The Perfect Lunch Box

© shoutingforha

My boy has always been a good eater. In fact, there are very few things that he won't try. I realize that this is not typical of most kids, and as a result, I am incredibly thankful. The food battle is one that I don't have to fight.

The only time we have ever had a problem is when it comes to school lunch. My boy has no desire to eat any of the food that is prepared in the school cafeteria. To be quite honest, I don't blame him. While the school menu has improved, the children are still eating the same institutional food that has been served for years.

I recently stumbled across this article which claims that in Tennessee, the quality of prison grub far surpasses that of the average public school. Another great article, Congress: Bringing Kids Gross Lunches Since 1973, further reinforces my anti-school-lunch bias.

Needless to say, I pack my boy's lunch almost every day.

Despite my boy's hearty appetite, I have still had an extremely hard time getting the child to eat his lunch. Part of the problem is a result of his desperate need to talk. I completely understand how it might be difficult to babble at 100 mph while simultaneously trying to chew a bite of food.

When the boy does stop talking long enough to take a nibble, he has a hard time sorting through the multiple baggies and containers that fit in the typical lunch box. It's a problem. As a result, my normally happy tired was coming home grouchy and hungry.

© shoutingforha

No matter what I tried, I couldn't get my boy to eat his lunch. Well, all that changed the day I stumbled across this recipe (the granola bars are delicious) on Another Lunch. As I poked around the blog, I noticed a link to PlanetBox. I knew immediately that this was the answer I had been looking for.

© shoutingforha

My boy got to try out his lunchbox for the first time this week. The verdict... he loves it. The multiple compartments allow him to take a variety of foods without having to mess with multiple bags. He simply flips open the lid and his entire meal is right at his fingertips. He also loves the ability to eat a wide variety of foods all in one sitting.

© shoutingforha

On the menu for today... A toasted onion bagel with cream cheese, capers and smoked salmon, a pepper turkey and cobly jack cheese roll-up (held together with a nifty sword toothpick), red grapes on skewers, yogurt covered raisins, a few mini chocolate chips, a mini brownie bite, and sunflower seeds (the boy is obsessed) in the little silver container.

As far as the boy is concerned, variety is the spice of life.

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*** The opinions expressed are my own.  The fine folks at Planet Box have no clue I exist. I purchased the lunchbox with my own hard-earned cash and have not been compensated in any way for my review.