I've been putting a bit of thought into my kids' lunches and how I might send them off to school with something healthy, tasty and non-toxic. Luckily, there are lots of options out there:
There's a whole bunch of stainless food containers out there in a range of prices. At Target you can pick up a 10-oz Thermos Food Jar ($17.99) or a 10-oz Nissan Food Jar ($19.99) for warm soup lunches.
Small stainless food containers are nice for chopped veggies (yeah, right), pasta and other finger foods. Pearl River has several options, including these round and rectangular containers. The round ones range in size from 4.75 to 6.25 inches and price from $3 to $4. The rectangular ones are 5.5 and 6.25 inches and $3.50 to 4.50. The prices are great, but I don't know if they are leak-proof (which isn't always an issue). Life Without Plastic also offers similar round containers in various sizes, though each one comes with a little interior container to separate foods. Pricier at $9.45 to $46.25.
I like this Gaiam To-Go Ware Food Tin because it stacks and has a little handle, but it's a bit bigger and might not be practical for a small kid.
For wrapping up sandwiches, Natural Waxed Paper Bags are nice and cheap, but not really reusable. There's the Wrap-N-Mat fabric sandwich wrap for $6.50, though I've read that one mom didn't like the plastic smell coming from the liner (ew).
Finally there's the lunch box. Reusable Bags has a gazillion lead-free lunch boxes and bags in a range of sizes and prices. This Mimi the Sardine bag is pretty darn cute ($19.95).
I think it's hard to buy a lunch bag online -- you don't want it too small or too large. Might have to scout around town for something.
And don't forget the cloth napkin and packing your own silverware! Yikes. This is starting to sound like a lot of work. Well, there's lots of options and bunches more that I simply don't have the time or energy to research. Any others you like? Any good local Portland stores to scout out for reusable lunch box items?



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