52 // What bento boxes do dietitians buy their kids?
What bento boxes do dietitians buy their kids?
The pros and cons of owning 6 different bento boxes over the past 6 years.
We are about to kick off our sixth school year with nothing less than... our sixth bento box!
And while you shouldn't need to get a new bento box each year, I am in the business of testing these out. Both as a dietitian and a mom, I like to test out each and every product I share with my clients and community. So this episode will do just that!
Sharing with you what I like (and what I don't), I dive into the pros and cons of each of the bento boxes we have owned over the years. I also highlight how this has evolved as our number of children has grown, taste preferences have changed, and health goals increased.
So listen in for the cliff notes on each of the following brands of bento boxes: Easy Lunchboxes, Yumbox, Bentgo, LunchBots, OmieBox, and PlanetBox.
Listen to this episode of The Veggies & Virtue Podcast now!
Full Episode Transcription
Please note this a raw transcription. If something doesn’t read correctly, toggle to that timestamp in the show so that you can listen in on what was actually being said!
[00:00:00] Hey, and welcome to the veggies and virtue show. I wanna share with you today. My favorite bento boxes specifically because we have officially just started out using our sixth brand over the last six years. And when my oldest started mom's day out, six years ago, we had tried one method and then over the years, and.
[00:00:20] Bento boxes have evolved. And as our family and our lifestyle and my daughter's involvement in, you know, at once mom's day out and to preschool, and now in grade school has all Evolv. So has our lunch packing. And so I wanna share that with you share with you some of the pros and cons of what I like and what I don't like as much about the bento boxes that we've used over the years, just to give you some tried and true perspective.
[00:00:44] But my hope is that you will glean from this episode a better understanding about what bento box might fit best for your family based on your child, your. Your budget and what kind of foods you may enjoy or want to be sending in lunches as well?
[00:01:04] Hey mama, I'm Ashley, and welcome to the veggies and virtue podcast. In this podcast, you will find simple menu ideas, kitchen, organizational systems, spelled out for mom life and feeding tips and tricks that are both evidence based in grace. I believe that you can find flexibility when it comes to feeding your family so that you can feel calm, capable, and connected in the kitchen.
[00:01:23] As a registered dietician and Christian mom of three myself, I want you to break free from the mealtime battles and to feel equipped while feeding your kids all day long, pull up a stool at my kitchen counter. And let me pour you a cup of coffee and say a quick prayer for you. It's time to chat about the meal times messes moments and ministry of motherhood to start out talking.
[00:01:44] The vent of boxes. I want to take a step back first and discuss the preliminary question that you need to ask yourself. Because first and foremost, I want you to know whether you are starting with. A preset lunch bag, or if you wanna start with your rental box and then pick a lunch bag that fits, because I know for me, when my daughter was first going to mom's day out and we were first kind of getting into all the back to school shopping and things like that.
[00:02:08] We pre-ordered, as I've mentioned on episodes, other episodes, and on episode 50 where I share our favorite lunch packing supplies and what we're using this year, back then, you know, now over six years ago, we also had a lands and backpack for my daughter in a lands and lunch. I was super excited, had 'em both embroidered.
[00:02:25] You know, I was definitely first time mom, very excited with all the back to school supplies that said, I quickly learned that while that first year we had a particular bento box, which I'll cover in a couple minutes. As the bento boxes that we purchased and began using over time evolved, they didn't always fit in that particular lunch bag.
[00:02:46] And so there's not consistency between each of these. Oftentimes the provider is wanting you to purchase a lunch bag that fits their bento. And so it can be kind of tricky to find a lunch bag that universally. Any and all bento boxes. So make sure if there's a bento box that, you know, you wanna use, or one of those ones that I cover that you think, yes, this is absolutely what one, I wanna use that you look up the dimensions and that you make sure you find a lunch bag that will fit that the vice versa is also true.
[00:03:15] If you know that you have a lunch bag already ordered. Or say, you're listening to this AF after you've already bought mental boxes and you already have your lunch bag in place and you maybe wanna add an additional one. So that say, while one is air drying overnight, you have a secondary one that you could alternate with.
[00:03:33] I've definitely done this as well, but you do wanna make sure that whatever the dimensions of your lunch bag or will also fit with whatever given bento you decide to add to. So just a little preliminary food for thought to think about. The second is if you haven't listened to episode 48, I want you to go and make sure that you've listened to that.
[00:03:52] That's where I talk you through some of the meal planning strategies for back to school, and it gives you a really normal starting place based off your family's normal. Because the reason I say this right now is as I talk through each of these bento boxes, you are going to hear me speak about different food options.
[00:04:09] Being included in different bento boxes and things like, is it leak proof or what kind of hot, cold versatility does it have for the food temperature of the items that you send? Does it have a space big enough for sandwiches or if you know, your kids go to normal is not a sandwich. Who cares. You don't really need a bento box that right now, functions to include the space for a sandwich.
[00:04:31] You may prefer one that has smaller compartments and more of them. So that it's more of like a snacky lunch. So go back and make sure that you've listened to episode 48 so that you can already have your meal plan in place. And then these first two preliminary steps become really easy because again, chicken or the egg, do you wanna decide your lunch bag?
[00:04:49] Or your bento first and then second, what kind of bento is most functional for your family? So if you are, whether or not really you're deciding on the lunch bag first or the bento first, you know, from what I'm sharing here, what kind of bento best fits what your child's normal is in terms of what you plan to normally send for them?
[00:05:07] And this will help narrow down, not just the brand of mento that you might wanna get, but also which option within each brand, as each of them have a lot of different varieties in terms of, you know, compartments and size and, and how much each might fit given your kids appetite. So I'll try to be considerate of time here and wanting to kind of crank through each of these.
[00:05:29] I'm gonna start with the. Lunchbox option that we used onward to present day. And if you've listened to episode 50, you know what we're using in the coming school year, but I wanna take you. Back to the beginning a little bit. So you know, a little bit about how our family has kind of evolved. And I think you can associate that a little bit with the ages and stages of my kids at those given times, because I know some of you, your kids are just starting out in daycare or preschool, and you want a really easy functional lunchbox for a preschooler who still may need a little added assistance or not want as heavy of a ledge box or not, may not have as big of an appetite and things like that.
[00:06:04] Versus those of us who have kids in elementary school, and we need a bento that's a little bit more versatile maybe, or one that fits more food for bigger appetites and things like that. So as I go through. these six bento boxes that we've used over the last six years, just know that I'm gonna order it chronologically and get up to present day doing it that way.
[00:06:25] So the first item we ever used was something called an easy lunch boxes and it is kind of the most generic bento box option that there is it's by far the most affordable, it's basically a glorified Tupperware. And again, back in let's. 20 15, 20 16. This was still felt kind of novel to me, at least as a new mom.
[00:06:47] It did, but at the time it was a compartmentalized Tupperware and there was multicolor lids. And honestly, at the time I was using it for my husband's lunches to send him packed lunches. And when I was doing that, I started also packing them for my daughter and I, because they come in a four pack, it was super easy, easy lunch boxes has since.
[00:07:08] Bought by another owner and rebranded a little bit, but the concept is still the same, whether you choose to use easy lunch Box's brand, which is linked to my Amazon shop under lunch packing supplies, or you can really go with any Tupperware that is going to have a few different compartments. So the ones that we used were a three compartment that can have a bigger section for a sandwich or, you know, larger food items and then two smaller ones.
[00:07:31] And that was kind of my first introduction to ever. Having some sort of lunch tray, bento box type dynamic, but because we had four of 'em because they were super versatile for my husband, myself, or us to use for my daughter and so affordable, we could get four for, I looked in present day prices like $14 for all four.
[00:07:53] It was a really economical option to kind of get that proof of concept that this was something I liked having on hand. I liked that they nestled together. And so in terms of storing and a cupboard, it was much easier than say four separate bentos. And so that was a great introduction. However, There were some shortcomings with it that as my daughter got a little bit more into mom's day out and then preschool, and we got a little bit more comfortable with packing lunches that didn't feel quite dysfunctional.
[00:08:22] One at the time. My daughter was not eating sandwiches at all. And so having three compartments of those sizes, wasn't really functional for our family. Additionally, the lid is not quite as durable and strong to stay shut as I would've liked. And so for something like my husband or I, we know how to, you know, carefully carry a lunch container.
[00:08:43] But with my daughter, I felt like something that had a little bit more of a latch was a little. More functional. It gave us a little bit more leakproof protection and ultimately just seemed like a better fit for us. And we could have, you know, some more of the compartments with the other brands.
[00:08:57] And that's when we first tried out Yu box, we first tried out the yum box original, which is young boxes with six compartments. It has five that are half cut portions. And then like that little circle for dips. And this one lasted. For years, my kids were much more into snacky lunches. And so having six different compartments that were all leak proof worked really for well for our family.
[00:09:22] The latch was really easy for my kids to open and close. And even after years of use, when the latch did wear young walks has tremendous customer service sent us a re replacement, a replacement for free, and we could continue to get good use out of the box. So even though the inbox was very functional with kids, it was drop proof leak.
[00:09:43] There's a lot of different options in terms of the different arrangements. Like I said, when my kids were into snacky lunches, the sixth compartment was great, but they've come up with a lot of other designs since, and I think we actually own every single one of them. I've been very happy with the brand overall that said you will start noticing somewhere in tear.
[00:09:59] And so from just a functional aesthetics perspective, you might notice like the, the leakproof nature of veto boxes is going to get just a little grimy. Like you're gonna have to go in there and clean out that. Part, because unlike the larger compartments of other boxes that aren't leak proof, it's like APLE and a icon, right?
[00:10:18] Because you want a leak proof box. However, you do have to be a little bit more particular with cleaning it, but the young box is dishwasher safe in on the top shelf, which I love, however, From a health perspective and for my own family's values, as we have replaced bentos over the year, you'll see a trend and not for us is that we've been replacing plastic with stainless steel.
[00:10:38] And a lot of that does come down to the durability of it. Stainless steel is going to be more expensive up front, but if you listen to episode 50, you know, that I mention it does pay for itself over time because you shouldn't have to replace it as often. And. the challenge I have with the yum box is it does show more wear and tear.
[00:10:54] And again, the aesthetics of, you know, being scratched or things like that. But from a health perspective, my preference is to limit the amount of food storage that we're doing it in plastic, just so that it's not leaching any chemicals, it's not creating any health problems there, but when we're, you know, whether we.
[00:11:13] just using it repeatedly, or we are washing it in the dishwasher and exposing it to that heat. I would rather not be using that over time and exposing the food elements within it to reused plastic again and again, year after year. And so, while I loved the functionality of it at first plastic versus stainless is a personal option.
[00:11:34] And I should probably do an episode just on that. But that is why we have evolved from using the main. Yum box original as our primary box too. We still use our plastic yum boxes on occasion. However, we've since U switched to the yum box Presto, which is the stainless steel base one and other stainless steel boxes.
[00:11:54] So just know that while it's super functional, upfront, If you start noticing scratches on the plastic, particularly inside the little compartments, you may want to look at replacing either the liner and or the entire unit. If you notice that the gaskets on the leakproof aspect is a little bit grimy. The last challenge I've had with yam box.
[00:12:15] Again, I've been very happy with the brand as a whole, however, as we. Supply chain issues everywhere. I would say that young boxes that ran that I've noticed it the most with. So if you're looking to get a bento, like order it today, after you listen to this episode, chances are, you might run into a challenge with young box.
[00:12:34] They seem to have. Faced more supply issues than I've seen with some of the other brands that I'm talking about today. And so while I am loyal lover of young boxes and oftentimes have just waited it out until they're available. If you do have a little bit of urgency to need to get a lunchbox before back to school, you may find that they don't have either the colors or the styles or the models that you want in as timely of a manner.
[00:12:59] Moving on. The one that I think next came to market to us and became most popular was the bent. This is probably one of the most popular ones I see families using. And I think one of the reasons for that, and one of the reasons it's so well liked is it's so affordable. It's not as affordable as like the easy lunch box, but it's going to be more affordable than say a young box.
[00:13:20] But the design is very similar to a young box, similar to young box. There's a lot of different models of Ben go these days, they've done a lot of different shapes and designs and, you know, number of compartments and things like that. And they also. A range of price points, but the, the Benko is one of the brands that I see by far on sale.
[00:13:39] The most it's on Groupon it's at Sam's club. It has sales on Amazon Zuli is another one that often has it. So if you're, if you've already made me bought bento box for the year, and yet you're considering a secondary one, I think Benko would be a great secondary one, cuz you're not gonna pay quite as much, but you're gonna get great function out of it.
[00:13:58] So with the Benko, there's a lot of the same functionality in terms of being leak. And dishwasher safe, like the yum box. And the only consideration that I would have there is if for young kids, I think it's great because they tend to have small appetites, want more snacky lunches. So this may not be a concern, but something I noticed is when we began to transition out of the young box original or out of the Benko original one.
[00:14:24] Then we needed maximize space and the bent go does have a little bit more wasted space between the compartments in the original container. It's just part of the design. It's not a huge hiccup, but I would say if you're trying to maximize your space, it's a great, lightweight, durable container. And yet it's going to have a little bit more wasted space than say something like a yum walks that said, then go, as I mentioned, there's often sales.
[00:14:46] So make sure that you look for the sales, but there's also so. Different design options. So it can be really inviting and fun for kids where something like the Yu box I'm comparing them, cuz they tend to be the two most similarly compared to the market or at least that we have tried. Obviously I'm not evaluating every single bent up box today.
[00:15:03] just the ones that we have tried, but the Benko has a lot of really fun designs. So rather than like a solid based design of the young box, it does have the solid based designs, but it also has different pattern ones. And so that can be really fun as well. However, in addition to a little bit more wasted space, something I don't prefer about the Benko is again, the plastic nature it can wear and tear over time.
[00:15:25] It can have scratches on the plastic and if you do choose to wash it in the dishwash. Just wanting to be a little bit more considerate of how your family feels towards plastics and things like that in the home. And so while that, as I mentioned is a separate episode and thankfully the bank is less expensive.
[00:15:42] So you could replace it more often than some of the other options. That is one of the reasons why we also transitioned out of that and into the next option that I wanna talk about. The fourth bento box brand that we tried was that from lunch bots, they had sent me some samples and it was the first stainless steel.
[00:16:00] Bento box that we had tried, and they were really generous to send us a variety of different options. And so we had some of the snack boxes, some of the different layouts of the bento boxes and they come with little silicone liners because the lunch box container is not leak proof. It's not leak proof on the lid.
[00:16:18] It's just a very simple. Stainless steel lid. And so it's not going to prevent leaking from the top side, but also in the bottom corners of each of the compartments there's little spaces that things would leak in between the two of those. So again, going back to what types of items your child likes, if, you know, you send a lot of like juicy fruits or yogurts or syrups, or, you know, probably not soups, cuz that would also need temperature and things like that, but really any thin liquid.
[00:16:45] That could transfer between compartments. You can use the little silicone liners from lunch bots, however, it's still not going to prevent all leakage. It's just gonna be basically anything that would leak on the bottom because it still could leak on the top. So while I love lunch bots for snacks, we've had a harder time with it for lunches because my kids.
[00:17:05] Do tend to want to make sure that like nothing gets from container to container. And even if it's just moisture, even if it's not necessarily liquid, but just moisture from one compartment overnight, making cracker soggy in the car compartment next to it and things like that. So I think it's a great introduction to stainless steel.
[00:17:23] It is also a, a lower price point than one of the other options that I'll share as the sixth one, the one that we're using present day, however, it's not been the most functional for our family due to the lack of leak, proof of it. The other aspect with the stainless steel. Again, you have to weigh your priorities on do.
[00:17:43] You feel comfortable sending plastic or do you prefer stainless steel? Additionally, you have to think of the ages and stages of your kids, because if you do want a stainless steel lunchbox, something like the lunchbox can be kind of challenging one, it doesn't have the cute, like kid friendly designs as much.
[00:18:00] They're much more simple and like relying on that stainless steel design, however. The more functional side of this that I see challenging with young kids and experiences with my own kids is, as I mentioned before, with the lack of leak, brief nature of lunch bots, the challenge becomes that there isn't a latch where the young box or the bank go is gonna have a really kid friendly latch for.
[00:18:22] Young kids or kids who are kind of still developing that dexterity to open their own lunch boxes and things like that. I do see a bigger challenge with the lunchbox design in terms of how the lid connects and the lack of a latch. So the fifth lunchbox type again, yes, we have a large lunchbox covered at my house.
[00:18:40] The, you have to remember that this is my job, so. Often try more kitchen cooking, feeding products than the average household. And so by no means, do you need all these, I'm just sharing the evolution over the years and as we've replaced one and gotten another one, some of which have been samples sent to me to try out it, this is my job.
[00:19:00] So again, just remember that you don't need to get a new lunchbox every year or to have all of these types, just to share that as a disclaimer, but the fifth one. that we tried was that from only box and this design, if you're familiar, it's kind of a standalone box because it has a compartment that you can heat and send, you know, warm items in.
[00:19:22] But then it also has some other compartments that you could put like dry items in, or just room temperature items in. We tend to still pack it with a, or excuse me, with an ice pack in a lunch bag. Just for the items that are chilled, but the little Thermo container can also, it can be used for hot or cold and the lunch box itself has a handle on it.
[00:19:42] So in theory, your child could just hold it. It's very kid friendly in the design that way, but it is a little bit more cumbersome in the other design elements. I see, because within the leak proof contain. It's more challenging for my children. I mean, it's meant to be leak proof if you're sending something like a soup, but you could also send cold items like yogurt that stays cold in that Thermi container.
[00:20:03] If you've pre chilled it. But the, the top itself in order to keep the liquids in is a little bit more of a tight seal. And it can be a little bit more challenging for small hands to twist it off. Additionally, as a mom, I don't prefer cleaning this one. It's more cumbersome, even if we don't. The thermal component, the gasket, and this, the expectation is that you take the gasket out of the lid each time to properly wash it.
[00:20:30] I don't find that very functional. I'm just not gonna do that on three lunch boxes every single time. And so do, as you will, I personally find that a little bit cumbersome but it is made with B P E a free plastic, and it kind of gives you the hybrid of a plastic box with really deep compartments. So the volume capacity on this box is.
[00:20:50] It is a little bit bigger, a little bit heavier, a little bit clunkier, however, you get to fit more volume in it. So as my kids' appetite increased and we kind of outgrew say like the original bank go or original yum box, the OMI box was a great option because more volume. And it also gave us more variety because we had that hot, cold container before we were ever really like using a Thermo or things like that.
[00:21:14] But as my. Preferences expanded and we could send hotter cold items. That was kind of a nice option to have the number. One thing I hear from parents about the OIE box is. it's it's a little bit twofold. I would say one, there's a little bit of a learning curve with the thermal insert, because if you've never used a Thermo whether to send hot or cold items, it takes a little bit trial and error.
[00:21:39] And I think there's fun ways to do this. I mention mentioned that in episode 51, when I talked about sending a separate Thermo as a fun novelty, it. , but there's a little bit of a learning curve with how long items stay hot or cold in the OMI box. Particularly if you're also sending an ice pack to keep certain items cold, and yet the hot items hot.
[00:21:58] And so depending on, I hate to use the word high maintenance, but depending on how high maintenance you want your lunch box, I feel like the OIE box probably has the most potential for sending a wide variety. So if you have a really adventurous eater, it may be a great option. However, I say that with a caveat.
[00:22:16] It'll probably take you a little bit more trial and error. So you two have to be a little bit more willing to invest the time and energy in learning how to use it to its fullest potential, especially because it is a higher price point bento box. And so you wanna make sure that you're getting the value out of it for the, you know, added function that it comes with at the added cost.
[00:22:36] Last, but not least is the planet box. This is one that I saw so many colleagues and other parents share for a really long time. And again, we had already had a very full lunchbox store. And so I didn't feel like this was a bento that I necessarily needed to try ourselves. However, as mentioned with some of the wear and tear on the plastic lunch boxes that we've had and needing to recycle those and move on to another box for me, I decided.
[00:23:04] Similar with all household appliances, as we need to replace items, I often don't wanna buy duplicates of something that's still functional, but as we replace things for my personal preference and health goals for our family, I tend to replace plastic with either glass or stainless, depending on what the, you know, product is.
[00:23:24] And so with our bento box, That has led us to planet box for this coming year. If you listen to episode 50, you know, I talked a little bit more at length about this and our choice in that, but from a pros and cons perspective, I just wanted to share, depending on the planet box model that you use. It does have similar options and compartments similar to, you know, really any of the ones that we've talked about.
[00:23:46] There's different layouts of it for the different compartments. There's different size boxes, depending on the appetite size that your family might have. I bought three of the rovers because all my kids have pretty similar appetites at this point. And, you know, on a decent volume of food, but aren't necessarily relying on like a sandwich every day or a whole sandwich and things like that.
[00:24:07] So I feel like it fits about the right amount of food for our family. Right. The size is a little bit of a challenge because it doesn't fit very well in the lunch bag that we have. I thought I would be close and we're a little bit closer than I wanted. So unfortunately the size of it doesn't necessarily fit.
[00:24:22] There's just something about the little lip that is on the planet box, as well as things like the yum box Presto for that stainless steel shape. It just, it it's the barrier with both of them in terms of how they fit in a lunch bag where things like the bank go or the yum. Or the lunch bots all are more uniform and shape on the outside.
[00:24:40] And so it's a little bit easier to fit in a lunch bag. The other complaint that I often hear from families is that planet box is perceived as by far the most expensive, as I've mentioned, we got it on a back to school sale for 30% off. So it is much more comparable in price to the other ones that I've mentioned.
[00:24:58] However, if you paid full. This would probably be the most expensive noting that you shouldn't need to replace it as often, because it is stainless steel. When it comes to the leak proof nature of the planet box, it also is not leak proof in the way that say a bent go or a young box is however, something I didn't mention with lunch box that they also do is when.
[00:25:20] By the lunch bots or the planet box, they'll send little containers. You can either add them on if you need additional ones or the, some of the different options will come with preset, little stainless steel containers that have a silicone lid. So you could put the items that you'd be more concerned about leaking, or if there's specific items you want to not have anything leak on, you could put them in those contain.
[00:25:42] So similar to the little silicone liners I talked about with the lunch bots, I forgot that we also got a bunch of stainless steel containers with lids from lunch bots, as well as with the purchase of our plate at. The final thing I'll touch on with the planet box is it does have a latch. I mentioned that the lid can be a little bit challenging on the lunch box, stainless steel container.
[00:26:04] And that's something that I think planet box has done really well is it's very open or excuse me, it's very easy for my kids to open additionally the current models that they had, they're offering like magnets to kind of personalize it. So my kids, if you saw my Instagram stories, my kids got really excited about that.
[00:26:17] It felt a little bit more custom. Then just say a standard stainless steel box that you looked universal from kid to kid. So that's what we're using this year. And that gets us to the present day of the six spinto boxes that we've used over the last six years. You can see that between them being kid friendly or easy to clean, durable, whether your kid's going to drop them, or you just wanna buy one box and not have to think about it for several years to come.
[00:26:43] Whether you have one child or several children to buy for, and the price points that you need to purchase lunch boxes with accordingly, and then also the variety of food that your kids like. Are they someone who eats more dry or packaged foods in the bento box and you don't need to worry about leak proof as much, or are you sending more liquids or fruits or vegetables or things that could have some added.
[00:27:04] Or leaking and you need to either adjust the temperature or the type of container that you send it in. All these factors can come into play when you're picking out your red box. And as I do this episode, it did go longer in time than I usually want. But something I think would be really helpful that I'm going to do on the next episode is I'm going to break down these six bento boxes in terms of the criteria that I just shared, how kid friendly they are, how easy to clean they are, how durable they are, how cost effective they are and how much variety.
[00:27:35] Give you the opportunity to send in your kids' lunches. I'm gonna rate each of these so that you have a real quick and easy snapshot of what I think the best bento box is for a given category. As we talked about, there's different priorities for each and every family. And I want you to be able to prioritize accordingly.
[00:27:52] What would fit for your family? However, what I'm gonna ask from you is that you follow the veggies of virtue podcast. And if you know someone that this might help, please share the show with them as well. This is super helpful to being able to help reach more moms, but also it helps you to get this podcast on your podcast player each and every Monday and Wednesday, when my episode's air.
