Bento box school lunch kits are a fun route to healthy meals your kids will actually eat!
If you want all of our favorite school lunch recipes and most helpful tips in one handy printable e-book, go check out our Healthy Plant Based School Lunches book.
If these contemporary bento boxes were available when my kids were growing up, they would have made the process of packing lunches much more enjoyable.
As it was, I stood in the kitchen at 6:30 a.m. every school day for 14 years, packing adequate yet boring lunches for my kids. They grew up vegetarian until ages 10 and 12, then went vegan, and never wanted to buy lunch at school.
The ingenious bento box lunch kits that are so easy to come by these days inspires your picky child to enjoy his or her homemade lunches, and helps you, as the parent, enjoy making them!
Older kids and teens will eventually be make and pack their own lunches in these colorful kits. And lest you think, “oh, no, unhealthy plastic!” these containers are safe in every way, including being BPA-free.
One of the wonderful things about the company that helped launch the trend — Laptop Lunches (now Bentology) — is that it grew from the conversations of two new moms (that would be Amy and Tammy, back in 1995) - who shared an interest in nutrition, fitness and the environment.
From the Laptop Lunches site: “It has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school.”
Here are just a few sample bento box lunch ideas from their website, which I’ve linked with some recipes on VegKitchen. The possibilities are truly endless, and you’ll find tons of other ideas in Bentology's menu library (caution, these aren't all vegan, but the sample menus below are all plant-based).
Sliced Asian Pears and dip | Spicy Asian mix | Simple Sesame Soba Noodles | Steamed spinach
Butternut Squash and Apple Soup | Sliced kiwi fruit | Whole grain crackers and toasted almonds | Brown rice
Your favorite simple cole slaw | Sliced bananas | Vegan Macaroni and Cheese | Diced butternut squash
Classic Vegetarian Chili | Lightly steamed snow peas with dip | Whole-grain crackers | Seedless orange
If you love this concept, you can check out all of the Bentology bento box lunch boxes right here. They have great options for both kids and adults. Because who said the kids should have all the fun?
And here are a few more great resources for feeding vegan kids:
Amy Hemmert says
Thanks for all your support, Nava! Love all the great info you provide on your Web site!
ariannah says
great ideas love it my kids eat it everyday and today im making soba noodles for dinner
Beverly says
I LOVE bento boxes (the Japanese knew what they were doing)! All the menus shown look delicious--I can hardly wait to try them.
angela says
question...my husband and i have made the decision to become vegan along with our 4 year old son. i noticed in your article you stated that your children were vegetarians until 10 and the became vegan. Why didn't you have them start earlier? Should we reconsider having our son be a vegan at such a young age? I would love to hear back from you. Thank you!
Carol says
I need lunch ideas. Thanks