July 22, 2022

Plastic-Free Lunch Containers for Kids

We’re nearing the end of July which means the start of the school year is quickly approaching! In general, I store all our food in glass or metal since the chemicals from plastic food containers can leach into your food. This is especially true if the foods are hot and or greasy. So, skip the plastic containers when packing lunch for your little ones and choose some of these options instead.

Stainless Steel Bento Boxes

For my elementary age daughter, I like packing lunches in PlanetBox Bento Boxes. (There’s no commission, just sharing what I use.) I find that this holds enough food for her and is easy to use and clean.

I find that the Bento boxes with the latches are easier to open than the regular ones with a removable lid. This is super important since I’ve definitely seen my daughter struggle with other types of containers. I wouldn’t want her lunch to explode and end up on the ground because she’s struggling to open the lid.

I also did not purchase the soft carrying case from Planet Box. I reuse an old lunch bag I used to use to transporter baby bottles to daycare.

For older kids, I would use a larger Bento box for lunch. And for snacks for older kids, I would use the LunchBots Bento box. Like I mentioned earlier, these lids are harder for little ones to open, so I would save this for snacks for your older kids. I also use this when bringing snacks to the park for both my kids. Since I’m there, I can open the lid for them and it holds enough snack for the both of them.

I use these Bento boxes for loose foods that she would eat separately like a cheese board. For something like sandwiches, I would use the next item.

Stainless Steel Containers w/ Silicone Lids

For larger items like sandwiches, I’ll put them in a stainless steel container with silicone lid. Since the bread we buy has rectangular slices, it is easier to fit in this shape container. I’ll throw in some crackers next to the sandwich as well.

I usually add fruit to my daughter’s lunch, but if I’m packing a sandwich I don’t want the moisture from the fruit to transfer to the bread of the sandwich so I’ll use the next item.

Silicone Pouches

I’ve also put a sandwich in a larger silicone pouch before I had the U Konserve containers. And when I do so, I’ll put some fruit, extra snacks, or a small homemade cookie in a small silicone pouch. While I use Stasher bags in my house, I prefer these Kinderville silicone pouches for my kids because they are MUCH easier to open. The pull tabs make it easy to open and the 3 – 4 little knobs push into the holes to seal the pouches shut. It’s easy for little hands to open and close which is why I prefer these for my kids.

Insulated Water Bottle

My kids have used Kleen Kanteen since they started drinking water by themselves. They have the sippy cup version that’s single-walled. But my older daughter LOVES her cold water. So, I bought this double-walled insulated version for her at the start of last school year. It keeps her water cold for most of the day (all day if I add ice in the morning). I find that she tends to forget to shut the sport top and it will leak. So, I swapped out the sports top for a sippy one off of her old bottle.

Use What You Have

Now, if you already have non-plastic options that work for you, use them! The most sustainable option is to use what you already have. If you have some metal tiffins, cloth sandwich pouches, beeswax wraps or whatever, use them until you need to replace them. Like I mentioned earlier, I have a lunch bag that I used to use to transporter baby bottles to my daughter’s daycare. I put the Bento box or stainless steel containers in that for my daughter to take to school.

What do you think? Can use one of these plastic-free options to pack lunch?

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