Packing lunches for you and your little ones is a healthy must-do; having the right lunchbox essentials makes the process way easier.
Just think: you don’t want to go through all of the work of washing and chopping up veggies or doubling up a recipe to make sure you have lunch-friendly leftovers only to realize you don’t have the container to pack them in. And considering perils like salad dressing leaks and meat spoilage, it really does matter.
RELATED: 10 Healthy Lunches You Can Make in 10 Minutes or Less
Plus, stocking up on smart, reusable lunchbox solutions is better for the environment, since it means you’ll start reaching for single-use plastic wrap or Ziploc bags way less often.
Check out our picks for healthy lunchbox essentials—all available fast on Amazon—below. They’re great for both kiddos toting PB&Js and for office-friendly kale salads.
(Featured Photo: Shutterstock)
6 Healthy Lunchbox Essentials
Rubbermaid Lunchblox Container
Bento boxes are popular but many of them leak all over the place. This container achieves the same goal—separate containers for kids who don’t want their food to touch or adults who like to combine salad stuff at the last minute—and is totally secure, according to lots of sites and reviews. (Plus, even if the inner container for dressing did leak, it would leak into the larger container, so you’re totally protected…)
(Photo: Amazon)
Built NY Bento Salad Bowl with Neoprene Sleeve
Speaking of leaking, this container is totally clutch for the most leak-prone leftovers imaginable. Want to bring (or send your kid to school with) leftover chili, butternut squash soup, or saucy pasta? The container itself snaps securely and then you zip on the neoprene sleeve, so you can throw it in any bag. If anything leaks into the sleeve, you can throw it in the wash and hang it to dry.
(Photo: Amazon)
Stasher Silicone Bags
For loose foods like sliced celery and red pepper sticks, baby carrots, or crackers (to pair with hummus or nut butter packets?), these silicone bags are ideal. They’re self-sealing and you can wash and use them over and over again.
RELATED: 9 Brilliant Plastic Product Alternatives You Can Buy on Amazon
(Photo: Amazon)
Bee’s Wrap
If you’re a sandwich family, forget the plastic wrap or foil and opt for this reusable wrap made from organic cotton and beeswax. The warmth of your hands allows it to soften and wrap snugly around whatever you’re wrapping up (like a vegan BLT!). You can wash and reuse it for up to a year, and when it finally wears out, you can compost it.
(Photo: Bee’s Wrap)
Packit Freezable Lunch Bag
For super perishable lunches like egg salad or tuna (yum!), you want to keep things cold. Packit’s freezable lunch bags consistently perform the best when tested in terms of keeping food cold for as long as possible, and they come in all kinds of cute kid- and adult-friendly patterns.
(Photo: Amazon)
S’well Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle
It will be easy for you and your kids to stay hydrated with one of S’well’s insulated bottles, which keep cold drinks cold for 24 hours and hot ones hot for 12. This version is smaller than the standard so it’ll fit in a little one’s lunchbox, too.
(Photo: Amazon)