Eco-Friendly Lunchbox Ideas

So excited to share some eco-friendly lunchbox ideas today! You guys know that I’m passionate about going plastic-free with children’s products, but one place that it’s so hard to avoid plastic is the lunchbox. We just wrapped up my son’s first year of school and I got a lesson in how demanding it can be to pack school lunches after the preschool years. Since it’s such a long day, I need to provide a separate snack and pack quite a filling lunch. That resulted in me using millions of different types of containers each day to pack all the components of his lunch and then a snack on top of that. Also, for field trip days I had to pack an entirely disposable lunch, which I’m still struggling with figuring out how to do that in an eco-minded way.

In any case, I’m more committed than ever to try to do all of this sans plastic since even more studies have shown what they replaced the infamous BPA within newer plastics, is actually just as harmful (or possibly more so) than BPA was in the first place. The good news is that as the new school year draws near, I think I’ve found some better solutions that don’t involve buying a million more little containers to pack!

Eco-friendly Lunchbox Ideas

The first thing I did is swap Carson’s old lunchbox for this multi-compartment one. It’s completely stainless steel, very easy for him to open (which is a must!), and has plenty of space for a hefty lunch. It fits enough food that I can pack everything in it without using extra containers. This is priced a bit higher than typical plastic lunch boxes, but it’s on par with most bento box type containers price-wise. We just have the one lunchbox and I plan to hand wash it after dinner and then repack it for the morning- I’ve gotten some practice with camp days this summer.

Skip the plastic wrap! We’ve been longtime fans of Beeswrap for covering food and they happen to make the perfect size wrap for sandwiches. It wraps a sandwich (or other similarly sized food) up and keeps it fresh the same way plastic wrap does. It even has the cutest little button you wrap the string around to ensure it holds together well. These are so easy to wash too!

When Carson was in preschool I packed mostly finger foods, but I’ve found myself packing more and more foods that need utensils. I can’t say that I trust him with a fork from our silverware set, but I also don’t want to send him in with plastic. This bamboo cutlery set is perfect to bring instead (find a similar set here). I’ve even been using it while we travel! The set comes with a little pouch to keep the utensils clean, so it’s easy to throw in your purse or bag.

Annabelle just turned 5 this spring and is, by far and away, my picky eater. She does best when I pack several smaller, finger foods. So lunch for her maybe something like a hard-boiled egg, kale chips, grapes, popcorn, and a granola bar (we love this kind) or apple sauce on the side. I purchased this 4 compartment container for her this spring and it has worked well so far! We also use these containers from the same brand for snacks and sides. 

For beverages, we prefer a stainless steel thermos or bottle. Klean Kanteen is one of the best brands for quality and lots of color options! Carson also loves this insulated one from Simple Modern that has a wide mouth and is easy for him to refill all by himself during camps and sports.

 If you want to read about more of our favorites for toddlers and big kids you can check out this post and this post. Here’s to a fresh start this school year! xo

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