I was very skeptical when I first heard about EasyLunchBoxes, a multi-compartment container that claims to save time, help the environment, and make you eat healthier. Ya, right.
Buuuuuut, EasyLunchBox creator Kelly Lester has some good points:
- her box, above, is easier than packing a brown bag lunch
- her box eliminates the need for plastic and paper bags
- lidded compartments expand your lunch options, creating more opportunities for healthy food
So I asked Kelly to send me a sample so I could check it out for myself. What I received was a plastic container similar to anything you can get at the grocery store. But it has three compartments and one lid. So all your food is together, but separate. With compartments instead of bags, you have more lunch options. Who ever tried putting hummus in a plastic baggie? The container is easy to wash and packing is quick.
A 4-pack of the containers goes for $14 on EasyLunchBoxes and an insulated carrying case is another $8. I’m giving away a free container set and carrying case to a reader who shares a tasty, healthy lunch perfect for the EasyLunchBox.
Here’s mine to get you started:
Cheese and lettuce sandwich
Hummus
Carrot sticks
Simple and delicious! Leave your suggestion as a comment!
January 28th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
egg salad sandwich, peaches, and fat free cottage cheese!
January 28th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I’d put a yummy salad with grapes and baby carrots in the bigger container and 4 oz of chicken in one of the smaller containers. And salad dressing in the other.
Or I’d put some turkey and cheese roll ups in the bigger container, grapes in a small one and some pretzels in the other. That sounds good too.
You’re making me hungry!
January 28th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
First off….. this lunchbox is a HOT item! What a wonderful idea!! OK.. what would I put in it!?
Bigger container: Spring Mix Salad, with some lowfat feta cheese sprinkled on top
1 side container: Raw Trail mix which includes walnut, golden raisins, pastachios.
2nd side container: Lite Annie’s Naturals Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing.
This simple and light salad is very tasty. You could throw an apple in your purse and chop that up and add it as well…. very yummy! Enjoy!
Jen Marrs
January 28th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
I think I’d put a pita with lettuce, tomato, feta cheese and chicken in the bigger compartment, ranch in the smallest compartment, and some yellow rice to finish it up.
Yum!
January 28th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Wow… so many choices! What my children would eat:
2 leftover taco wraps in the large section, with fruit salad and jello in the two smaller side sections (great thing about these packable lunch boxes: you could make your OWN jello the night before IN the lunchbox, thus not buying the individual snack portions of jello and saving more waste destined for landfills!)
January 28th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Mini bagel with cream cheese in the small container. green salad with red peppers and avocado in the large compartment and strawberries in the othe small container.
January 28th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
First, I’d start off with 2 slices of Panera’s whole wheat bread slathered with dijon mustard. Then I’d add to it some Hormel turkey slices with arugula and sweet Roma tomatoes. Now, you have a healthy, wholesome sandwach. In one other comtainer I’d put a lovely Greek salad with kalamata olives and rich, fresh feta cheese with a light dressing. In the last container I’d put in Mott’s County Style applesauce with a dash of fresh cinnamon on top. I’d snap on the top and be off and running anticipating my healthy and wholesome lunch. YUMMY!
January 28th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
large salad with tuna or beans to add protein. low salt pretzels. snap peas.
whole grain rice mixed with salsa, corn, and black beans. carrot slices. whole walnuts or almonds.
veggie wraps. salad. yougurt and granola.
there are just sooooo many options with this.
January 28th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
There are so many yummy lunch possibillities!
Deli meat and cheese roll ups in the large container
Apple sauce and grape tomatoes in the smaller ones.
Pasta in the large one, salad and dressing in the small ones.
Tuna or Chicken salad in the large one, low fat crackers and sliced fruit in the small ones.
Your favorite sandwich in large one, salad-cottage cheese-apple sauce in one small one, fruit-yogurt-pudding-pretezel and chips, veggies in the other one.
I could go on, but I now must go eat! What a wonderful product she has designed as the portions are controlled, no more waisting baggies. It’s all in one package, organized and easy! Love it!
January 28th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
A nice Chicken salad in the large one… some apples to fill one of the small ones, and of course, peanut butter for apple dipping!
January 28th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
How about freezing ice directly in one of the smaller compartments overnight? Then, when you add the rest of your meal in the morning, you can feel confident that it will stay cold until you eat it later in the day. Great for people who are ‘on the go’ and don’t have a fridge handy in the morning.
January 28th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
This is a great idea for kids’ lunches, too! For my kiddos, I would pack turkey wrap pinwheels, celery & carrot sticks, and yogurt topped w/strawberries. No more fumbling with baggies, and only one container to keep track of…love it!
January 28th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Ohhh, like this for my kids!!
I would probably pack a ham and cheese sandwich with grapes, and carrot sticks.
January 28th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Deli turkey breast meat, on wheat bread, with lettuce and tomatoes in the large section.A small side salad in one of the side compartments and sliced apples with peanut butter in the other section.
January 28th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
I think I may be pointing out the obvious (or maybe not), but this is similar to the bento box concept. There’s a whole bento box culture that I wasn’t aware of until I recently started researching it. There are blogs with bento ideas and part of the fun is to make the contents cute by using cookie cutters to cut out veggie shapes, silicone cupcake molds to hold small food items etc. As a start, check this website out: http://lunchinabox.net/
January 28th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Wow! These are great. I hate bagging up every little tid bit of my lunch. This container is really great for a grilled chicken salad. The nice little side compartments are perfect for storing your salad dressing so that you can dip your fork in the salad dressing (ala “Biggest Loser style”) so as to not eat more dressing than needed. I would keep my grilled chicken breast separate from the salad unitl lunch time. That way the breast dont get soggy. Awsome!
January 28th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
I used something like this microwaving leftovers for my teenage son–20 years ago! Is this microwavable? Dishwasher safe?
January 28th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
PB&J sandwich in the large area, apple slices and carrot stick in the smaller sections.
January 28th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Chicken breast
brown rice
steamed veggies
January 28th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
I would put almonds in one of the small sections, strawberries and blueberries in the other small section, and then turkey breast roll-ups in the larger section (turkey breast, small amount of low-fat cream cheest)
January 28th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
In the large container, I would put in a mixed greens salad and add baby spinach, bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes. Diced grilled chicken (to put on the salad) would go in one of the small containers. And then a piece of fruit (kiwi, apple, pineapple, etc. ) would go in the other small container.
January 28th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Oh I like this idea and would love to Win one!
Large section: Steamed Asparagus Spears with ½ tbsp low fat cream cheese wrapped in 1 slice of lean ham. Cut in half on the diagonal so they look yummy in the contain too! (3 whole spears)
Small section 1: Steamed Artichoke hearts sprinkled with Lemon Pepper. (I don’t do mayo)
Small section 2: Semi-Frozen Seedless Grapes. Red and Green. Freeze them the night before, add them to your lunch box in the morning, keep refrigerated and they’ll be perfect for lunch!
Or another favorite:
Large section: CRAMMED full of spring mix greens, carrots, celery, cucumber, tomato and whatever other veggies I’d like that day.
Small section 1: Lean ground turkey cooked with McCormicks Buffalo Wings seasoning packet. (or chicken prepared with Frank’s Hot Wing Sauce and shredded) and some low fat cheddar cheese.
Small section 2: Ranch dressing (which I don’t do) so I would put Santa Barbara hot sauce in there!
January 28th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Cucumber sandwich (cucumber slices, hummus, onions, red bell peppers and lettuce in a whole wheat pita) in the big section, almonds in one of the small sections, and dried cranberries in the other small one
January 28th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Geez, the possibilites are endless. Here’s what I would go for:
Turkey and cheese on whole wheat bread in the big section, low fat cottage cheese in another, and some sort of cut up fruit (top choices: strawberries or watermelon) in the third. Delish!
January 28th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Turkey sandwich with low fat mayo (I can’t go without!) and mustard, tomato and lettuce. Then grapes on the side, with another side of cottage cheese.
January 28th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
I’d make what I call a “BLAST”, Bread – (7-grain whole wheat), Lettuce, Avocado, Sprouts and Turkey. In the small sections, baby carrots with small celery sticks and whole raw almonds! Yum, yum!
January 28th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
Oops, I forgot to comment on what I would put in my lunchbox!!
Big compartment: Rice on a bed of lettuce, with soy-glazed salmon sprinkled with some seaweed on top
Small compartment 1: steamed broccolli, cauliflower, carrots and green beans seasoned with salt and pepper
Small compartment 2: Slices of cara cara oranges and strawberries
Yumm now I’m hungry!
January 28th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Big Compartment: Pita bread sandwich with vegetables and sliced turkey breast
Small Compartment #1: tabbouleh
Small Compartment #2: baked banana chips
Sounds good to me!
- Lindsey
January 28th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Clever idea! I think I would put in curry chicken salad with sliced grapes & almond slivers in the large compartment. In the 1st small compartment, I would put some fat free chocolate pudding -as someone else said, it can be made by me instead of paying for individual serving size). In 2nd small compartment, I would put pretzels or cutie tangerines.
January 28th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
I’m just not sure how this is different than just using tupperware or other reusable items most of us already have?
January 28th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
RED PEPPERS, CARROTS AND CELERY
HUMAS or ALMOND BUTTER (goes with all of the above)
TUNA OR SALMON SALAD OR TURKEY SAND.
I’ve brought my lunch to work EVERY day for the last couple of years as we’ve started living on one paycheck. The savings is incredible! I also got tired of spending money on baggies; first I reused them and then switched to “tupperware” type containers. It’s better on every level.
My other suggestion is
Cucumbers
avocado, cheese and tomato sandwich
pita chips / pretzels/ almonds. Going veggie also helps the pocketbook. Thanks for the blog Julia – I’ve learned alot!
January 28th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
This would be GREAT for my two little boys! PB&J, cut into square without the crust. Yogurt, and carrot sticks.
Thanks!
January 28th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
I would make a wrap from a La Tortilla Factory Whole Wheat tortilla, spread with low fat cream cheese. I would add fresh basil leaves, sliced tomatoe and some romaine lettuce. I would put red grapes in one small compartment and low fat pringles in the other compartment.
January 28th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Whole wheat peanut butter sandwich with low-sugar organic jelly…grapes and a side of yogurt.
January 28th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
Love it! I would choose a grilled chicken sandwich w/a side of sliced apples and 2 reduced fat choc chip cookies.
January 28th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Let me have it and I will promise to eat healthily
January 28th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
I’d probably do salad mix, chopped cheese or turkey, and chopped tomatoes. Or, for a kid, sandwich, sliced veggies, and ranch dip.
January 28th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Put some almond butter in a small section, carrots/celery/jicama/sliced peppers in the larger section and whatever fruits are best at the local farmer’s market that week in the other section. Dip the veggies in the almond butter and eat healthy! Include a refillable water bottle.
January 28th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
I would pack a sanwhich with the new round whole wheat flat bread (only 100 calories) , spring mix, sliced grape tomatoes, turkey, and cheese. Low fat and low cal and very yummy. Apples slices and almonds would complete my lunch. Thanks
January 28th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
My son would love the following in his box:
applesauce in the small compartment (those single serve applesauces can add up to a fortune quickly),
baby carrots in the other small compartment (yes, my little one loves baby carrots, even raw)
In the large compartment, a quesadilla made from Nopaltilla tortillas de Nopal (the healthy green all natural cactus tortilla) with 3 grams of fiber & only 100 calories for 2 tortillas, mozzarella cheese and fresh spinach and zucchini.
Nice to have everything in one container, so it lessens the chance of those small containers getting lost. Also nice to not have to buy a ton of baggies.
Great for the environment, Great for Moms & Yum!!
January 29th, 2010 at 5:12 am
In the large compartment, I would pack an egg-less salad sandwich on homemade sourdough bread with red leaf lettuce.
In one small compartment I would have black bean, mango, and avocado salad. In the other I would have dried strawberries.
January 29th, 2010 at 6:15 am
This would be ideal for lunch. Of course it should be healthy but not always is. My lunch would be a turkey on whole wheat sandwich with my homemade applesauce and sweet pickles slices ……… yummy
January 29th, 2010 at 10:23 am
These look exactly the same as the grocery store ones that cost half that, maybe even greater discount, for a multi-pack. And they work great!
January 29th, 2010 at 11:18 am
i’d put a few pretzels in one small section, some trail mix in the other, and a turkey and swiss on rye in the big one.
yum!
January 29th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
whole wheat bagel topped with hummus, sprouts, tomatoes, cucumbers and any other vegetables you’d like.
small snackmm pickles for the crunch factor
watermelon cut into pieces for the freshness and juice
January 29th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Absolutely love it! Reminds me of a “bento box”.
The big container would be great for a quinoa salad with veggies. I’d put some almonds in one of the smaller containers and some fruit (pomegranate seeds? mmm) in the other small one.
Ahh hungry now!!
January 29th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
A cucumber & low fat cheese sammich on a lightly buttered whole wheat bagel, fresh fruit salad (whatever’s in the house) & something dark chocolate (hey, a girl’s got to live a little!).
January 29th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
I would probably make this for my fiance – brown rice, mixed vegetables or asian stir-fried vegetables, and grilled chicken strips. Also a small piece of dark chocolate on the side
January 30th, 2010 at 12:51 am
My daughter is so difficult with her lunches and this might be the answer. I would pack some shelled edamame and baby carrots in the small compartment, then cut apples and a few slices of nectarines in the medium compartment. Then 2 slices of turkey rolled up or slices of pepperoni and a roll or 1/2 croissant. She does not like a sandwich, but will eat the bread and sometimes the meat!
February 1st, 2010 at 9:43 am
Leftover Turkey Breast in the big spot, homemade real cranberries, and raw carrots!
February 28th, 2010 at 1:02 am
Whats up! Great concept, but could this actually perform?