Shameless product plug: Laptop Lunches

By Katherine

We currently have a food theme going at STSL, what with Restaurant Week and all. I thought I'd take this opportunity to discuss one of my daily food tasks that can get, well, task-y and tedious at times: packing preschool/summer camp lunches.

I’m not going to lie—this ain’t the most fun part of my day. Typically I’m scrambling each morning to cut up fresh fruit and veggies on the fly and remind my fogged-up brain about the four food groups all the while flogging myself for not packing the damn thing the night before.

(Husband was tackling the lunch making task for a bit, but as his brain is even foggier in the morning, I took back the chore after once finding my daughter’s lunch packed with a cold organic chicken dog, raisins and grapes. This was only slightly better than a friend whose spouse once packed a lunch consisting of a yogurt and a Go-Gurt.)

There’s something about having to predict what your finicky three-year-old might want to munch on 3-4 hours hence that will both satisfy and nourish her that can induce an anxiety attack. This is the girl who changes her breakfast order three times a morning and who recently declared that her all-time favorite food since birth—blueberries—is now “yucky.”

Perhaps it’s the incredible feelings of parental inadequacy that come from opening up a lunchbox at the end of the day and finding it barely touched—it’s like each returned and now soggy sandwich and mushy, browning apple slice is a failed progress report. “You get an “F” for originality and customer satisfaction today, Mommy.”

And it could be so simple, right? Throw in one of those processed, mystery meat and cheese assortments called the Lunchable into a brown paper bag and add cute, colorful packages of crackers and “fruit” chews and a juice box, and you’re good to go.

Only you’re not. For one thing, all that packaged, processed food is full of chemicals, refined sugars, saturated fats and other crap. (See the most recent stats on the childhood obesity rates in this country, and you’ll cringe.)

And all that packaging is clogging up our earth’s arteries too. The folks at WasteFreeLunches.org estimate that your average school age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste each year.

A reusable lunch system is a must. Not using one is like running the water while you brush your teeth—only evil, planet-hating doofuses do that now, right?

The Laptop Lunch system has been a sanity-saver for me. It comes with a little bento-like box and individual containers made of reusable, recyclable plastic with no phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), or lead. Accouterments include a stainless steel fork and spoon and a reusable drink container. All that fits into a laptop-looking, insulated carrying case.

Not only is this more environmentally-friendly than your brown paper/Ziploc baggie route, but the little compartments help me think about planning a well-balanced meal and hitting all the food groups. Plus, when you buy one of these systems, it comes with a little book of ideas for filling the lunch box, including recipes for kid-friendly dishes such as Mini Whole Wheat Pizza Rounds and Rainbow Rice.

The website has great lunch-making inspiration too, and generates a monthly newsletter with meal ideas.

I’m not the only crazy Laptop Lunch groupie—happy Laptop Lunch makers write into the newsletter each month with lunchbox photos to help you move beyond pedestrian PB & J.

It may sound ridiculous, but the adorableness of the bento box actually elevates my lunch-making game. One of these days, I'll have a newsletter-worthy, kick-ass lunchbox photo, I just know it! Something involving homemade hummus and cucumber pita pockets or the like. What can I say, I'm still a bit type-A competitive.

You can buy Laptop Lunch items at Rebecca's Natural Food. And there are other, eco-friendly reusable lunch systems available locally at Rebecca’s as well as The Blue Ridge Eco Shop. The LunchBots are especially cute for kid and adult lunches.

And don’t forget a cloth napkin!

3 Comments

Thanks for the wonderful review! Think I'll link to it from our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LaptopLunches... And do send us a photo when you have one. We'd love to include it in our newsletter at www.laptoplunches.com!

Posted by: Amy Hemmert | July 30, 2010 at 04:41 PM