Kids Lunch Box Ideas

In the recent past we've come to rely on the convenience of throw away lunch containers and easy lunch boxes to get us through our day. These daily choices we make greatly affect our world. The energy and resources used to provide us with convenient school lunch products are increasing waste and creating toxins in the air we breath in, everyday.

Kids lunch boxes are changing in their design to fit the needs of our global, eco conscience society. Why choose eco friendly materials when buying your kids lunch boxes? Here are a few facts that might persuede you to be more earth friendly when it comes to buying products for your family:

• When you buy earth friendly products, you as a consumer, are creating a market for recycled materials.
• You are joining the force to reduce waste. A typical North American student generates about 67 pounds of discarded school lunch waste per year. That works out to about 18,000 pounds yearly for an average sized elementary school.

Long gone are the days of plastic-wrapped peanut butter and jam sandwiches day after day. The new era of kids lunch boxes include healthier and more varied foods, more efficient, environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing packaging, and no more leaky and bulky containers.

The trend in lunch packaging is moving away from plastic materials and leaning towards more earth friendly and longer lasting stainless steel, fabrics or even wood materials. In the market today you'll see a lot of stainless steel and non-plastic bento box style lunch containers.

Just take a look at Tupperwear, a historical company selling a range of plastic containers used to store food. The Tupperwear brand has been a leading source of food preparation and food storage for over 60 years, since the post-war days of 1946. Like any company who caters to meeting the needs of the public, Tupperwears' product design has changed to meet the demands of the people. Even though Tupperwear plastic materials are now BPA free, some might argue that plastic food storage is on its way out.

Some alternatives to the usual peanut butter and jam sandwich:

• Rice paper wraps filled with chicken/beef/stir fry veggies
• Couscous salad
• Quinoa salad-Greek Quinoa Salad/Salad Wraps are a personal family favourite
• Hot Soup in a thermos
• Tapas-cheese, deli meat, sausage or meatballs, crackers and humus
• Pickles and olives paired with cheese
• Quesadillas with cheese and veggies

• Use a crinkle cutter to make new shapes and textures and to play up the veggies
• Try pairing cut up veggies with new dips-sweet potato humus, chipotle mayo, or home made ranch.
• Place veggies in a silicone shape: a star, a heart, a rocket ship ect.
• Mix new, never-tried-before veggies with regular veggies.
• Seaweed snacks are savory and delicious and make for a great alternative to crackers.

You're probably wondering what all the fuss is about staying away from carbs in the form of breads. Here are a few reasons why bread is not always best and why other food choices are way more nutrient-rich:

• Bread has gluten in it and gluten is generally hard for the body to digest.
• Bread has refined sugar in it, which causes your blood sugar to spike and can cause sugar cravings.
• Sometimes the ingredients and condiments we put in our sandwiches are full of saturated fat (butter, mayo) and refined sugar (peanut butter usually has added refined sugar in it)
• Think about how much more healthy it would be if we took out bread (even just on occasion) and replaced it with nutrient rich sausage, meatballs and bean dips?

• Serve blended fruit and veggies
• Try cut up strawberries with yogurt dip
• Try to introduce new fruits your kids have never tried and pair them with some of your kids favourite fruits.
• Fruit salad
• Strawberries with balsamic and goat cheese

• For peanut butter lovers: bumps on a log: an old family classic snack of peanut butter on celery sticks topped with raisins.
• Beans: serve different types of bean dip paired with crackers and veggies. Regular humus, sweet potato humus, seven layer dip or red pepper humus.
• Hard boiled eggs
• Deviled eggs
• Mixed nuts
• Seeds

Reusable Snack Bags: Lunchskins

Long gone are the days of plastic wrap and ziplock bags in kids lunch boxes. The way of the future is litter-less lunches and reusable snack bags are the perfect solution to the problem of waste management. These bags are usually made of cotton or recycled plastic with velcro and can be easily cleaned with a quick wash in the sink or rinse the bags and throw them in the laundry with along with your dirty clothes and linens.

• Each set includes two sandwich bags and one snack bag that are made using a lightweight cotton fabric coated with a food-safe polyurethane liner.
• Sandwich bags are 6.5 x 6.5 inches, snack bags are 6.5 x 3.5 inches, and both have a fold over flap and snug hook & loop closure.
• All three bags are dishwasher-safe, certified food-safe, quick-drying, grease-proof, moisture-proof, lead-free, bpa-free, and phthalate-free.
• All three bags are long lasting with durable double-stitched seams and can be used to replace hundreds of single-use plastic baggies.
• Recommended for picnics, hiking, camping, cycling, commuting, fishing, boating, dog treats, road trips, and pack lunches.

Bento Box Lunch Storage: ECOlunchbox

• BPA-free, Non-toxic & Eco-friendly Lunchbox
• 100% Stainless Steel Food Container
• Bento-style Lunchbox Includes 3 Pieces: Downstairs, Upstairs and Small Snack Container.
• Fits Small Sandwich Downstairs and Two Side Dishes Upstairs.
• Stainless Steel Snack Container Can Be Used Separately.

Backpacks: Dabbawalla

• 75% TPE/ 20% Nylon/ 5% SBR
• Sized and designed for Preschoolers
• 100% Toxic Free, including zero lead, BPA Phthalates and PVC
• Sturdy grip handle on top
• Flexible and adjustable straps
• Machine washable (Front loaders recommended)

Combination Lunch Box and Containers: OOTS

• Food safe and kid-friendly: made from BPA-free and phthalate-free polypropylene and safety tested for lead.
• Easy to clean, dishwasher safe, long-lasting; containers can be used in a microwave
• Modern, unique design; size is 8.5 x 7.25 x 4.25 inches; comes with 1 large and 4 small containers
• Option to carry a water bottle on indented lid
• Can be used by kids and adults