Win it! Citizenpip is giving one Breezy Mama reader a starter kit including an insulated lunch bag, a stainless steel water bottle and 4 airtight airtight food containers! Find out how to enter at the end of this post!
There’s the bragging rights when you get to tell your kids that you are the uber-duber planet saving super hero ridding the environment of unnecessary waste, but there’s also the part that packing a paperless lunch saves you money! In fact, cross off ziplock bags, Saran Wrap, plastic water bottles, juice boxes, brown bags and more from your grocery list as you embark on your cost saving journey to raising enviro-friendly lunch packers.
Let’s start with the list of necessities:
- Snack/ sandwich containers
- Re-usable Napkins
- Liquid Container
- Lunch Box
Now onto Breezy Mama’s picks for the above:
The Containers
Check out the air tight selection from Citizenpip (as seen in photo at top) coming in various sizes for all of the mealtime needs from THE sandwich, to snacks and treats. Prices ($3 to $6) are according to size:
- – 20 oz sandwich container (6″L x 6″W x 2″D) /$6
- – 8 oz snack container (5″L x 3.5″W x 1.75″D) /$4
- – 5 oz snack container (4″L x 3″W x 2″D) /$3
- – Lunch set: includes one 20 oz, one 8 oz, two 5 oz /$16
- – Snack set: includes two 8 oz and four 5 oz /$12
To purchase yours, click here.
Breezy Deal! Save 10% off on a minimum order of $50 and above from Citizenpip! Enter code: breezymama10 (expires 8/15/10) — click here!
Snack Bags
These handy BPA-free bags have several designs to choose from and are ideal for little hands, snacks, fruit, sandwiches, picnics, school lunches and more. To get your hands on yours ($9.95 each), purchase from Itzy Ritzy — click here!
Breezy Deal! Enter code BREEZY at checkout and receive 15% off your Itzy Ritzy order! To start shopping (expires 9/2010) — click here!
The Napkins
Keep ’em clean with these adorable daily-use organic cloths. With playful original artwork accompanied by clever environmental slogans that encourage children and adults to do their part in saving the planet, these cloths are designed to replace single-use napkins. Save a tree and order these from Lime Green Monkey ($32 for a four pack) — click here!
Breezy Deal! Mention Breezy Mama in the shipping notes of your order of a 4-pack of napkins, or a 5-pack of hankies and you will receive an additional hanky or napkin of your choice! (Offer excludes crows and blue boats as Lime Green Monkey is currently low on these items ;)) Click here!
Liquid Container
Check out the Klean Kanteen 12 oz stainless steel bottles that are lightweight, dishwasher safe and with no aluminum or lead. Plus, they come with a tote to keep your little one’s beverage warm or cold for up to 4 hours. Available from Amazon.com for $23.95 (vs. $31) — click here to purchase.
Breezy Note: For more ideas for liquid containers, check out Breezy Mama’s Stainless Steel Cups for Kids of all Ages — click here!
The Lunch Box
Alex recently gave my daughter a lunch sack from Sugar Booger and I fell in love! And not to worry — the made from laminated cotton canvas and fully insulated carrier also comes in pirate and dinosaur designs for your dudes. To purchase from Amazon.com ($15.99) — click here
For another option, check out the selection from DabbaWalla including this Spaceship design. With several options to choose from, this wet suit material style is recommended by the Center for Environmental Health as a good alternative to PVC-loaded vinyl lunch bags, neoprene protects, insulates and cushions without worry of lead or other bad-for-you chemicals. To order from Amazon ($30) — click here
Win it! Citizenpip is giving one Breezy Mama reader a starter kit including an insulated lunch bag, a stainless steel water bottle and 4 airtight airtight food containers ($42 value)! To enter, tell us something you regularly pack in your child’s lunch in the comments below! (NOTE: Contest open to US residents only).
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Don’t want to lose another jacket, lunch box, backpack or any other lovable items? Make sure to label everything with your child’s name with the adorable customized selection from Mabel’s Labels — click here!
I will regularly pack fruit for my kids when I notice they are eating too much “junk”. I put Fruit-ka-bobs in their lunches..I got the idea from another mother somewhere. The wooden skewers you buy at the grocery store, fill ’em up with a mix of blueberries, grapes(of different colors) and marshmallows(because SOME “junk” is O.K.) When I pack this, they are usually the envy of the lunchroom! And it just makes me feel good!
One staple in the kids’ lunches is a note to boost spirits midday and remind them of their potential. Next would be a huge pack of frozen fruit! Not only does it keep things cool until lunch it is a healthy snack that is either thawed completely to pour over the icecream I know they get each day (even tho the rule is twice a week)or still slightly frozen which the older kids love when they arent quite into the real lunch packed for them (a “coolness” thing once they get into middleschool/ highschool- parents of older kids will “get it”).
I always pack a veggie! Since my daughter likes most vegetables, I can even slice up green pepper and stick it in once in a while!
Well there is always a sandwich and some sort of fruit. Melons are popular when in season or in the winter a fruit cup or applesauce. The fruit cups/applesauce does come home some days. Cheesesticks and yogurts are also nice surprises.
Bridget
We love to add string cheese to our lunches. It’s so portable, healthy, and fun to pull apart. My kids love it! Sticks of cheese cut up too are great and use no packaging too. I usually keep plastic forks, knives, and spoons in the lunch kits too at all times and they always come in handy. Just taking the time to arrange the food all together in the lunch kits also somehow makes the food more appetizing for the kids. They love to open up the containers to find a surprise. Anything with a “dip” is also a big hit for my kids. (Carrots w ranch dressing for example.)
Trail mix of whatever I have: pretzels, goldfish, dried fruit, cereal and just a couple of M&Ms for color.
Yes. I pack different lunches for all three kids. Sometimes it’s something simple (like grapes for one kid and raisins for the other). If I don’t one of them will come home crabby from ‘starving’.
The one thing they do all like are turkey roll ups with cream cheese and shredded cheese. My veggie son likes a leaf of romaine in there. I don’t slice them b/c they get to messy, but my oldest gets a whole tortilla and the younger two split one.
They always get a fruit or veggie and some type of complex carb like popcorn or sun chips.
For a treat they’ll get a Fiberful or a Jolly Rancher.
What do I pack? Kid has to have a peanut butter and jelly! I’m guilty and need to get rid of the plastic sandwich bags I use. Love the CitizenPip and snack bags and reusable napkins.
I love freezing Gogurts and then packing it in my kids’ lunch. By the time they eat it at lunchtime, it is unfrozen but still cold and ready to eat!
My son’s favorite thing for me to pack in his lunch is Cliff Kid’s Organic Z Bars. When he finds one in his lunch, he acts as though he won the lottery!
Our daughter prefers to have super tart green apples and cheddar cheese.
Z Bars, Mac n Cheese and Applesauce are big hits in our lunches!
I have started packing soup & chili on cold days. My kids love the novelty. I will also make burritos in the morning, wrap them in foil, and they stay warm until lunch!
apples
My daughter loves the Applesauce Crushers from Trader Joe’s. And a lot of times I will use a melon baller to turn cantaloupe into something fun to eat! We’ve been using her thermos quite a bit to pack Joe’s O’s (spaghetti O’s from Trader Joe’s) and other pasta dishes. She says that steam still comes out of her thermos when she opens it at lunch time. Another thing that I pack quite often (when there’s not much food left in the house at the end of the week) is hard boiled eggs. Even though I try to pack her lunches with lots of TLC and healthy foods; lots of time she ends up trading her food for junk or doesn’t even take a bite of what I pack….even so, I feel much better when I send her to school with a well-balanced meal!!
I always pack string cheese for my kids — it’s a big hit!
I love these posts-just got so many great ideas. I always pack Applesauce Crushers from Trader Joes. They are so easy to pack and my daughter even loves the Carrot/Apple.
I pack a fruit(usually an apple, an orange, or a banana), a dairy(yogurt, or cheese cubes/stick), and a sandwich or crackers.
While my kids aren’t in school quite yet I do however pack them lunches for park days. I usually make them a pb&j with a yogurt and trail mix or cereal treat. I normally put them in my old crappy Tupperware (btw not actually made by the Tupperware peeps) I normally put it in one of the million plastic grocery bags we have (I know…bad Kelly for not being greener!) As for drinks they get good old fashioned H2O in a sippy!
Bagels and cream cheese, or ham/turkey sandwich, cereal & milk from a reusable freezer bowl, (pb&j is banned at our school) pretzels, grapes, bananas, yogurt, juice as well as a small ‘goodie’.
I always have fruit in his lunch bag. he also loves cucumbers, brocolis and baby carrots! so I always make sure to have some of these to make up for the gold fish and other snacks that we end up always eating, hum?! 😉
I usually pack some kind of treat- homemade cookie, etc, so they don’t relate to Alexander and his “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”
I always pack some kind of cut up fruit and give them a toothpick to eat it with. For some reason it make it more exciting.
I regularly pack fruit and veggies and cheese and crackers or fish in lunches.
We always pack fresh fruit, he’s almost 10 months old now, but LOVES melon and fresh blueberries!
Always fresh fruit! I hope this year I will convince them to eat a sandwich. That would make lunch much easier.
I always pack a Gogurt! I will sometimes freeze them then they thaw enough to eat by lunch and stay colder that way!
I usually pack some sort of fruit & either water or milk to drink.
Packing lunches is a breeze when I have beans in the house! I mix garbanzo, black and kidney with Italian dressing in a airtight container. Just add a fork and it’s a tasty side to any sandwich!
I regularly pack left over cold spaghetti for my middle-schooler! I know it’s weird, but she loves it! Her favorite is left over spaghetti carbonara.
My kids never seem to tire of rice balls and octopus hotdogs. Also, anything “mini” from Trader Joes is a huge hit, not to mention a big timesaver!
I pack Annie’s cheddar bunnies, raisins, cheese sticks, Quaker Oat Squares cereal. When they get tired of it – I’ll know when they stop eating and I’ll switch things around. And a little extra treat (some cheese puffs) when it’s a long Friday or a special event.
I seem to always be running out of bread so I pack my kids peanut butter and jelly “quesadillas” as they like to call them.
Id recommend staying away from plastic at all. Stainless Steel is safe, and eco friendly. read more:
http://www.summerforkids.com/blog/?s=stainless+steel
I regularly pack leftovers in my lunch but I try to keep it interesting…new uses for the same kinds of meals such as cutting up greek chicken to have over salad with a viniagrette, using leftover gyro meat on cheese pizza to liven it up, and leftover steak for a flavorful salad or lovely steak sandwich with spicy sauce. I do not have children yet so I am reserved to packing lunches for just my spouse and myself but I hope to be able to pack many, many little lunches someday! :o)
Sunbutter has become a favorite in our house. With my son’s peanut free preschool – we get out nut butter fix safely!
My picky eater will only eat Asian food, so I pack cold sesame noodles (made with Wowbutter, a nut-free pseudo-peanut butter), tau fu fa (a soybean custard), and steamed rice rolls. And to drink? Coconut water or aloe vera juice. The other kindergarteners must think she’s such an oddball.