“Mom, I’m HUUUUNGRY! What’s for lunch?”
I turn around, hoist the baby a little higher on my hip, and say, “I don’t know. What are you making us for lunch?”
Thirty minutes later I post her answer on Instagram: Shredded chicken with caramelized onions and capers with avocado, made without any help from me. Y’all, my daughter is SIX. I was kidding when I asked her what she was making, but she took my remark as a statement of confidence and ran with it.
Now, I’m no rocket scientist, but based on The Glorious Day In Which Someone Else Made Lunch I figured it was time to let her prepare her own healthy snacks and meals for homeschool meet-ups.
I’m not gonna lie, I love my newfound freedom. Though I’m always in the kitchen to offer safety guidance or suggestions as needed, I’ve been amazed by how much more capable she is than I realized. That’s why I’m excited to ask you to join me by doing something new this year:
Let’s equip our children to pack their own healthy lunches!
Wait. What? Let children pack their own lunches? It might sound like a bad idea at first, but lets take a look at the “Why.”
5 Reasons Kids Should Pack Their Own Lunch
I’m sure we can all agree that there is no magical age that determines when a child should start packing their own lunch. For those who aren’t quite ready, filling water bottles, snack bags and containers with fruit can be a VERY good first step. However at some point they’re going to be ready to do more, right? Here are five reasons that’s a very good thing:
1. It teaches them about proper nourishment
My daughter and I are having some great discussions about food, like why it’s not a good idea to pack only bananas. She’s learning to listen more closely to her cravings and make healthy choices for herself. My hope is that by starting early, this perspective on nourishment will stay with her through her teen years and beyond.
2. Kids eat more
When kids makes the choices, they’re much more likely to eat their food because they’re proud of their accomplishment. They’re eating THEIR choices, which makes any food taste better!
3. It takes the load off us
Let’s be honest, we deserve a break. You’ll have one less responsibility in the mornings, which buys you time to change out of those PJ’s.
4. It’s empowering
Children start the day off gently with the mindset that they have power, that they can be trusted, and that they can do whatever they put her mind to.
5. It instills responsibility
Our goal is to equip our children with the mindset they need to thrive. Making lunches is yet another way to guide them toward a brilliant future.
The benefits sound pretty great, right?
If you’re wondering how to make this work on a practical level, here’s what we’ve found helpful. First, we signed up for the Kids Cook Real Food eCourse to learn basic knife and other kitchen skills, then we started with really simple recipes like these apple sandwiches.
I asked her to help me pick out containers that prevent messy leaks and other discouraging mishaps. She based her selections on what looked fun, and I based mine on durability and functionality. Here’s what we came up with:
- 4 oz Leakproof Rounds – These are great for homemade ranch, ketchup, honey mustard and more
- Bento Box – I LOVE that this one is leak proof
- LunchBots – We started with a Duo, but have now added an Uno and Trio to our collection. My three littles share these.
- Bamboo Utensils – Comes with everything you need, plus chopsticks that can double as fairy wands
- Double Decker Lunch Bag – The top can fit a large thermos and the bottom has room for a lunch and snacks
- Tall Insulated Food Jar/Thermos – Perfect for packing chicken soup on cold winter days
- Reusable Snack/Sandwich Bags – Great for crackers, carrot sticks, beef jerky, dried fruit, grapes,
- Ice Pack and Sweat Free Cover – Adorable and made from recycled materials
- 12 ounce glass water bottle – We take these with us just about every time we hop in the car
You’ll love this set because it takes the frustration out of packing lunches. There are fewer messes, spills, hot items that should be cold, cold items that should be hot, and epic emergencies in which two foods touch each other. (Please don’t tell me that just happens in my house.)
Plus, it’s much easier to keep things organized and kids love the independence it brings.
Do you have a tip for helping kids learn to pack lunches? Please share it in the comments below!
I don’t have kids, but when I was in school, I started making my lunch in first grade, when I started going to school all day. My mom insisted that my sister and I learn age appropriate responsibility. It was good, because it was the first step in me becoming self-sufficient, but I do wish she’d given more guidance on what to take for lunch (there was a lot of peanut butter and jelly, and fruit by the foot and cookies. But hey. It was the 90’s). Right on for trusting your kids, and being there for questions! 🙂
“But hey. It was the 90’s” – lol! I’m so impressed that you read this whole post on getting kids to pack lunches even though it doesn’t strictly apply. I hope you entered, because cool ex-90’s kids need awesome lunch gear, too!
Heck, ‘child of the 90’s”…. I follow your blog all the time, and I’m a ‘child of the 80’s! HA
Heather, really Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. You are a very sweet person, and your family is adorable.
Please! I am a child of the 50s, no kids, and STILL read your blog! I enjoy it, and I actually use some of your ideas. I am also a teacher. I always take my lunch (celiac disease 🙁 ) and just plain run out of ideas sometimes!
This thread made me smile – than you Kathleen and Phyllis for chiming in!
For some odd reason it also makes me want to re-enact an elementary school performance that featured a song from every decade since the 20’s 🙂
I couldn’t let the 70s children be unrepresented, and I don’t have kids either, but follow (and love!) your blog. We don’t have to have everything in common to find some common ground.
Plus, while we’re transitioning to a healthier lifestyle, I sometimes find your parenting strategies helpful for getting my boyfriend onboard. (Let’s keep that between us, though.)
Haha, Jen! Your secret is safe with me.
I couldn’t let the 60’s be unheard either! Hey Heather, I follow you also and love all the goodness you stand for. Keep up the great work and God Bless!
Hey, I graduated high school in 1980…does that make me a school kid of the 70’s? I guess so. And, Mommypotamus, I like to read what you have to say as well. I’m now a school PRINCIPAL…and I’d love to win a lunch kit!
And this thread just continues to get more awesome 🙂
Oh I am chiming in as well for the 60s! I LOVE your blog! I share it with my Dad, a child of the 40s, and he loves it too!
The double decker lunch bag would be perfect for my guy! He’s starting kindergarten and needs all new lunch gear in general! Fun giveaway!
My family would use the thermos the most!
My daughter would love the reusable sandwich & snack bags! She’ll be 6 in August, and I’m going to start having her pack her lunch/snack for our community CC day. =)
My son would love the bento box!
The reusable bags.
I’ve been on the lookout for new lunch box stuff for my (almost) 6th grader. He lost his laptop lunchbox last year & is ready for something a little more versatile anyway. Those leak free containers for smaller amounts look great!
I’d pick between the bento box and the lifefactory bottle. All the products look amazing!
My kids would absolutely love the double-decker lunchbox and the glass water bottle. What an awesome giveaway! Thank you
My son is about to be two and recently he has started “helping” me in the kitchen (pouring ingredients that I measure or even just watching me cook and commenting). He starts Mother’s Day out in September so we will have to work on packing lunches! But first we need a good lunchbox. The one from mighty nest looks perfect!
We would definitely use the thermos. My guys like to take leftovers or grass-fed hotdogs to school and the thermos would work great!
My 11 year old son would love any of these products that had food in them! Ha!
The bamboo utensils are awesome and I think my daughter would get a kick out of using utensils made from a plant instead of metal or plastic.
I’d go with the small leak-proof containers. My kids are always after me to pack dips/dressings and the containers I use are sometimes a bit to small for their fingers or for dipping.
My daughter would love the water bottle!
My daughter would probably use the 12 oz bottle with the built-in straw–we take water everywhere!
My daughter is still 2.5 (and #2 is on its way), but starts preschool this fall. I love the idea of involving her in the process and she has helped me crack and make eggs since she was 1! I imagine the bento box is something she’ll be able to master from this young age as well as the lifefactory bottle as we introduce the others!
My boys would be most excited about the bento box! They love to eat little bits of this and that a few grapes strawberries ham cheese carrots kinda a mini buffet so they’d be thrilled to have a bento!!
My daughter would love the thermos, she loves to take soup for lunch when it’s cold out.
Uhh yeah the whole set!
As a teacher, looking for a perfect lunchbox is like searching for a unicorn, but I like the double decker design. I may have found it!
Uhh everything!
What perfect timing. I was just telling my 8 yr old to get ready to make his own lunch this year. He doesn’t always eat what I pack so now he can choose what he’d like. He’d love the rounds for dips and salsa.
Those little 4-oz containers for dips and sauces would be the biggest hit around here!
All of it, but I’d love the small containers to send dressings and sauces…
Ooooookay. You are making a lot of sense. I guess if I provide them with acceptable options to choose from they won’t fill their lunch boxes with all fruit all the time. I love the bento boxes!
The bento box! He loves to organize;)
I think the double decker lunch box and the rounds would have both my daughters excited to make their own lunches! They’re always requesting dipping sauces for their chicken or carrots. 🙂 I really like the idea of having hem make their lunches each night!
I think we would use all of it, but most often the snack bags.
The Bento Box would be something my son would use every day for packing his lunches. It would make lunch time so much easier with one sectioned off container to hold nutritious goodies!
Hard to pick one…
I would say the snack and sandwich bags. My children love to pack their own snacks and lunches when on the go.
The products are all wonderful. My child would really like the reusable bags and the water bottle! Again Great Products!
The bamboo utensils and glass water bottles are so cool…my four kids would love any of that stuff (that we have onto already bought–lol–we love your site!!). We are crossing our fingers we won 🙂 Thanks!!
Definitely the bento box!
My child would most use the double decker lunch box! We will pack lunch everyday so it would get plenty of use!
The lunchbox will be perfect for my daughter I am actually looking for the right one for her. Also the bamboo utensils how awesome is that. I love all the products.
My kids would use the water bottle with built in straw. Proper hydration throughout the day is important for brains to work well.
We would definitely use the water bottle the most! I’ve been wanting to get some, but they’re so expensive 🙁
I want the bento box but he’s been asking for a new bottle with a straw for months.
Wow! My 6 yr old daughter could use all this, especially the water bottle and thermos! She’s heading to 1st grade, which is her first year at school all day. (Kinder at our private school is only till noon.)
And thanks for the encouragement to have her help with lunch packing. I will definitely be starting that! : )
Love the double decker lunch bag
My son would like the thermos. He’s a big soup eater, and there’s not many ways to pack a hot soup that’s kid friendly!
My daughter would love the insulated thermos for soup on chilly fall days.
The double decker lunch bag for sure!
The double Decker lunch box is awesome
My son would use the thermos! 🙂
The sealable containers!! things allllways spill 🙂
My kids would love the Bento box and reusable snack bags because they love to organize their lunches. My daughter also doesn’t like her food to touch 🙂
The bento box would be a blessing for packing lunches. Thanks for the giveaway!
My kids would love it all, but they’ve really all been wanting one of those Lifefactory water bottles.
oh man my kids would love all of these especially the double decker lunch box and glass sippy cup
Can I just secretly desire it for myself!? Actually I think my daughter would like the double decker lunch bag, thermos and glass water bottle!
Living in Phoenix we would probly use the water bottles and freezer packs the most! 😉
Ditto what Megan said…I would love any of these for myself! But honestly, the small 4 oz. rounds and the reusable snack backs would be the most used items. =) Thanks so much for the giveaway! Love this post, by the way. Your daughter must have had a great teacher to do such a good job!! 😉
Too bad this isn’t for husbands! I would love to redo our lunch-packing options. I am a huge fan of bento boxes. 🙂
It’s way too hard to pick which 1 thing they would use most! They would use all of it every day except maybe the thermos! How could you not!? What a great giveaway! Thx!
My son would love the double decker lunch bag and the glass water bottle!
Great giveaway by the way! Thanks a lot!
I think both my boys and I would be most excited about the reusable bags.
We’d love the 12oz water bottles!
I would love a post on some lunch ideas for the little ones!!
Being on GAPS we would definitely use the thermos!
The glass water bottle! Always need a water bottle 🙂
Is it wrong that I want these lunch things? I would LOVE the thermos for soup or chili to take to work. I entered my kids’ elementary school, even though they are grown now.
Not wrong at all. I am getting my own thermos after seeing Katie’s! 🙂
My daughter would love the whole set!
My son would love the glass water bottle. He would use it for sports practices as well as drinks for lunch.
My daughter is begging for a new lunch box – she would love this colorful one AND the water bottle. We keep losing our water bottles!!
The whole thing looks pretty spectacular!! My DD would use a lot of this for school lunches!
Hey! I homeschool my kids. Can I still enter to win? It only gives me the option to select a school in our area, can I not select or type in a homeschool co-op or organization? I would love for there to be more supporters out there for home schoolers! 🙂
We homeschool as well so I asked MightyNest the same question awhile back. Unfortunately at this point it’s not possible to update their database with all the different homeschool coops and organizations that families participate in. It’s a bummer, but I’m happy that at least our purchases do still benefit families in our community 🙂
My youngest (6) loves veggies and healthy food. I find it exceedingly difficult to pack the kind of lunch I know he’s capable of eating. The thermos in particular will take us to the next level where I could pack his favorite liver and beef meatballs in home grown tomato sauce! The other components of the giveaway are just a awesome!
As someone who is dealing with extreme food intollerences and having to pack food for whenever I leave the house- I’d use EVERYTHING! All the time! I want the entire set! My friends are always impressed with my lifefactory bottles and crazy gadgets I get to carry my food – but in reality if I have to take my own food everywhere I want to do it in style. Everyone else gets to eat whatever, where ever they want. I don’t have that luxury, so I make my method of food transportation luxurious instead!
The glass water bottle would be awesome!
Water bottle and lunch bag. But we’d use everything!
The thermos and bamboo utensils would be most exciting to me. I’d love to be able to take hot food somewhere for my kids or husband and not have to use a microwave! Also, it would be nice to avoid plastic disposable utensils without the fear of losing some taken from the silverware at home! I’ve made a few reusable snack bags which we use for snacks during church and at the grocery store (we don’t get out much… :P) but my husband is always stealing them for work and forgetting to bring them home!
My son has several food sensitivities. He’s going to have to learn how to cook and pack food, since he’ll have to do it for the rest of his life. . .
Great post! And a good reminder with all the homeschooling activities coming up again. I just would like to add that this approach could extend to any family activity. I have my daughter pack our lunch or snack before we live the house to run errands, doctor’s appt, and even on they way to my in-laws ( with a tummy full is easier to say no to temptations that grandparents offer 🙂 It also helps us to save a lot of money (Whole Foods would be the place to go eat “fast food” if we are hungry) and help us to stick with our diet (even at Whole Foods is hard to find good quality grain free options). Your daughter is gorgeous! May God continue to bless her!
I have yet to enter your prize drawings. For some reason I can never complete the entry via my phone. 🙁 We would use every part of this giveaway! Due to health problems, I have to pack food to take no matter where I’m going, and my little one is just starting out on food so I like to pack healthy baby foods for him. I love your blog! Yours is my favorite of the ones I subscribe to (with the possible exception of ivman blague, but I love humor) Thank you for helping to educate a newbie to all this stuff!
Reusable sandwich and snack bags…they are on a wish list for some month we have extra grocery money.
We would happily use all of it. But If I had to choose it would be the awesome lunch box!!!! 🙂
We would love any of the items and use them a ton! Thanks for the give away!
So hard to decide because it would definitely all get used a lot! I have always wanted bento boxes for my kids, so I will go with that!
My kids are grown, but my grandson would love this. He love to carry water bottles and his dads lunchbox. He has one of his own, but dad’s is always cooler. His dad did have a thermos and my grandson thought that would be great to have his soup in when it was cold outside so he could sit on the porch and drink/eat it right out of the thermos…he would tell me “Grammy I don’t have to use a spoon if I don’t want to, cuz thats how you eat out of them.” I also think this is a great program that is being offered.
My daughter starts preschool this fall shortly after classes start for me in college. We’d both use these products! As we were packing lunches today, I noticed we’ve gone through so many ziplock bags it ridiculous and not at all environmentally friendly! It crossed my mind that it would be so neat if someone invented really cute reusable snack bags and viola, here’s your post! My daughter would love the colorful double decker lunch box and we’d both use the reusable snack bags just about every day. What a neat giveaway idea. Thanks for all your wonderful posts! I’m going to check out mightynest’s web site now! 🙂
My daughter loves all containers but I think the bento box will satisfy her organizational fix!
My sons have very restricted diets and I take their food everywhere. It would all help me so much!
I think this is awesome! Love the idea of kids fixing their lunches and also the healthy food program! My kids would love the bento box, thermos, or bottle. Thanks!
I love all of them!!! But would have to say the snack bags and the bento box ..My little peanut starts preschool this year! She s so excited to start! They grow so fast!!!
My kids are all grown now so I am teaching my grandkids about healthy eating and they would rather take their lunch than have school lunches!
Oooooh, the bento box for sure!!!!!!!
The water bottle and lunch bag would get the most use here!
My daughter would love everything about this, but probably the water bottle most of all!
We’d use the bento box and leakproof rounds the most. We homeschool but have classes once a week, and last year my sister-in-law asked me what I usually do for my daughter’s lunch. She wanted ideas for her little one who also goes to the classes. I told her, “You’d have to ask her, she’s the one who packs her lunch.” (Ok, I DO check it when she’s done to make sure it’s balanced, but she decides what to put in. It helps me out so much.)
Wow! Even if I don’t win, this is a great blue-print for supplies as my daughter starts JK this fall.
My boys would use the bento box most of all. It’s a convenient way to pack a complete lunch everywhere we go.
I love the double-decker lunchbox just by itself! It’s so hard to find a lunch box that’s sturdy, but isn’t too big or too small!
Oh, and I recently let my 6-year-old start making her own PB&J sandwiches, and I’m loving it too!
Leakproof rounds and the bento box would be awesome!!
Love it all! Probably would use the bento box and leakproof rounds the most!
I really love them all, but I think my son would love the reusable bags and the life factory water bottle. 😉
All of it!!! Lol! Mostly the lunch bag, bento box, and the bamboo utensils. Lunch bag: sturdy to hold her water bottle and get snacks and her lunch or dinner if at dance. She packs her lunch like a bento (protein, vegetable, fruit, carb/dessert), we try to do close to paleo as she is very active as a competitive dancer that doesn’t handle gluten and dairy too well. And the bamboo utensils because it’s about the style in 6th grade 😉
I love all of it! I pack lunches for myself and my husband right now and we’d probably use the snack bags and leakproof rounds the most. Veggies and dip are a favorite around here!
We pack lunches everyday…Everything would get used…Daily!
My kids would love it all, but the snack bags and water bottle would probably get the most use!
My son would love the rounds! He loves to dip EVERYTHING into something.
The snack bags would be great!
I don’t have kids but I love the fun colors. I looked at the picture and thought how much better MY lunch would be in this kit. Love the bento box.
My children would love to have this set! We Homeschool and pack our lunch for our group work weekly. They love having little containers for homeade nut butters!!
My oldest would love every part of this. He’s got some sensory issues and deconstructed meals with lots of dipping options are right up his alley, so the bento box is perfect for him.
My boys would love it all! But I think they’d really love the sandwich/snack bags and the bamboo utensils. 🙂
Wow, what a great give away. It is so hard to choose which one I would use the most as I probably would use them all, all the time. My daughter’s are in competition dance and I am at the dance studio with them at least 4 nights a week. We bring food all the time to avoid the junk food they have for sale there or going out to fast food, which is also not a good option. If I had to choose one, the cooler with 2 levels would be my choice. It makes it easier to pack into one bag instead of carrying multiple bags.
Id say the water bottle for sure. Between activities, school, and being outside, it’ll be used constantly!
The leakproof rounds and the bento box would be most helpful, but, really, everything would be great!!
My kids would use either the reusable snack & sandwich bags or the glass water bottle the most!
Great post and I love that other parents are encouraging their kids (& other parents) to give children responsibilities at a young age (our 2 yr old helps unload the dishwasher!) but especially when it come to food & teaching they why to pick (& make) healthy options!
I love all of these items! My oldest is starting 1st grade and I’m actually giddy about getting some of these things for him. I think the thermos will be the must have aside from the lunch bag.
I think we would use the bento box or snack bags the most often with the thermos and water bottle coming in next. She’s just started really enjoying her lunch box.
Oh gosh,its difficult to choose just one item,we’d probably use everything but unfortunately can’t enter to win,we live in South Africa but it’s a fantastic giveaway.
we have that same orange bento box and i love how it locks, i’d love to have a few more of them as im using ours right now as an airtight butter dish
Definitely the bento box and the thermos.
My daughter would love the leakproof rounds and the insulated thermos. She tends to think outside the box, or in this case “bag”. I’m sure she could come up with some creative lunches to go in them.
reusable snackbags!
The water bottle would be used daily and the thermos!
Your cute daughter reminds me so much of my 6 year old girl! By the way, my daughter mentioned one day: ” Mommy, why do you always pack what YOU want for lunch? I want to pack my OWN lunch!” Can you believe that? 😀 The same she says about dinner. Children definitely are more capable of making choices and taking responsibilities than we think. The key is to teach them how they can help themselves and to stand right beside them to guide them in all areas of life.
Many blessings
Viktoria
My son is only 21 months but we could really use the thermos. The other things will be great when he’s older. Love all of it!
My little boy would love this! He is always in the kitchen with me helping me prepare foods and washing the dishes. 🙂 Be perfect when he starts preschool next fall!
My son would love it all, but the Reusable Sandwich Bags would be most handy.
We would use it ALL! I especially love the water bottle and the many containers that would make it much easier for my kids to pack their own lunch!
I can’t get my little one to drink water unless it’s out of a “grown up” cup or water bottle. The Lifefactory bottle will be a great hydrator for her!
My oldest would love the bento box and my youngest would love the rounds!
Definitely the bento box, water bottle and double decker lunch box to pack more fresh food. Thank you!
The leak proof rounds look great for packing sauces for dipping sandwiches or veggies into.
Thank you for this wonderful giveaway. I love all the items in it. I have a 4 1/2-year-old Son, and although I think he would be super excited about everything as well, I am guessing his favorite would be the lunch bag. Crossing my fingers…
We would use everything shown! Having a leakproof stainless steel bento box would be so helpful I must use plastic containers for anything that may leak in my daughter’s lunch bag (even that tiny amount of pickle juice!)
My kids would definitely love the little condiment containers. Ranch dressing is their Favorite and I never have tiny tupperwares so I just dump the dressing in the Baggie with their carrots which probably makes for a super messy lunch. I try to remember napkins :-/
Probably all of them! My oldest is starting kindergarten next month and we’re already trying to navigate home vs. school lunch!
Oh my gosh, the leak proof rounds and the insulated thermos would be AWESOME for school lunches!! Thanks for the great giveaway!
My daughter would probabaly use the theromos and water bottle the most! We carry water every where we go, and sometimes she wants a hot drink to take along instead.
Definitely the Bento Box. Could not open widget, how do I enter to win??
Oh how sweet! These choices are wonderful. Let’s see… my son would probably use the double decker lunch box and the water bottle on a daily basis.
Thank you!
Awesome giveaway! My kids would really get a lot of use out of the leakproof rounds or the leakproof bento box!
What a great giveaway with awesome products! My daughter would get the most use out of the leakproof bento box and the insulated thermos! Thanks 🙂
Definitely the water bottle, especially for weekend adventures.
Wonderful giveaway! We’d use it all, but probably the bento box and reusable lunch bags would come in handy most often.
What an amazing give away – thanks for the opportunity! I’ve got 4 kids so the reusable snack bags get used the most. I can never have too many. We’ve never owned a leakproof bento box…that would be cool too!!
My daughter, 18 years, would LOVE the water bottle.
We use thermoses all the time for soups and left overs and I really like the re-usable snack bags for fruits and veggies. I think my kids would like the bento boxes and the double decker lunch box.
The glass water bottle because she loves water more than anything.
I love the idea of getting my child involved in making her own lunches. I ask her to pick out items when we go grocery shopping. I think she would love the water bottle as it is insulated and won’t break.
Definitely the thermos! My daughter loves taking leftover soup and/or hot cocoa during the fall and winter months.
The lunch bag and bentos would be great for my daughter! BTW-where did you order your chicken coop home study supplies from. We do not home school (yet) but I would love to do this project with my kids. My daughter wants chickens over any cat or dog right now and I was looking into coops. But want her to learn from the start how to really take care of them.
I love all of the lunch items! We could use the double decker lunch box and snack bags the most.
What a cool giveaway. I love them all! My daughter would use the water bottle and snack bags the most.
My son isn’t in school yet (he’s only 9 months) but since he’s starting to eat solid food and we’re out a lot, I need some good things to bring some good for both of us. I think the water bottle and snack bags would be great for both of us and of course the lunch box to bring everything would be great. Right now I just shove stuff in my diaper bag, which is already pretty full! 🙂
My Son will probably get the most use out of the Water Bottle or the Thermos, he’s been getting his own breakfast and lunch for some time and once in a while makes supper for the family.
He has always been homeschooled but now attends TN Online Public School, from home. It’s been a great change for us and he gets to explore some classes that he would not have gotten in homeschool and I still get to keep track of exactly what he is learning and share in the joy of it!
My son would love the thermos and my daughter the reusable bags for SURE!!!
The bento boxes would be perfect for organizing leftovers for my son’s lunch.
My daughter would love the water bottle. She is really great about staying hydrated. She’s always reminding me to drink my water!
Actually we homeschool so I wouldn’t need to send this kit with my youngest, but my 23 year old packs lunch for work everyday and it sure would be fun to send her with a complete set up to encourage her to save money and eat healthy! While I don’t pack her lunches (good thing, huh?) I do try to make sure that things are sliced and ready to go. It’s one way of reaching back, in a way, for all those times I was raising a new baby when she was in high school and getting herself up and out the door. 🙂 It’s also a way of telling her she matters to me and what she eats matters.
Glass water bottle! We are trying to get rid of all the plastics in our kitchen.
Double-decker lunch bag and the re-usable snack bags. 🙂
That glass water bottle intrigues me. I think we’d use that most if we won. All the other stuff looks great, too.
You have come up with a great giveaway! And the timing…school is just around the corner.
My daughter would use the glass water bottle, she has wanted one forever, but they are just super expensive. My son would use whichever container fits the most food in it!!! LOL!!!! We are going through a permanent (until around 18 or so) growth spurt…nine years to go. This all looks so great, we would love it!
Definitely the water bottle! Awesome giveaway!
The water bottle! My 3 yo loves drinking water and despite having quite a sweet tooth, never asks for juice. I am so relieved!!!
Thank you for the great ideas and encouragement.
We wod use the reusable snack and sand which bags the most! Love this giveaway!
Would** use!
My boys would definitely love the leak proof rounds.. Everything is better with a dip!!!;) What an amazing giveaway!
He’d use all of it but would use the water bottle more most. Thanks for the fun contest.
What a great collection! We are needing a replacement water bottle for our son. His parents broke his 🙂
My Daughters will love to share this beautiful set! Grace will love the glass water bottle-she hates drinking out of plastic. And my daughter Marie will love the leak proof rounds and my other daughter Catie will love the snack bags and Bento Box! Yay!
The insulated hot pot would be incredible for long cold winters in Oregon schools!
I would use this in our travels across the US. Packing lunches in the car is a needed option to eating at fast food places along the way!
This would be for my granddaughter…and it would be a toss-up between the Double Decker Lunch Bag and the glass bottle with the straw.
My son is 6 and has been helping to decide what goes in his lunch for about two years now. He gets to choose between fruits and veggies and what kind of main course. He also asks me to “surprise him” with what I put in his lunch box.
Pick one??? Lol. Between my four kids, we would use ALL of it ALL the time. What a great giveaway!
The bento box would be our favorite! My picky eaters do best with small amounts of a variety of foods:)
We need it all because I have two children we are enrolling in school this his year. I think they would be most excited about the sandwich bag!
Both of my Littles would LOVE to have the Lifefactory Bottle most, but as a BUSY homeschool Mommy I can honestly say that ALL of those items would be used in regular rotation! We are constantly packing food/drinks the cause our meals are NEVER @ home! We’ll pull into a shady spot under a tree & have a ‘picnic’ in the Expedition while running errands or pack up our entire dinner & haul it to ‘Daddy’s office’ so we can eat with him.
Definitely the double decker lunch bag! My DD is going to Pre-K this year and they aren’t supposed to bring backpacks to save on space in their classroom. All of their materials will come home in their lunch boxes.
I love this giveaway! It will support any family in bringing healthy lunches to school. 🙂 I think my daughter would most enjoy the rounds because she loves to dip her food into very interesting things- dipping carrots into ketchup, dipping her sandwich into yogurt, the combos are endless, as is her creativity! Thanks!
water bottle would be our most used item. Thanks for the giveaway 😀
My daughter would love the reusable sandwich & snack bags!
I should show your post to my 10 years old, it will most surely inspire her.
Thank you,
Heather
The entire set looks amazing….I think the water bottle and the bento box would be extremely handy and fun to use.
THe lifefactory bottle would be so used by my daughter, she’d probably bring it to bed with her.
I would love the benti box. I have been thinking about getting it for a while now.
My son would probably like the insulated thermos because he likes soups and chili.
I’ve been contemplating buying a bento box. Would love to own one
Thank you for offering this! My daughter has been wanting a Bento box for quite awhile but it would all be great!
I think my kids would love the leak proof rounds for dips!
Bento box! <3
My son will be entering kindergarten, for his first time entering big school I think he will benefit from all of it 😀
I think that the water bottle would be used the most, but probably most of it would be used almost daily!
My son is starting kindergarten so we need ALL of this. But especially the leak proof bento box!
I’m also one that doesn’t have a child, but do bring my lunch to work nearly every day, and finding leak proof containers that last is very challenging!
We would love the Bento box!
As I homeschool our two boys, I would use this to pack my wife a healthy lunch to take to work. I’ve been weaning her off of the simplicity of prepackaged frozen meals by making my own frozen meals, or making her salads and whatnot for lunch.
My 11-year-old will use most of the stuff on the regular basis. He also started helping out with cooking early. He loves making salads for the whole family and he also prepared cut veggies for himself and I (aka. mommy ;)) He’s been hoping to become a chef for quite a while now… and he’s planning to study in France 🙂
All of those awesome items would get tons of use here. My little who is starting Kindergarten this fall loves her healthy foods and snacks, especially in her special gear. She’s got a stainless steel water bottle that she takes everywhere and uses a reusable snack pouch from BlueAvocado every chance she gets (even when chilling at home). 🙂
My kiddies would use the glass water bottle most!
What a great and timely giveaway! Even though we homeschool we are always out and about with our meals/snacks due to food sensitivities in the family. I love the bag and the rounds if I had to pick but EVERYTHING looks awesome! Katie did a great job picking!
We would use all of these items! First year in school for my little one, it will be interesting. We are still on the gaps diet so I will be packing lunches all the time. No school food for us!
I don’t have kids yet, but I feel passionately about real food, and health and nutrition for kids, especially seeing all the junk my high school students eat every day! (And, for that matter, all the junk some of the adults in my life consume every day!) It’s SO important to instill the knowledge and responsibility for eating healthy early on- and I plan to teach my own children how to cook and what to eat early on- I never thought about the importance of them packing their own lunches quite the way you looked at it! Thank you for this awesome post!
Thanks for hosting this giveaway!
I hope I win, I could really use the reusable baggies!
The lunch giveaway all looks great, but I think we will enjoy the thermos the most. Warm food is always the best.
We’d could use all items, but the Double Decker Lunchbag is adorable! Thanks for the giveaway op!
My daughter would love the bento box.. But the whole family would love them all..
I love the glass water bottle. I know me and my kids drink more water if it is in a cute cup or bottle.
Everything, especially the Thermos. Always looking for a way to give my grandson something warm and nourishing in the winter!
LOVE the glass water bottle…
I agree, teaching kids to PTO meals & snacks is a wonderful learning experience (with benefits for all!) The rounds & snack bags would win out – we love our hummus/dips & dippers.
I love everything in this set! I just gave birth to my little girl 2 weeks ago. My husband is Japanese and I love the culture, art, and fun that goes into making bento lunches. I can’t wait to make them with my daughter when she is old enough. I know we would get a lot of use out of everything in the set!
For our family it would be a tie. My daughter would use the 4oz leakproof containers for hummus and other protein rich dip-ables. My son would be ALL OVER the bamboo utensils with the chopsticks. He loves to use chopsticks at every opportunity, and having them in his lunch box would mean he could use them everyday!
We’d use it all, but the bento box would be the biggest hit!
I would love everything in this set! I would really like to be able to be more healthy with the containers I use to pack my lunch (I’m a teacher and pack every day) but they are sooo expensive (in general)! This set would be an amazing blessing.
If we had to pick just one thing….Hmmmmm, We would definitely use the snack bags a lot.
Also, just a suggestion (and not really sure how it populated the schools) but there should be a “homeschool” option on that pull down menu. As homeschoolers we still use a lot of portable lunch items almost every day when we go to the park, meet with friends for playdates and outings/”field trips” since we don’t eat “outside foods”. What a great selection of goodies.
Thanks for this wonderful give away.
With three boys 6 and under that like to “wrestle”… I think we’d be using the Ice pack the most!!! LOL! Love this giveaway and would love to use everything for our community CC day this year for sure! =-) Thanks Heather and Katie! Y’all are awesome!
My kids are on GAPS, so they would use mostly the thermos!!! Thank you 🙂
sandwich bags for sure!
My 1st grader daughter has a “different” diet (by our choice-limited dairy, wheat) and as such we have discovered via her first time in a “less supervised” environment (day camp) that there is much temptation to each other choices than what’s in the lunch box. I LOVE the five reasons as I have had to find out one or two the hard way and pondered the others with uncertainty (“is she old enough for such responsibility?”).
We’re also discovering the hard way the challenges of keeping food appealing (proper form and temps) to increase chances of consumption (e.g., soggy sandwiches and warm carrot sticks). I was considering purchase of a Packit and happy to see that there are other alternatives.
EVERYTHING! With three kiddos our plastic ware bento boxes and reusable items get used quite often which leads to early retirement of the pieces so with school coming we need more!
First, love the comments! Second…love your blog! Third… mightynest.com is my favorite! I do not buy much, but I do order some from there, and I direct people to the site when gift shopping for my family. I especially liked the hand written note when I placed my order! My kids stay home with me, but this set would get used, often! If it is as nice as you say, it would make us buy more! I have metal bentos and of course, they leak! Real food travel containers, that don’t leak, that are not made from plastic…hard to find!
Awesome give away! Thanks Heather for all of your knowledge.
The reusable bags would definitely get used a lot around here. Both my kids take a snack everyday and I try to use reusable containers instead of those throwaway zip snack bags. And you can never have too many reusables for the kids!
My kids would love the bento box! The thermos would be great as well so they could have their favorite warm soups.
The whole set would be useful. I teach and there is a 13 and 14 year old living in my house that seems to believe food is for their consumption only…they’re like vacuums at that age..lol
I take my lunch with me to work or just for a day of errands, hiking, etc. These are great products for anyone – not just kids! Of course if I win I will happily share these with my young friends who can use them for school lunches 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!
My daughter would love the thermos filled with delicious heated leftovers.
I love the glass water bottle! And the Bento Box looks awesome, too. Really all of it looks perfect.
The leak proof rounds as my kiddo loves veggies and ranch 🙂
The bento box would be so useful
This looks amazing!!! My kids love to cook. Saves so much mental effort for me:) Your daughter is lovely by the way! What a rockstar helper.
My son would like the glass water bottle best because he would like the bubbly, polka dot texture of the cover. Thank you for this opportunity!
My daughter would love the leak proof rounds! She loves to eat carrots with ranch dressing, and they would hold the dressing perfectly! The lunch box is so colorful and fun! And know she’d love that too!
Those little leakproof rounds will be great for my son’s hummus, guac, hot sauce and ketchup. No more plastic!!!!!!!
Definitely the bento box, so relieved that there are options nowadays to pack food so they dont ‘touch’. (And relieved my daughter’s not the only one out there who’s ‘touchy’!) Love your blog, keep up the great work!
I think my daughter would use the leak proof rounds and the glass drink container the most. I am sending her to school this year, after homeschooling her and am trying to plan for healthy eating. This would be great!
Bento Box for sure – we can’t have food touching!
But also the double decker – esp. if it really keeps food warm!
Oh that super cool double-decker lunch bag! There will be “fights” over who uses that! Thanks you guys for picking out such terrific things! Katie, you are off to a fantastic start and I love the photo of you with all of the gear! Heather, you are so inspiring!!!! Keep up the fantastic blog!
The insulated hot pot would be great for my son, John. Even in the summer in Fort Worth, TX, I make soup almost every day. We are returning to early stages of GAPS after a tummy virus that hit the whole family. This is a great giveaway! At 4, John is a really good champion of what he can eat and what he can’t. He loves having cantaloupe for snack at church nursery instead of pretzels. Your website really helps me make food for him that he loves.
We’ve been wanting a Bento box! Both my sons are in preschool this year and the older one usually asks for carrots and cauliflower with his lunch or dinner meals! He also loves the sesame kale salad that I make! He tries everything and likes most things that he tries! 🙂 They both drink a lot of water throughout the day by choice which is great! Thanks for the giveaway!
My kids could use so many of the items included in the giveaway! But the one they need the most is the insulated thermos for hot lunches from home. They pack their lunch every day and it would be sooo great to pack a hot lunch a couple times a week!
My family would get the most use out of the leakproof bento box. And with three boys they would each need their own.
Definitely would use the reusable bag the most.
My son starts Kindergarten in 3 weeks so truthfully, we would use all of the gear. Our family switched to a healthier eating lifestyle one year ago, so I planned on sending healthy lunches with him instead of having him eat the less healthy processed food at school. This wonderful lunch gear would greatly help in that regard. No matter what you decided to pack, there would be a container to put it in. Love the selections 😉
My daughter would love packing her lunch in the double decker lunch box! Thank you for the chance to win!
I love the idea of a stainless thermos. My mom used to pack tomato soup in my lunches, but I think it was a cheapo plastic thermos. I hope my little boy will love soup as much as me!
Thanks! our brand new 6 year old has been asking to do all kinds of sharp knife kitchen work. I finally let her last week with supervision and she is GREAT at it!!! 1st grade starts on Thu! She cant wait to pack her first lunch 🙂
thanks for the push to do it 🙂
Besides the whole giveaway, we’d love the reusable lunchbags.
My daughter will love the Bento box, as she likes a variety of foods for lunch. this way she will not have to open 3 different containers.’
I’d love to try out the bamboo utensils.
A good thermos. Because we need soup days in North Dakota!
I’ve been looking for a perfect set for my daughter and my boys… My daughter (the Vegan) finds it difficult to pack her lunch everyday… This would be perfect for her…. My Son the picky HS eater… will probably convert in packing his lunch after seeing this nifty set… and my baby the 1st. grader took the initiative to pack his lunch… we’ve been talking a lot about how we could improve our nutrition by making changes.. School lunches are sometimes the only one good meal a child gets during the day… but we need to change the meals we provide for our kids.. Consider the health of Children as well… It can’t be that much more expensive to make a change in school lunches…… Can it??
I think my daughter would love the thermos. She loves hot soup in her lunch on a cold winter day and the one she had last year broke by the end of the year and as it got warmer out I forgot to replace it.
My little girl is 3 years old and just started daycare where she needs to bring a lunch every day. Bento box style lunches works for her eating habits.
We try to reduce our trash so we pack for pretty much every car ride. And my daughter is allergic to basically anything artificial which has turned our lives upside down, in a good way! It has been a journey well worth it. So again, we do a lot of packing! Prep. is key for clean green eating. Tall insulated food jars/thermos would be great to keep those cold foods cold in this hot Fl heat! Thank you for doing what you do!
I love the easy small containers and the fact that they are leak proof. The mighty nest lunch gear seems amazing. Especially the adorable bento box. I hope we can win some my daughter is starting school for the first time and we won’t have any containers like this. My husband was out of work & he just found a temporary job so money is pretty tight. Happily we don’t have to pay for school but we do have to pack and eat lunches because going out is not an option. Thanks. 🙂 Stela Rose & mommy too 🙂
The lunch bag. She takes her lunch everyday. Doesn’t like the cafeteria food. 🙂
Really want to try the bento box, and the leak proof containers would be a huge bonus
The water bottle would get the most use. We take water with us everywhere! Secondly the reusable snack bags, my “baby” is entering Kindergarten and will have to have snacks every day. My eldest is entering middle school she will probably confiscate the bento box and bamboo utensils.
I personally love the utensils, but I’m guessing the water bottle would be fought over among my kids.
Two first-second grader kids who need bento boxes and a toddler who needs everything (now that she’ll be in daycare some hours a week!)
My three year old son loves deciding which healthy foods he will eat for the day. He will be starting school very soon so he is needing all lunch supplies but the reusable snack bags sound great!
My son would love the thermos and the fact that it is leak free. I would love the bento box; but i guess this is not about me. 🙂
My son is just starting school next month and I am eagerly trying to get everything he needs together. I would so so so love to get the lunch pack set and have entered to win. We don’t use plastic anything in our house so I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to pack a lunch without using plastic baggies and such! <3
oh how fun! I have two going to school this year, we’ve been working on packing their own lunches but I love the idea of teaching them to make their own lunches! I know they enjoy their lunch more when it’s packed into fun tins and lunch boxes :o)
She would use the ice pack! She is obessed with icepacks! LOL
The best part of your blog for me is when you said that kids tend to eat more if they will pack their own lunch because they’ll eat their own choices. My son seems to not satisfied with the lunch meals that I’m packing for him because he eats too little. Since I’m interested in buying collectible lunch boxes for him, I’ll make sure to consider letting him prepare his lunch box.