Kid Cook Gadgets - Waste-Free Lunches

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Waste-free lunches are a hot topic at X's school and in our neighborhood Moms' group. You might be asking yourself, "What is a waste-free lunch?" and "Why would I want such a thing for my Kid?" As Americans, we've created a reputation for ourselves as convenience product addicts. Pre-packaged microwave meals, individually-wrapped snacks, and juice boxes are just a few of the usual suspects when it comes to our reliance on convenience-oriented food products. Not only do these products often carry extra calories and low nutritional content with them, but they also come with a pretty hefty environmental impact. These pre-packaged products, combined with disposable zippered bags, aluminum foil, wax paper and the like, make pretty regular appearances in most kids' lunch boxes. While extremely convenient, we must ask ourselves "what is the environmental cost to a country that relies so heavily on these items?" From the Waste-Free Lunches website, "Landfills are full and overflowing. Incinerators pump contaminants into the air. Communities are battling over who will accept the nation's trash... Much of the trash we generate comes from the packaging on the food we buy, and lunch foods are no exception. In fact, it has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school." Wow! Can you imagine the kind of impact we could make by just taking the small step of sending our kids to school with a waste-free lunch? And that step is so easy to take - just start with their lunch box!

To Bento, or not to Bento?
When X started preschool, I search high and low for the perfect waste-free lunch box - one that would encourage healthy eating habits by having plenty of room for veggies, fruit, carbs and protein, would be easy enough to open that X would be able to set up his own lunch at school, and one that could transition with him as he progresses through school.

Courtesy Laptop LunchesWhat I finally settled on was the Laptop Lunch bento box kit with zippered carry bag. They have a couple of different designs - X settled on the outerspace motif. It comes with a bento-style box with removable containers of varying sizes. The Laptop Lunch kit also comes with a kid-sized fork and spoon. I bought an extra set of the "bento buddies" so that one could be in the dishwasher while the other was at school with X.

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To solve the juice box/ water bottle problem, I found a couple of different BPA-free straw cups in addition to the squirty bottle that came with the Laptop Lunch Box (which X found difficult to use at first). One is an insulated cup that will keep the liquid cool for up to 12 hours and the other is a Camelback bottle sized just for kids.


Leftovers like meatloaf make a perfect
lunch, along with veggies and fruitWhen it comes to what to pack, I keep it simple. Sandwiches, quesadillas, Quorn Chik'n nuggets, bite-size raw and steamed veggies, fresh and dried fruits, and sometimes a little arrowroot cookie or animal cracker. X's school had each of the children bring a napkin and napkin ring into school the first day and each day, they set out their lunches on placemats with their napkins and enjoy their meal together. Whatever food that is not eaten is put into the compost bucket and makes its way back into nature in the school's community garden. So there is literally no waste! Gotta love that!



If you'd like to learn more about Waste-Free Lunches and starting a program at your school, please visit Wastefreelunches.org. You can find great ideas for healthy, waste-free lunches at the Laptop Lunch website, where you can also find all their products and where you can buy one for your Kid!