Lunch Box Road Test!
The end of the summer holidays is approaching and its time to get your little ones ready to go back to school! Here at Fruit Bowl we’ve had our little one’s road testing a selection of lunchboxes. Its been fun! They’ve really been put to the test, not just from a kid’s perspective, but with parents too because let’s face it, we’re often the ones clearing up the mess inside. We given each of them a Fruit Bowl rating out of 5. Read on to see our top picks….
Marks & Spencer, Kids’ Flamingo Lunch Box with Thinsulate™, £12
We loved the funky design on this lunchbox, who doesn’t love a flamingo? It’s the perfect size to fit in a substantial lunch and drink, is easy to wipe clean and thanks to the thinsulate lining, everything is kept cool. The handle and strap made it easy for our little ones to carry, or it’ll fit into most sized ruck sacks. Our only bugbear – it doesn’t contain a name tagging area. We thought the plain black back on the lunch box would be a perfect area for this.
Tyrrrell Katz, Pandas Design Kids Insulated Lunch Bag with Strap, £16
Tyrerell Katz, Pandas Snack Boxes, £9
This lunch bag transformed lunch time for our little one – she even started packing her own lunch and cleaning it at the end of the day. The snack boxes were the perfect set to use with the lunch bag. Purchased separately, they’re an additional £9 which of course raises the cost of the set, but the sizes were great, they kept every item of food fresh and well protected in transit, and of course fitted in the bag perfectly. One of the best features for us parents? pop them in the dishwasher.
Jojo Maman Bebe, Insulated Food and Bottle Bag, £6
This great value for money lunch bag was one of our top picks – its pretty basic, but light weight, spacious and easily portable. Its got plenty of room for drinks and snacks inside, and is so easy to clean. We road tested the funky eye catching star print but it comes in a variety of designs perfect for kids….. and parents!
Skip Hop, Zoo Lunchie Insulated Kids Lunch Bag, £11.91
When it came to this lunch bag it was love at first sight for our little one. The design is striking, the size was ok, but a bit of a squeeze when trying to fit in a water bottle (a holder on the outside would be helpful). The handle strap has a small amount of adjustment to it so its relatively easy to carry, lightweight and the compact size meant it was easy to store away when not in use. We found the interior netting and name tag really useful. What makes this a winner for our little ones? The striking design and matching zip.
Smiggle, Double Decker Lunch Box, £17.50
This two tier lunch box comes with a higher price tag than most, but our little ones put it through its paces and its still going strong! Thanks to the two separate areas it survived a yoghurt explosion (with little impact), was easy to clean up, can fit in most rucksacks (but also has a small carry handle), has a handy name tag on the inside and our little ones just loved delving in at lunchtime to see what yummy treats we’d hidden in each pocket. Available in a range of designs. A big thumbs up from us.
Stuck on You, Large Personalised Bento – Kids Designs, £29.99
We loved the idea of this, but having road tested it the minuses unfortunately outweigh the plusses. Let’s start with what we liked – the labelling compartments make you think about eating more healthily, helps aid a balanced, portion controlled lunch time meal and the personalisation element was a hit with our little one. Go online to see the range of designs and colours – there is something to suit every child. So the down sides? Its heavy, there isn’t anywhere to store cutlery or a drink, it didn’t keep things overly cool, and although the sectioned holder can be removed the food residue gets trapped under the lid. And lastly, it comes with a rather hefty price tag.
Becky & Lolo, Children’s Lunch Box – Pink Ponies – Personalisable, £12.98
We totally fell in love with the vibrant colour and pretty horse design on this lunch box. The quality of the insulated canvas material was top notch too. The interior contains a handy ice pack pocket (or you can stash some napkins or cutlery) and a strap to secure a water bottle. For our little one, it was a bit on the small side and would benefit from a long, over the shoulder strap. Overall though we loved it, and the best bit? It can be personalised with your little one’s name.
The Verdict: The Tyrell Katz Panda Design Kids Insulated Lunch Bag and Snack Boxes made the perfect combination. Use together or as stand alone lunch items and they’ll keep food fresh and secure. For the more adventurous, the Smiggle Double Decker Lunch Box was great for storing food in the different layers, giving an element of discovery which made for a very fun lunch. Pop a little Fruit Bowl School Bar in one of the pockets and let your little one go hunting. What can we say? We are always happy to make your lunches more fun!