Litter Free Lunchboxes

[share a book]

At dd's school they encourage litter free lunchboxes to reduce the amount of litter in the school grounds.

(yes they teach kids to pick it up, but we all know what it's like)

What type of containers do you use, and what do you pack?

For tomorrow, dd has:
Klippo container with lettuce, cucumber, grated carrot, red onion, yellow capsicum, celery and avocado.
Smash snack box of watermelon and grapes.
Smash container from the Nude Food pack with yoghurt in it.
Klippo small container with banana bread.

Her lunch box is one of the bigger Smash ones.

[Hootenanny]

I really like these (http://www.organicfeast.com.au/custom/products/html/detail/index.cfm?productid=4578)
I haven't tried them yet but next time I go in there I think I will pick one up to try.

[MsMummy]

For daycare, we send morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea and we just use a separate klippo container for each one and no plastic wraps, bags etc.

I would like some better containers as I find the klippo is not leak proof. Although I guess if the containers were too tightly sealed then young kids couldn't get the tops off themselves.

[London]

DS (7yrs) has a large zip up, soft Smash lunch boxes. It came with a sandwich container, small snack box and a freezer cube. (Also had a pencil case and a small drink container, but he doesnt use those ones). I also bought a Nude Food Triple snack box. (http://www.bonzoo.com.au/products/?ProductId=457)

He gets a sandwich in the sandwich box, cut up carrots in the small snack box and I use 2 of the triple snack compartments...one has jelly, the other has 2 or 3 cookies. A banana goes in the lunch box and so does a juice box and thats that :)
He has a large, insulated water bottle but that doesnt get packed into the lunch box.

[Laksa]

DS1 is 5, he has a 'Go Green' lunchbox which is huge but I love it because it seals each section, I even tested with yoghurt! And one section is big enough for a small frozen drink bottle (milk/water) or ice brick. It comes in an insulated bag.
http://gogreenlunchbox.com/products/products.html

DS2 is only 3, he goes to 3yo kindy twice a week and stays for lunch (they have shared morning tea). He has a 'Nude Food Mini Rubbish Free' lunchbox with a 'Cool Skin' bag.
http://www.nudefoodmovers.com.au/Range/

Being environmentally friendly is very important to me, I don't use any wrapping or packaging (I make all his snacks too so not pre-packaged stuff). I do love little bento clips and wrap holders tho :) So cute!

[bunkx]

Dd1 has a Tupperware sandwich keeper plus

She take a sandwich fillings vary
Sliced cucumber
Carrot sticks
Cube cheese
Red grapes
And a few shapes

A piece I fruit for the fruit bowl

[share a book]

I bought the Nude Food Mover one, but it doesn't hold enough for my 8 year old. The 2 containers with screw on lids are great though. I put custard or yoghurt in one and sometimes blueberries or something in the other. The custard/yoghurt has never spilled.

[*Chels*]

Well I feel kinda bad now... most fruit goes in plastic containers.
Thing is that I bake alot and freeze down in individual portions with gladwrap so its quick and easy to grab out of freezer in mornings.
Whats your suggestion on dealing with that?

[share a book]

Not sure about the baking, we bake twice a week, I haven't frozen things like that for ages. Not sure what you mean about the fruit though.

The kids have their lunch boxes inspected each day due to a strict nut ban, and the kids with a litter free lunch are asked what house they're in and earn points for their house.

[RainbowSky]

Don't have kids but I try and do mostly waste free lunches and snacks for myself at work. I use a variety of little containers and I also have a few sets of snack taxi's. :hyper:You can buy them online at www.snacktaxi.com (http://www.snacktaxi.com) - they are awesome, very durable and cute too! Plus velcro closure so would be very easy for little fingers. :)

I pack things like sandwiches, crackers, soy crisps, biscuits, popcorn, rice crackers, chips, dried fruit - everything non messy basically!

Yogurt, fruit etc goes in little containers. :yes:

[Laksa]

Well I feel kinda bad now... most fruit goes in plastic containers.
Thing is that I bake alot and freeze down in individual portions with gladwrap so its quick and easy to grab out of freezer in mornings.
Whats your suggestion on dealing with that?

I often freeze baked goodies. I use the resealable snack/sandwich bags and then wash them lol. I swear its being green not tight!! Hahaha. But I use those things for afternoon tea after school, I don't tend to put baked stuff in their lunchboxes as I mostly do sweet baking!

[bada]

DD (nearly 4) has this one http://www.yumyumkids.co.nz/site/yumyum/images/S6800-Nude-Food-Rubbish-Free-Lunch-Box_small.gif

Today it had frozen peas in one container and homous in the other. Carrot and cucumber sticks (for the homous) in one compartment, and black grapes in the other. A tomato, cheese, avo sandwich in the upper middle compartment and a muesili slice under that. She also takes a banana. DD is a big eater and this gets her through the day.

Her kindy encourages a litter free lunch too, so I never send any thing with wrappers etc, I have even taken muesili bars out of wrappers to put in the lunchbox lol but that's also so that its no trouble for her to open as they should be able to open and eat their lunch independently. But I've noticed most parents still send packaged yoghurts etc.

[mummaof4]

DS2 is only 3, he goes to 3yo kindy twice a week and stays for lunch (they have shared morning tea). He has a 'Nude Food Mini Rubbish Free' lunchbox with a 'Cool Skin' bag.
http://www.nudefoodmovers.com.au/Range/


i absolutely love these! just wasnt sure if it would hold enough for my kidlets.. i'll have to have a look when we visit next weekend ;)

[London]

I almost bought one of those nude food lunch boxes BUT the only thing I really dont like about it is that once its out of the insulator 'skin' the whole thing is completely exposed and not being cooled. With DS in school, his stuff needs to stay cool at least until lunch and if he took out his lunchbox at recess, Id be worried all the coolness would go....if that makes sense.
I went with the larger zip up lunch box with separate containers so he can take out the container and zip the lunch box closed, keeping everything else cold.

Just something for future lunch box buyers to consider :laughing:

[Pina Colada]

I found the nude food movers skin too difficult for mine to get it in and out.

Also, the lid of one of the compartments came off DS's quite early one.

Totally buying a couple of Go Green lunchboxes!

[Livvey]

DS1 has a nude food policy at kinder, however we are allowed to use aluminium foil as it can be re used (i wouldn't!). I got him a Sistema lunchbox with a big bit at the bottom for sandwiches and a banana, and 3 separate compartments up the top for snacks. He's also got a Smash cooler lunchbag that we use if we can't fit his food all in his lunchbox.

Sent from my LG-P500 using BubHub

[share a book]

I almost bought one of those nude food lunch boxes BUT the only thing I really dont like about it is that once its out of the insulator 'skin' the whole thing is completely exposed and not being cooled. With DS in school, his stuff needs to stay cool at least until lunch and if he took out his lunchbox at recess, Id be worried all the coolness would go....if that makes sense.
I went with the larger zip up lunch box with separate containers so he can take out the container and zip the lunch box closed, keeping everything else cold.

Just something for future lunch box buyers to consider :laughing:

We haven't used it since she was in Prep when they had a fridge, and even in Prep I had to put another sandwich box in for a fruit salad. She had a sandwich in the middle part, a yoghurt in one of the little containers, some vege sticks in the other container, and something we'd baked in the other end which left no room for fruit.

Does anyone know of any containers similar to the 2 screw top ones in that lunchbox? I'm so worried she will lose one lol. They have her name on them on the labels, but they don't leak, and all the rest seem to leak.

Oh, the other ones we have are the Decor containers with the 4 dividers in them. I have 2 and they fit one on top of the other in her Smash lunch box. Bit tricky for school, but great for travelling. Gives us 8 compartments. Last time we went away I put zucchini slice, mango slices, some anti pasto and a few rice crackers in one, which was lunch, and the other one had biscuits, spinach mini muffins, dried apricot and cashews, and I forget what else lol, but that was an afternoon snack. We were driving 8 hours west, nothing gluten free or vegetarian lol.

[Benji]

I have a rewashable cling-wrap thingo for DS, I've forgotten what it's called but it's just a piece of fabric with a plastic lining and velcro that you can use to wrap sandwiches and wash at the end of the day.

He's also got a large lunchbox which has 3 containers inside which I can just fill up with fresh fruit, veg and our homemade muesli bars etc.

His school doesn't have any policies regarding plastic, only nuts.

[SpottySocks]

Well I feel kinda bad now... most fruit goes in plastic containers.
Thing is that I bake alot and freeze down in individual portions with gladwrap so its quick and easy to grab out of freezer in mornings.
Whats your suggestion on dealing with that?

I cut up slices and freeze in old icecream containers, muffins & biscuits I freeze in a plastic supermarket bag. In the mornings I can just grab out what I need and put into a plastic container. Probably much quicker than wrapping individually when you freeze them down the first time.

I prefer the nude food snack containers (clear with 4 coloured rubber bits on the top and bottom), they seal well. The klippo's one's are a bit too flimsy and they don't seal around the edges.

Sandwiches or wraps also go in the nude food sandwich box. Yoghurt goes in a nude food tube with screw lid.

Sometimes I do use a plastic zip lock sandwich bag but DD's know to keep them - I rinse and reuse them.

I found that fitting all the containers in the standard sized lunch boxes available in kmart etc was too much of a juggling act and DD's were never able to get the empty containers back in. I found some bigger insulated lunch cooler bags in Spotlight, they come in red, blue and green with a zip lid and are the same width but about twice as tall as the standard insulated lunch boxes.

[SpottySocks]

Does anyone know of any containers similar to the 2 screw top ones in that lunchbox? I'm so worried she will lose one lol. They have her name on them on the labels, but they don't leak, and all the rest seem to leak.


I like the nude food tubes, they come in packs of 3. The tubes themselves can screw together so you could have dip in the bottom and vege sticks in the top one and only need to use one lid. Although I mostly use them for yoghurt. the lids screw on & off easily for little hands and they don't leak.

[London]

I like the nude food tubes, they come in packs of 3. The tubes themselves can screw together so you could have dip in the bottom and vege sticks in the top one and only need to use one lid. Although I mostly use them for yoghurt. the lids screw on & off easily for little hands and they don't leak.

:yes: I was about to say the same thing. I have a link to them in my first post because I bought some for DS this year and they've been great,

[share a book]

I like the nude food tubes, they come in packs of 3. The tubes themselves can screw together so you could have dip in the bottom and vege sticks in the top one and only need to use one lid. Although I mostly use them for yoghurt. the lids screw on & off easily for little hands and they don't leak.

I actually looked at those today, but didn't like how they have to be used together.

[RunningWithScissors]

I love the big nude food movers :) We have been using them for a few years now.
DS was recently awarded house points at school fro his rubbish free lunch box :laughing: They actually gave every student one of the sandwich holder ones to eliminate glad wrap :)

I put fruit and yogurt or dip in the little tubs, DD gets more fruit in the square end of hers because she simply can't live a day without watermelon!
A small packet of chips/grainwaves or a big bear goes on top on the sandwich divider. DS will sometimes have tuna salad in his too.

[shelle65]

I actually looked at those today, but didn't like how they have to be used together.

You don't have to use them together - you can just use one of the tubes with the lid as a standalone container. The ones I bought from Woolworths actually came with spare lids so you can use them as three separate containers if you like.

[MsTruth]

My son isn't in school yet and day care supply all meals but reading these posts has freaked me out with so many rules and options lol

Lunch wrapping was so easy when I was kid - paper bag, glad wrap or if they ran out a vegemite sandwich in the empty bread packet lol

[London]

My son isn't in school yet and day care supply all meals but reading these posts has freaked me out with so many rules and options lol

Lunch wrapping was so easy when I was kid - paper bag, glad wrap or if they ran out a vegemite sandwich in the empty bread packet lol

Some schools even encourage the children to put their food rubbish back into their lunch boxes so at the end of the day when mum/dad goes to clean it out, its got all the rubbish in there....it can be gross when its half a sandwich and crumbs from tiny teddies mixed together with the left over juice from the juice box....and I suppose its their way of saying "If you bring wrappers, rubbish will come home". Pretty much forces you to want to do waste free lunches Haha

[SpottySocks]

I actually looked at those today, but didn't like how they have to be used together.

They don't have to be used together, you get 3 lids and 3 tubs in a pack. So you can choose to either screw them to each other or use them separately. I have 3 girls and they have one each.

[share a book]

They don't have to be used together, you get 3 lids and 3 tubs in a pack. So you can choose to either screw them to each other or use them separately. I have 3 girls and they have one each.

Oh ok, it looked like the bottom of one was the lid for the next.

The school provides bins, and there is no policy to say it must be litter free, but they do have a reward system for those who have no litter. We don't use pre-packaged food, and have heaps of containers of different shapes and sizes.

[Tutu & Lulu]

I don't have children at school yet but DD1 goes to daycare 1 day a week and she has never taken anything that needed to be thrown out. he lunch box is completly little free by my choice the daycare doesn't mind. i have a heaps and heaps of containers though so it's pretty easy. she has yoghurt in a tupperware snack cup and fruit in a sistema rectagle taller container, a sandwich is a tupperware sandwich keeper. cheese and olives in a little decor container, cucumber and capsisum cut up in another little decor container and then a little muffin or slice in another tupperware snack cup