Monday, August 6, 2012

Bento Boxes: so many choices!

Luca's desire for solids has seriously exploded in the past few weeks. I can.not.eat.anything in front of him without a meltdown if he doesn't get any. So I figured it was time to think about some healthy snack options both at home and while we're out. It's SO much easier to grab a few cheerios or a rice cake when Luca is begging for food, but I know it's my job to create healthy eating habits yada yada so I need to get on my A game when it comes to variety and healthy food choices. If you've been around the blogosphere, you've seen how creative and awesome some moms are. They create bento boxes of whale shaped sandwiches and star shaped cheese. I'm going to preface this post with a statement: I most likely won't ever be that creative, and my snack trays will probably never have a theme!

When it comes to food storage there are SO many choices. I thought I might share some that looked like they would work for both snacks for little guys like Luca and meals for later.

This box actually isn't available yet- I know I'm a tease. But you can preorder it on Amazon and it'll be available October 8th. I love the different size compartments, and I love the handle. Boon products are all dishwasher-safe, BPA-free, phthalate-free and PVC-free, and I love most of the designs so I'm looking forward to this product being available for purchase. Plus it kinda looks like a whale, so maybe I could get some creativity mama points there.
Fresh Baby Easy Divided Snack box- $8.75
This lunch box has a plastic insulation on the outside, and a stainless steel food divider on the inside, which according to the reviews, keeps food cold or warm for longer. I really liked that you could change the location of the divider, but I didn't like that liquid items could seep under the divider to the other items.




Dr Sears Nibble Tray- $7.99
I have a few friends who actually use this and love it, and I'm agreeing with them already before even using it. I love the size compartments, and that items stay contained in their section and can't leak into others. The top green part is actually a detachable dipping tray that has it's own cover. Luca already loves cucumbers and rice cakes with hummus, and I'm trying to incorporate more "dipping" options, so this is good. All items are BPA free, and it is dishwasher safe but can't be microwaved. Definitely not a dealbreaker for me.



Annabel Karmel Lunch Box- $5.98
So this is one of the double decker lunch box options. It seemed like more than we needed, but eventually might be an option.
Sassy On-the-go Feeding Set- $6.99
I actually really like the idea of this box, and I ordered it to try it out (I also ordered the Dr. Sears Nibble Tray). I like that it has the option for lids on the smaller compartments, so the days when I have something runny, I might use this. I can already tell I might prefer the Nibble Tray because it has space for so many more options. But we'll see!



So I guess I'll know more in a few days or weeks when I've really had a chance to use these! I hope it'll allow me to offer Luca more variety while not taking too much extra time to prepare.

The obligatory Luca pic.. fun with fruit!




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