Favorite Bento Box Lunch Boxes
During the school year, pretty much the only thing that gives me more anxiety than trying to figure out dinner at 5pm on a weeknight is contemplating what lunch I'm going to send my kids to school with the next day. With the prospect of over 300 lunches that need to be made during one school year alone, I'm glad that I at least don't have to worry about how their lunch will make it to their lunch tables. Why? Because I love bento boxes! Here are some of my favorites (ordered by price, from lowest to highest):
1. EasyLunchboxes Bento Box ($13.95)
The Easy Lunchboxes 3-compartment bento box is inexpensive and sturdy. The three containers are perfect for a sandwich and two sides or you can use silicone baking cups to separate the sections even further. Though the box itself is not leak proof, I've heard you can use Gladwrap Press and Seal for juicy fruits to keep them from leaking onto your crackers.
The EasyLunchboxes bento box is an inexpensive, sturdy pick.
2. Leaflet Tight Bento Box ($17.00)
The Leaflet Tight Bento Box is my go-to Bento Box for my youngest. It's easy enough for an 18 month old to open, comes with separate compartments, fits 6 silicone baking cups in it perfectly if you want smaller portions, and it is quite sturdy. We've had two for the last two years and they're just as good as new. If only it weren't plastic, it could be the perfect box.
The Leaflet Tight bento box is a good pick for young kids.
3. Bentgo Kids Lunch Box ($27.99)
One of the top-rated boxes on Amazon, the drop-proof design, easy open latches, perfect sized sections, and fun colors of the Bentgo Kids Lunch Box make this a great pick.
The Bentgo luncbox features a drop-proof design and easy open latches.
4. Laptop Lunchboxes ($32.97)
Though I've never used one, Laptop Lunchboxes have a huge following. The various container sizes allow for endless configurations and are easy for little fingers to manage. The only con aside from all of the plastic is having to corral all of those container pieces in your dishwasher every night.
The removable containers of Laptop Lunchboxes offers lots of flexibility, but also lots of little pieces to wash.
5. OmieBox Bento Lunch Box With Insulated Thermos For Kids ($39.50)
The added bonus of an insulated thermos section makes the OmieBox Bento Lunch Box With Insulated Thermos perfect for sending warmed leftovers or keeping yogurt cold until lunchtime. The removable divider also makes sending different sized food each day super easy.
The OmieBox bento box offers an insulated thermos section.
6. PlanetBox ROVER Lunchbox ($79.95)
It took me a looooooong time to commit to the PlanetBox Rover Lunchbox since it really is very pricey but now it is my favorite of all the ones we've used. Almost everything about this container is awesome: stainless steel construction made the United States, separate compartments for perfectly portioned meals, fun magnets to customize, dipper containers that are easy for little fingers to open yet keep sauces and yogurts from leaking, easy lunch box to dishwasher transfer, and the carrying case holds a water bottle up to 3" wide (for all you Camelback users). In fact, the ONLY thing I don't like about this container is that once you add in all the food and the drink, it's quite heavy.
The PlanetBox Rover lunchbox is an investment but it's made of stainless steel.
As you can see, I've invested in a wide variety of bento boxes as my children have aged through various developmental stages and I can honestly say that while initially intimidating (panda shaped rice, anyone?) bento box lunch packing can actually inspire you to pack (and your kids to eat) a wider variety of nutritious foods. And really, you totally don't need to make panda shaped rice!