Eco Lunch Boxes

When my first child started kindergarten I was abruptly challenged with a wide variety of issues I had never dealt with before.  From sharing to playdates, and snack ideas to schedules, suddenly I had to make a number of changes.  One of them came to me in the form of lunch containers.  I didn't have many neat little plastic containers since my plastic purge, and so I reached for ziplock bags.  Handy little things, really.  A few weeks went by and I was buying more ziplock bags than I had ever used before.  My "plastic alert" bell started sounding and I hit the web for a solution. 

I found a variety of plastic containers in a gorgeous array of colors, but while this solved my disposableware dilemma it didn't solve my plastic dilemma.  I quickly discovered stainless steel containers, and the one I settled for was the eco lunchbox.  It is compact, 2-tiered, has 3 containers in one, and fits nicely into any lunch box or bag.  My son found it easy to manage and after several years, still hasn't lost it!  I did scratch his name into each piece with a knife though.  Also, no one else he knows has a container like it so it is obviously his.  They aren't as cheap as plastic containers or ziplock bags, but they don't leech toxins into his food, they aren't breakable like glass, and they wash up nicely for reuse every day.  Also, they pay off in a relatively short time since they are reusable.  

Eco Lunchbox also sells a gorgeous array of lunchbags and lunchette kits made of 100% cotton and are machine washable.  I chose not to buy one because I was SURE I could (and would) make one myself although several years later, I still haven't!  But I will!  One day.  Also available are stainless steel and bamboo sporks (spoon and fork in one), ecowraps, and napkins. 

The only thing I found I needed still was a container that held liquid items, and "wet" leftovers such as soup, chili, spaghetti etc.  The stainless steel, insulated FooGo container made by Thermos solved that problem. 

Now my child's lunch is plastic-free, waste-free, lead-free, PVC-free, and vinyl-free!  I find I use very few ziplocks now, and often don't even have them in the house.  Now back to the ever-challenging dilemma of what to send in my child's lunch that he will actually EAT...