Thinking inside the lunchbox

By now, that pristine Spider-Man lunchbox you bought in August is dented and dingy. You have also burned through no less than 500 plastic baggies for sandwiches, chips and grapes.

And now summer is looming, which means that the school hot lunch line option will disappear. For parents, that means more packed lunches, plus brutal Central Texas heat. How many peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches can a kid really eat?

Even the least picky eaters like some variety.

With an eye to summer kids' lunches, I tested three bento-style boxes on my almost-4-year-old daughter, Ayanna. I have a vested interest in this project because we will start packing school lunches in the fall, and food experts suggest introducing new lunchtime foods over the summer to reduce wasted food during the school year. Ayanna can eat other kids her age under the table, especially when it comes to vegetables, but only if the food looks tasty.

"The reason why Lunchables (from Oscar Mayer) are so appealing to kids is not the actual food," said Kelly Lester, who started Easy Lunchboxes in 2009. "Kids love being able to take off the lid and see all their food at once. They hate for their food to touch. It is presentation, and if you do that, they will eat food that is good for them."

Another advantage of the compartmentalized boxes is reduced waste, although before the test, I was unsure that a 4-year-old was up to the challenge of multiple containers and lids. Some of the containers looked hard to open and close, and the last thing you want is soggy leftovers in the bottom of a backpack on a hot summer day.

What I found? Definitely spring for a lunch box with insulation, even if the lunch will spend all day in the classroom. Then you can either add an ice pack or freeze your beverage in a freezer-safe bottle to help keep the rest of the lunch cold.

Both my daughter and I turned out to be big fans of the Laptop Lunch system. The slim design makes it easy to pack and refrigerate food overnight and then slide the lunch into a larger backpack. The lids and beverage bottle were liquid-tight and easy for her to open. The clasp on the main box was a challenge at first for her fingers, but other parents tell me that with a little practice, kids as young as 2 can handle it. And by the end of the weekend, Ayanna had hijacked the box and was opening it in the living room. (I liked it so much that I'm considering an adult version with a smaller insulated sleeve for my work lunches.

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