Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)After watching my son's school cafeteria serve up one fried or high-sodium food after another last year, I decided this was the year he'd start taking lunch from home. The trick, I knew, was making nutritious, attractive lunches that weren't so bulky he wouldn't have room for them in his backpack or locker. This lunchbox seemed to answer the call. And, since I was going to be making one lunch-to-go, I figured I might as well make two, so I ordered another set for my husband (in black).
So far, one week in, this works fine for transporting food. Unfortunately, the hinge on the back which connects the top to the container, is thinner plastic than the rest. The first time my son used this lunch box he bent the lid back too far and the hinge cracked on one end. The top still stays attached, thanks in part to the latch in front, but something tells me this probably won't last all school year long.
Here's what comes in the container:
- Sturdy metal fork and spoon that fits in a slot along the inside of the box. This slot is wide enough that you can wrap the utensils in a light napkin (not included).
- One rectangular box about the size of a deck of playing cards and a couple of inches deep. This holds nearly two cups of rice, or you can tuck both halves of a sandwich sliced into rectangles.
- One identically-sized rectangular box without a lid which holds a little over a cup of food. This is perfect for carrot or celery sticks.
- One small (1x2") box with a lid that should be tucked into the lidless box mentioned above. This is where you put dip, salad dressing or other condiments, or small foods like raisins, pumpkin seeds, etc.
- One square box with a lid that holds almost a cup of food. This is perfect for fruit, pasta or green salad. I've also packed it with leftover fried rice to rave reviews.
- One square box without a lid that holds a little over half a cup of food. This is the 'dessert' container in our family, and is perfectly sized for small apple bran muffin or brownie.
- A book of sorts that purports to be about using the Laptop set. Honestly, I found it rather preachy and misguidedly so since the authors rambled on about the perils of cafeteria lunches to readers who'd already financially committed to making and sending lunch from home! There are a few recipes in there, but like many recipes claiming to be kid-friendly they're pretty much oriented to kids who are already glad to eat veggies. For those of us with kids who'd rather go hungry than eat a whole wheat pita stuffed with alfalfa sprouts, spinach and other vegetables, well, you might want to look elsewhere for recipe inspiration.
I haven't tried putting this through the dishwasher yet, though the manufacturer says it's dishwasher-safe in the top rack. Washing it in the sink is easy enough, and doing so pretty much forces me to take care of it right after my husband and son get home instead of letting them sit and get smelly.
Speaking of smelly... there wasn't any strange odor when these first arrived. I was very pleased about that! Also, the containers don't seem to absorb food odors the way cheaper plastics do. The pasta salad I sent with my husband, for instance, was pretty darned fragrant with garlic, and yet that smell disappeared entirely when I washed the container. I can't say that for cheaper plastics!
All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with the Laptop Bento Set. I wish the hinge was more sturdy, and that the included book had recipes my son found more appealing, but neither would stop me from recommending this to someone interested in sending their child to school with a healthy, homemade lunch.
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Laptop Lunch Bento Set 2.0, Blue and LimeEmbrace the bento way of on-the-go lunching with this Bento System 2.0 set from Laptop Lunch, which is designed to help you pack nutritious, environmentally friendly lunches for school, work, and travel. This set includes an outer container that carries 4 inner containers (2 large, 2 small) with 2 sealable lids, a dip container, and stainless steel fork and spoon. The set also includes The Laptop Lunch User's Guide, which provides fresh ideas for making wholesome lunches that kids will love.
The removable inner containers can accommodate a variety of food sizes, and the two containers with sealable lids (1 large, 1 small) prevent wet foods from leaking onto other foods. The two larger containers have 1-1/4- and 1-2/3-cup capacities, and the two smaller containers have 3/4- and 2/3-cup capacities. The covered dip container has a 1/8-cup capacity. Containers and lids are dishwasher safe, and the containers (but not lids) are microwave safe. Constructed of phthalate free, bisphenol-A (BPA) free, lead free, and PVC free materials. Made in the USA.
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