School lunchboxes. Love them or loathe them, they are a necessary part of our day to day lives as Mums and Dads.
Not only is the nutrient dense food that goes into them an essential part to raising happy healthy kids it is what they are made of that also needs to be looked into.
A recent study found that most plastic products leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals even if they’re labelled “BPA-free”.
Scary isn’t it. We have all been lead to believe BPA free plastics where safe for so long only to be now told by scientists that 70 percent of common plastic products tested positive for estrogenic activity, and that number rose to 95 percent when the products were subject to real-world conditions such as dishwashing or microwaving.
Time Magazine reports:
“BPA is particularly worrisome simply because it is so common. Nearly every American has some amount of BPA in his or her body, in part because plastics are so ubiquitous.”
You can read Dr Mercola’s full article here for more details and also read the full scientific documented report this article is based on.
Given the rise in autoimmune disease, cancers and other immune related allergies in todays society, these toxic chemicals are the reason to search for safe alternative materials for storing our foods in.
Glass is a great option but as Mums & Dads we all know kids can be a little rough with their school bags and safety at school can be a concern with glass smashing. Up until now Master 5 has been taking glass Pyrex to preschool without incident but with Kindy on the horizon next year I know the structured environment of sit down lunch breaks currently had at Preschool will be a thing of the past so a safe non toxic alternative needed to be found.
One excellent choice I kept coming across in my search was food containers made of stainless steel, an alloy composed of natural elements. Stainless steel poses no health risks, is widely used in the food industry, and will not impart peculiar tastes or smells to your food.
Knowing my love of all things non toxic Shelley & her team from Lime Tree Kids generously sent me some Lunchbots to try and to post a review on my thoughts and how they fared with the boys and our busy on the go lifestyle.
Lunchbots is a family owned business which started in 2008 out of necessity when the founder Jacqueline Linder couldn’t find a product that suited her needs. Big ideas start in small places (her home garage in California!) and they have grown to be a worldwide success as people move to eliminate toxic plastics and chemicals from their lives.
We were sent the Lunchbots Trio (in Turquoise), the Quad in Stainless as well as the Insulated Thermal in Green to road test.
The Lunchbots collection comes in a range of sections from one to four depending on the use you require it for. This is also handy for children who don’t like their foods touching /combined with other items – something I know many of my blog and facebook followers face especially those with children on the spectrum.
Master 5 has been taking his Trio sectioned Lunchbots container for his morning tea which as part of preschools requirements is fresh fruit (or veg).
A typical morning tea for preschool
The container is compact (much smaller than the container we were previously using yet still holds the same amount of food so it’s a win for us space wise in his lunch bag (especially only being 5 years old – school bags can get pretty heavy!!) It is easy to open and close and the bonus is when I pack it the night before and put it in the fridge being stainless it keeps cool till morning tea time perfect for our climate in Australia.
(On really hot days especially and if you’re going to put food that spoils like dairy/cheeses or meats etc I would still put a small icepack/brick to ensure it stays cool – we don’t want any food poisoning now!)
Master 3 is not yet at preschool but I find his Quad sectioned Lunch bots container just the perfect size to throw into my handbag for “just in case” snacks whilst we are out and about running errands during the day.
For a child with so many allergies and intolerances finding safe store bought snacks (other than fruit) are not worth the risk, plus I prefer my children eat home cooked foods. I haven’t had any leaks and it is once again compact for his little hands to be able to hold and lay in his lap whilst we are on the go.
They are also great for early Saturday morning growers market starts where I can prepare the night before pop the boys in the car and they can have smorgasbord breakfast on the way.
If you follow my Facebook page you will know my boys are big fans of hot lunches (leftovers mainly). The Insulated Thermal Lunchbots container is the only child friendly thermos I have found with a wide enough mouth to make eating out of it easy. We have owned other cheaper tall cylinder style thermos before and the boys found it very difficult to eat out of (especially Master 3) but he has had no issues with the Lunchbots bowl like version.
Its 450ml capacity also means it’s a decent size meal as well for my sometimes bottomless pit boys. We love that its leak proof meaning taking nourishing soups (which we eat a lot of) isn’t a problem anymore when we are out and about and it keeps them warm for up to 5 hours.
Insulated thermal perfect for hot or cold meals
The trick to keep food warm is to boil the kettle and fill the thermos with boiling water whilst you heat up the leftovers (I tend to heat them up a little longer than you would if youweree serving them straight away) in a saucepan on the stovetop if a soup, casserole etc or in the oven in a Pyrex dish at 180 deg for about 5-10 mins depending what it is) and then empty out the water and place the piping hot food into the thermal container.
They are perfect for pastas, risottos, and slow cooker style meals.
They also double in that you can use them to keep food cold (like yoghurts, fruit salads, or our popular chicken patties which are nice snacks cold). Pack the night before put it in the fridge and they will keep cool until morning tea/lunch time once again great in our climate.
All products are made of the highest quality 18/18 stainless steel, are super easy to clean (hand washing is recommended) and virtually unbreakable (which is important when dealing with kids!)
Now kids aside for just a minute, these products are great for us adults too. I recently “borrowed” these from the boys and took them to an all day seminar and had my snacks and lunch for the whole day. I loved how compact they where (I travelled part of my trip on public transport so didn’t want to be carrying bulky glass containers around all day) and loved how my food stayed intact the way I packed it the night before.
Not only is the Lunchbots range practical you have to admit it is visually appealing too! There are lots of funky colours to choose from and also available in the full stainless colour as well.
It is something that is going to last you a very long time and when the time comes you no longer need it you can pass it down or simply recycle it, as stainless steel is one of the most recycled materials on earth.
The possibilities are endless!
Cost wise, yes they are slightly more expensive than your average lunch box but the many years of use you will get from them and the fact your food isn’t coming into contact with hormone disrupting chemicals is priceless in my opinion.
Now for the exciting part!
Lime Tree Kids has generously supplied us with a Lunchbots pack to giveaway to one lucky winner!
All you need to do is LIKE Feeding Two Growing Boys and Lime Tree Kids on Facebook and go to the Lime Tree Kids website and check out their awesome range and on this blog post leave a comment below telling us which product YOU like the best!
This competition closes Monday the 2nd September at 7.30pm when a winner will be drawn at random and notified on this blog post. Once you have made contact with us your details will then be forwarded to Lime Tree Kids in which you will have 48 hours to respond to their email as part of their contest policy.
A huge thank you to Shelley and the super helpful team at Lime Tree Kids (one of my favourite online Kids stores) for choosing Feeding Two Growing Boys to receive and review the Lunchbots range and being able to educate everyone on finding safe non toxic food storage solutions. The online store also has lots of other non toxic food storage solutions including my new love Mason Jars which have been recently added as well as everything you could possibly need for life with kids! So put the kids to bed, grab a cuppa and browse the website it won’t disappoint!
THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED AND THE WINNER IS KYLIE HANSON. CONGRATULATIONS KYLIE 🙂
I’ve been eyeing off these very containers, in preparation for my son starting preschool next year. I’m after something strong and healthy and think the lunchbots trio and quad fit the bill perfectly!
I have just ordered the trio lunch box and am thinking I better get a quad for my boy for in my lunch box. I always thought the food I fed my kids were healthy until I thought about what I was putting the food into! Thanks for the review and info!
Wow, how to choose just one favourite…! I love the stainless steel quad, it would be perfect for my daughter’s little fingers. She enjoys a small selection of different things for morning tea, rather than a bigger serve of one thing. BUT… I also love the insulated thermal, what a great idea! My girls LOVE soups, risottos, pastas etc so these are a perfect solution! It seems that most of the range is currently out of stock, so I would LOVE to win the giveaway!
Bree – thanks for your entry. New stock is due in very soon I have been assured – they are selling like hotcakes!
Great informative post, thank you. Think these look great especially the wide-necked thermos. My kids love leftover risottos! Hard to choose the best colour, they all look lovely for my daughter starting kinder next year. Will be clearing my plastic out this weekend 🙂
I love the dinos. Can see my little man roaring through lunch at school 🙂
Great post. Thanks for all the info. We’d love to try the Uno Lunch Bots container with purple lid! 🙂
The lunch bots insulated thermal is my favourite product of the range. Master 3 is on the spectrum and has failsafe spag Bol or homemade nuggets for lunch every day – when he goes out, I take his food in one of the cheaper thermals but he is only mastering his use of the spoon now (he also has a vision deficit) and so I think the lunch it’s would be much easier for him 🙂
We are slowly trying to rid our house of plastics, getting there one step at a time. A lunchbots insulated thermal container would be fantastic for my little one starting big school next year.
Love your Blog, fb page and awesome information. I would love to win these.
How can one choose….they all look awesome. Having a son on the spectrum who has difficulty with his fine motor skills we find it easier to have foods cut into smaller pieces and for him to be able to have one or two containers rather than a container for each food. Much easier for him to juggle. I am currently using plastic dividers in his lunch box. I love that LunchBots offer
a great and safe alternative to plastic.
I think the trio lunch bot would work best for us.
I’d love the trio sectioned lunchbots, have wanted to try these for my two growing boys for ages!
The insulated thermal lunchbots look amazing!! Would love to send lil miss to kindy with one of them 🙂 or lil mr 🙂
So many super cute items on the website, a lot of the foodbots are ‘out of stock’ but I will definitely be purchasing some of those.. We’ve just started the failsafe diet with our children, so making many changes in the household. Love the little rockstar lunchbox too !! 🙂
Jess – thanks for your entry. New stock is due in very soon I have been assured – they are selling like hotcakes!
Love these! My golly! Mr 3 would love getting his ‘bento on’ with the quad! Smorgasbord of compartments? Yes please!!!
I like the lunchbots tri section boxes because my kids like to snack on different things, would be a perfect way to take snacks on the run instead of a heap of zip lock bags
Great review Katrina. I’d go the trio container but hard to pick cause they would all get used!
I can’t chose a favourite! I love it ALL!
I am in the process of ordering some of these now. With 4 kids to feed, we eat a lot of leftovers and soups made in our TMX. The kids go to school nearly everyday with food in a Thermos, but my current Thermoses are looking a little worse for wear and are too small. The Lunchbots Thermos is the #1 product to purchase on my list. Sarah 🙂
Such great products, I’ve been thinking about SS lunchboxes for ages and these look great, I think the quad would be perfect for us.
With Mr almost 5 heading to school next year, these lunch boxes would be great for providing healthy fun food. I can see many a soup, fried rice or salad being taken in the insulated thermal container along with the Quad for fruit and homemade snacks!! Having said that I could see myself using the Trio as well for work!
I bought the trio from Lime Tree Kids and love it!!! So that would have to be my favourite. My kids love to take it everytime we go out with 3 different types of fruit. I cut up the fruit the night before and leave it in the fridge so it stays cold even by lunchtime. Am definitely hoping to get some more soon 🙂
Love your blog, full of great information! So pleased i found it. The quad stainless steel lunch box would be perfect for my food intolerant, fussy daughter.
I have been looking for new lunch boxes for my two kids for a while now and I am so excited to have found these. My daughter would love the quad as she loves variety in her lunch and my some would love the insulated thermal as he doesn’t like cold leftovers!
*son NOT some!
Oh my word Lime Tree Kids has such amazing products! And I love their story on how they got started. Thanks for your fabulous review and your introduction to such a fantastic company, and of course for the chance to win this awesome prize! If I had to choose one product (it’s tough!) I would go for the quad. My little one likes lots of choices, and I always land up packing a million small containers. I like the idea that she could have choices, and I could have a bag that wasn’t bursting at the seams because it was so full of lunch boxes 🙂
I like the trio lunchbots for the kids recess. Just the right size .
I’m loving the insulated thermal! My LO starts preschool next year. They can’t reheat food and we don’t do sandwiches. That would be perfect!
My son is still eating mushed up food so the Lunchbots Insulated Thermal Containers would be great for him when going out for lunch with friends. I’m starting to realise how important these eco products are with the huge use of plastic containers used. We are starting the switch to be more environmentally friendly.
What a fantastic range !!! I am so frustrated at cleaning out 5-6 little containers !!! The quads/ trios would be perfect for us !!! Thanks for the great giveaway!!!!
Ooh I love the sound of that thermos! I recently bought the purple lunchbots single section.. Love it! I wouldn’t put anything leaky in there but have to say I love the size – enough for morning tea or snacks and stainless steel rocks, it does keep it cool! They are easy to open now you mention it! Liking your page you sound like an awesome mama!
I have been eyeing off these Lunchbots for some time now. I would so love them for little boys. To pick which would be a favourite is a very difficult request :). I’ll choose the insulated thermal – Mr 4 is a big lover of pumpkin soup :). Love both of the FB pages and have been following for a while. Thank you for all your inspiring posts.
The lunchbox trio! Thanks
I love all this range, i think the one I would use the most is the Quad as it allows me to pack lots of small amounts of different things – but honestly I would use every single item in the range!
I love the idea of the bowl like thermos- the alternative cylinder shaped ones are impassible to eat out of, you are right! Sometimes the most simple solutions are the best!
Definitely the quad or trip lunchbox. Having a little person who does like his food to touch this would be great for his school lunch box instead of the 3 or 4 containers I am currently using. would be great to win either. thanks for the great site and info.
I would love to try these! We currently have a bpa free one form the supermarket, but it still worries me!
i love the lunchbots and will get some for school next year. I also love the soho wooden high chair, wish I had found it sooner, my munchins are almost out of that stage now.
We avoid wheat so prefer hot lunches, the Insulated Thermal is perfect for my son.
I LOVE the lunchbots quad with green lid for my little lunchin’ munchkin – can’t wait till it’s back in stock! 🙂
I love the idea of the thermos, and to be honest I’d never thought about sending a ‘hot’ lunch. Oh the possibilities! Also love the trio stainless steel lunchbox. Will definitely be ordering once they are back in stock 🙂
I’d love to try the uno lunch bot with the blue lid for my 2 boys!
I have a 12month old daughter that has a variety of different severe food allergies and celiac disease not to mention food aversion from the journey we have been on to find a solution to her illness since birth. Making food safe and fun is hard. These containers will help us make food safe and the compartments will help me display the food as fun. The thermos is also a great addition when she refuses to eat at home and will only eat on the go. It’s fantastic to know there are safer products that can be found. We would love to win the pack and try them all out!
So hard to choose but would love to try the Lunchbots Trio 🙂
So hard to choose but would love to try the Lunchbots Trio before buying more for family 🙂
Loving all your posts! I also love the reusable food pouches and sandwich pouches from Lime Tree. I’m a diehard Tupperware user with many family and friends the same, and would not normally look at anything else. After reading your posts and looking at Lime Trees website I’m not so sure I’m making good choices 😦
I really like the idea of the Cheeki Food jars. It would be great to send hot lunches to daycare.
Wow, thank you for introducing me to Lime Tree Kids. I have added so many things to my wish list. My favourite would be the quad stainless steel lunchbox – what an awesome idea!!
I have been looking at Lunchbots for a while, but wasn’t sure how much they fit in them. Thanks for your review! I love the trio or quad lunchbot the best I think. Thanks for the giveaway.
i had just been looking at these containers when i saw your post!
they all look great! but i think the insulated food jar would be the best!
Thanks so much for this post Katrina! I had seen the lunch bots products but its nice to read about someone’s personal experience with them 🙂
I am loving Lime Tree Kids enamel drinking cups. Reminds me of when I was a kid and would spend summer holidays camping out in the bush. Only ever took the enamel cups when we camped!
Would love to try the insulated thermal lunchbots
My daughter has just bought 2 of these lunch boxes and they look terrific she is very happy with them. I would love to replace my plastic lunch box with one as well.
I love the idea of the insulated food jar as my boys will only eat salad if it is made fresh and not in a lunch box because they say it goes ‘yuk’ even though I’ve used iceblocks. I also love the idea that they are not being exposed to the chemicals they would be when using a plastic lunch box. I think I’d like it for myself too! Having said all that the other lunchboxes look and sound great too!`
I would loved an insulated Lunchbot, and damn I checked out the mason jars too and have decided I need at least 2 of those mason jars with the handle, and maybe a lid with the straw, oh dear RIP weekly budget!
LOL Danielle! I am the same! Hubby must cringe everytime he sees the page up and me adding to the list! 🙂
How wonderful are those lunch boxes!
I have been eyeing off the Everyday Heros PlaySet for my boys
Love the stainless steel trio and quad lunchbots !
I love lunchbots. We’ve popped them in Christmas stockings for the last few years. Looking to add the insulated ones to the Christmas stockings this year. I think my favourite would have to be the Trio. Very useful for sandwich free school lunches (maybe next years addition!) Thanks. xxx
I Love Lunchbots! The last few years I have been putting them in our children’s Christmas stockings and have been debating the Trio or the insulated one for this years Christmas stockings. I think I’d have to say the Trio is my favourite – looks great for sandwich free lunchboxes.
Thanks xx
Bec
I love the Retro Kitchen red with white trim enamel cups. Reminds me of picnics when I was a child : ) Thanks x
I love all the LunchBots, they are the perfect non-toxic lunch box solution! Lime Tree Kids had so many beautiful things, but keeping with the eating out theme, I’d have to say that the U~Konserve Bamboo Utensil in Mesh Pouch~Sky is the product I like the best – it would save so much waste outside the home.
I have to say the lunchbots insulated container! Miss 11 is forever wanting to take a thermos places… this would solve the issues of the bulkiness!
They all look fantastic but I think I would love to start with a trio.
I am in love with the sandwich pockets and stainless lunch boxes. How cool are they?Am slowly changing all my pantry over to glass., and the kids snack and school containers, so over plastic.
The themo tub would be amazing for my kids. Soups or warm dinner as we run from footy training to cubs and everywhere inbetween
I love the look of the trio section container – it does look like a good capacity. And the thermal lunchbots would be brilliant for winter lunches!
I absolutely love all the range!
But my favourite that sounds perfect for fruit and veggie cut up finger foods on the go for me and my 14month old would be the TRIO LUNCHBOT 😀
What a great concept!
Definitely a lunchbot!
My son started kindy this year and I’m still at a loss regarding lunch boxes. I love the look n idea of these ones. Would love to give them a try
Amazing, these look awesome! Would be great to have for the lunches.
Hi! I love the trio sectioned lunchbox 🙂
Amazing these look fantastic! would be great to have for the lunches 🙂
Love this range and would love to try a trio! Thanks for the opportunity to win one Kat!
Great range… I would love the trio stainless steel lunch box for my daughter 🙂
Would love the trio lunchbox for the soon to be school age munchkin and stainless coffee mug for me 😉
Oh I just stumbled across this blog and love the look of these lunch boxes – thanks