Back to School: Carrying your lunch in style

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Sep 6th 2007 @ 11:58AM

The packed lunch has come a long way since the days of the simple brown paper bag and a sandwich wrapped up in waxed paper. There were the metal lunchboxes of my childhood that are now collectibles (I still have my Strawberry Shortcake one). Then came the reusable canvas bags that were designed to look like the paper bags of yore. The insulated lunchbags arrived next and recently bag constructed from neoprene entered the scene. Here are a few places to check out as you look for something to pack your child's (or your own) lunch into.

Laptop Lunches makes a really cool bento-style lunch boxes with the dimensions of American food in mind (i.e. they are designed to hold a sandwich, something that other bento boxes don't do as well). Their website also has a page of helpful lunch suggestions .

Lunchboxes.com sells lunchboxes for school, work and play. Despite the fact that these days I don't have much use for a lunch transportation devise (as I spent most of my days within ten feet of my kitchen) I am currently coveting their Chinese takeout lunch bag.

Lunch in a Box, the very cool website on which new, gorgeous pictures of creatively made bento box lunches are posted nearly every day, has an Amazon store on which you can buy many of the cute containers she uses to build her toddler's lunch.

Reusablebags.com devotes a sizable section of their website to lunch bags. Additionally, they carry lots of small, reusable water bottles that are terrific to send to school with your kids in place of disposable plastic ones.

Filed Under: Food Gadgets, Back to School
Tags: back to school, bento boxes, Gadgets, klean kanteen, laptop lunches, lunch, lunch bags, lunch in a box, LunchBags, lunchboxes.com, reusablebags.com

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-06-2007 @12:41PM Ozymandia said... http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/ has some good ideas for creative lunches that I enjoy perusing, even though I am not a vegan. I find that, being allergic to milk, some of the options at Vegan Lunchbox are the much more friendly for me than trying to de-milk an existing recipe myself.
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9-06-2007 @1:44PM K said... Ah, a post after my heart! I'm an avid bento lunch box packer. I have the kit you have pictured, I have the Laptop Lunch System, a number of smaller bento boxes for smaller meals and the grandaddy of them all, the Zojirushi Mr. Bento Lunch Jar.

Packing my lunch started as a means of cost-savings and portion control, but has become a fun hobby which has resulted in a network of great friends, fellow bento-enthusiasts.

We post our lunches and share them on Flickr. For anyone interested in great inspiration in addition to the blogs you've mentioned above, definately check out the following:

Cooking Cute
http://www.cookingcute.com/
A bento box enthusiast with wonderful photography, recipes, tips, and a glossary of common terms

Mr. Bento Flickr Group
http://www.flickr.com/groups/mrbento/
Daily inspiration from users of the Mr. Bento Lunch Jar

Laptop Lunch Flickr Group
http://www.flickr.com/groups/laptop_lunches/
Packing a nutrious and colorful lunch for you and your child

Bento Box Flickr Group
http://www.flickr.com/groups/bentoboxes/
Daily inspiration from users of Bento Box Lunch Kits

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