, nor fly open

For food storage:

I use Lunchskins reusable large and small velcro packs for food storage (think snacks, chips, pretzels, popcorn... nothing wet or squishable). They can be washed in your washing machine but are vinyl inside so every day they just need a good wipe out. You can get these at Target, too! I only needed 2 sets (each set has 1 large and 1 small bag).

I also use Lunchbots. They are stainless steel with a snug-fitting lid AND come in a variety of divisions. My kid loves the one with 4 equal divisions. She hates her food to touch so these are perfect! And she only wants to eat about 1/4C to 1/2C of any one thing. They go in the dishwasher and can regularly be found 50% off on Zulilly. They are also small enough to fit in PBK, Garnet Hill and other similar lunchboxes and fit perfectly flat in the bottom of the Pack-It.

 

After trying the PBK lunchbox with the bento insert and all kinds of tupperware solutions in her lunchboxes, this ended up being the perfect solution for us. GL!

tammy79

Another vote for planeBox!!, we have been using ours for 3 years now, yep, I have not purchase a lunchbox in 3 years, worth very penny. Best lunch box out there hands down, makes packing lunch so easy,all 3 of my kiddos love it!!.