Easy Lunchbox System Review and Giveaway

I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how thrilled I am with this lunchbox system!!

Before I go into the specifics of the Easy Lunchbox System though, I need to vent. 😀

I kid you not, I am overflowing with lunchboxes and containers! I have never found a “one size fits all” solution to packing the boys lunches for school. It’s hard enough to pack a regular lunch, but when you have to pack food for children with dietary restrictions, you are including not only lunch, but snacks too (and drinks). There have been times when I have had to send not one, but TWO separate lunchboxes for the boys, one for lunch and one for snacks and drinks! The lunchboxes are usually too small to hold several little containers, so I have to use baggies to make the food fit, which often leads to “smushed” sandwiches, broken chips, etc., plus you have to fit an ice pack in the lunchbox on top of it! Arrrggghhh!

Personally, I am not a huge fan of the Laptop Lunchbox system, I love the idea of it, but I have had issues with ours. There are too many pieces to keep up with and the containers are restrictive for what they can hold. It worked okay when Sam was in preschool with an itty-bitty appetite but he is a growing boy, with a growing appetite to boot. Plus, the Laptop Lunchbox and its containers were difficult for Sam and Luke to open on their own, I couldn’t fit one of our ice packs in it and you have to clip the beverage to the outside which doesn’t keep it cool and makes it awkward to carry. And they are expensive, at $37.99 for the Original System, which is what I have.

Earlier in the school year, I reviewed the Rachael Ray Meal Carrier. At the time, it was the best lunchbox I had found but that was before I started to make Sam the occasional GF Lunchable, which does not fit in the Rachael Ray Meal Carrier, so I had to use a different style of lunchbox to fit a GF Lunchable, and even then, I had to stick it in on its side so everything slid to the bottom. I still like the Rachael Ray Meal Carrier, but it has some limitations for me.

Packing the boys lunches had become an hour long process between making the food, searching for container pieces and finding the right size lunchbox to fit everything in! Not my idea of a good time! 😉 I won’t even mention what clutter does to my ADD mind.

A couple of weeks ago, I was searching the internet for a better solution and I happened upon the EasyLunchBoxes.com website. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Kelly sent me a complimentary lunchbox and a 4-pack of containers to test-drive and review on my blog. Let me just say this, as I am working on my “Spring Cleaning,” ALL of my former lunchboxes and their “pieces” are going to Goodwill! 😀

I am going to order 3 more lunchboxes (only $7.95 each) and one more set of containers ($13.95 for a set of 4 containers)!!

Kelly Lester is the BRILLIANT mom behind the Easy Lunchbox System (and my new hero!). Here is a little bit of information on Kelly:

KELLY LESTER is the owner, creator, and mom behind Easylunchboxes.com. During the last two decades she has been an entrepreneur, wife, and mother of three. She is also an actress and singer.

Easylunchboxes.com was born out of Kelly’s innate ability to do things efficiently while on a shoestring budget, and her desire to send her daughters to school with simple, healthy food, with little to no extra packaging or ingredients. Her past struggle with weight control inspires her to teach and model healthy eating habits for her children, and has fueled her dedication to always send them off to school with a great lunch. Kelly’s healthy lifestyle was recently featured on MOM TRENDS.

Kelly combined her self taught business-savvy with her natural inclination to think “what would other parents want?” — to develop the perfect lunchbox system. She is thrilled and proud to share her Easylunchboxes and lunch bags with other families who will benefit by their simple design, great price, and amazing functionality. Additionally, by promoting the waste-free lunch movement, EasyLunchboxes.com is helping the planet one lunch box at a time.

Kelly has been married to actor Loren Lester since 1988. They live in Woodland Hills, CA with their three daughters, Jenny, Lily, & Julia, and their dog, Albany.

For more on Kelly, click here.

There are currently 5 colors of lunchboxes to choose from. It would be cool to see pink or another “girly” color come available. 😉

4-pack of Containers.

In case you are wondering (like I did) if these are made of a similar material to the GladWare containers (that tend to warp), the answer is no. The Easy Lunchbox containers are of much higher quality, because they are a harder plastic (but no fear…they are BPA-free! See the FAQ section below for more info on the plastic used).

Note: If you order a set of these (or are the winner of this giveaway) be sure to unpack the containers carefully. They arrive stacked together and tightly packed. Be patient and separate them slowly so they don’t crack (like one of mine did). If I had taken the time to read the note in the package beforehand, I would have KNOWN that, but I was just like a child on Christmas morning when the box arrived! 🙂

Sam is starting to think these are “cooler” than the GF Lunchable! I think I smell a “mommy victory” in the air! 😉

A few FAQS on the Easy Lunchbox System:

What are the dimensions of the Lunch Container?
9.48 x 6.1 x 2

What are the dimensions of the Lunch Bag?
9 x 6.5 x 6.5” (the sides flex out a bit to hold the container securely and without wiggle room, ensuring that the container does not shake around in the bag, thereby keeping the food stabilized).

Are your products food safe?
We are very proud of our products’ safety ratings. We have ensured that all the materials used in our containers and bags are food and child safe and even pass strict FDA requirements! Easylunchbox products contain NO Lead, Vinyl, PVC, Phthalates, or Bisphenol A (BPA). Click HERE for more about our product safety info.

Are the containers safe to use in the microwave?
Our plastic containers are FDA-approved for microwave use. They are made with the highest grade polypropylene plastic (#5), a plastic that does not leach any BPA or Phthalates when heated or cooled. More info here.

Can I wash the containers in the dishwasher?
Absolutely! However, keep them away from the heating element.

For more FAQs, click here.

Check out this video:

The EasyLunchBoxes.com website has a great page called “Neat Ideas,” and I have gotten quite a few of them to use for Sam and Luke’s lunches.

Gallery of Yummy Lunches

Lunchmaking Hints and Tips

Links to Great Easy Lunch Recipe Ideas

Gallery of Creative Lunchbox Tags (there are some great ideas for lunchbox tags, which can be extremely useful for food allergy kids, see below).

We received the Easy Lunchbox System just as the boys went on Spring Break, so today is the first time Sam is actually taking it to school. Over the break though, they were very excited to eat every single meal out of them! Below are a few photos of different meal ideas, but first I want to point out the lunchbox tag feature.

This tag was issued by Sam’s school at the beginning of the year. I was inspired by the “Gallery of Lunchbox Tags,” so I am going to make some new tags for Sam. I will post pictures of those once I get them made. I love that this lunchbox has a ready-made hole for the tag, it has been tricky to clip this on some of the lunchboxes we have.

I am Bafoodled with all the room in this lunchbox!

Sam is at school from 8:30 – 4pm (including after school programs), then he has a 45 min. commute home so it is imperative that I send plenty of snacks in addition to lunch and drinks. I love that they all fit in this lunchbox, with room to spare!!

Over the break, I packed two meals (plus drinks and snacks) in one lunchbox, to send with the boys during a visit with Nana and Papa.

Sweet FREEDOM from my former Lunchbox Madness! 😀

The boys love to dip potato chips in Egg Salad, go figure!

We tried some Nutella over the break and Luke liked dipping his apples in it. My boys love the Boar’s Head Reduced-Sodium Turkey, but absolutely WILL NOT eat it as a sandwich, so I just do turkey rolls.

We went to see Walking With Dinosaurs over the break (VERY COOL show!!), so I made a quick and easy chicken nugget meal for the boys to eat in the car on the way.

This was for St. Patrick’s Day, the picks in the turkey rolls are cupcake picks that I re-purposed!

I made this Veggie Mac and Cheese using Tinkyada’s GF Vegetable Spirals that I buy on Amazon, and the White Cheddar Powder that I get from Frontier Co-op. I threw in some frozen mixed veggies (attempting to “hide” them among the colors of the pasta. They caught on to me, but ate it anyway). The hot dog is Applegate Farms Organic Grass-Fed Beef Hot Dog that I stuck on a chopstick. The boys also really like Glutino’s Pretzel Sticks stuck in a piece of cheese! BTW, have you heard about Glutino’s Chocolate and Yogurt-Covered Pretzels that are coming out soon?? YEA!! Sam used to love those Yogurt Covered Pretzel Flipz before going gluten-free. I am also working on making my own GF “Hostess” Cupcake but with a healthy twist (sneaking healthy stuff in the batter). The recipe is not ready yet, but hopefully soon!

Would you like a chance to “test-drive” the Easy LunchBox System?

For a chance to win a FREE Lunchbox (color of your choice) and Container Set, courtesy of EasyLunchBoxes.com:

Reply with a comment to this post about some of your favorite lunchbox ideas!

For a chance to earn multiple entries, do one (or all) of the following:

• 1 Bonus Entry: Tweet about this contest and be sure to include a link to this post and include @adventuresgfmom in your Tweet.

• 2 Bonus Entries: Sign Up to follow @EasyLunchboxes on Twitter

• 2 Bonus Entries: Become a Fan of EasyLunchBoxes on Facebook.

• 5 Bonus Entries: Blog about this giveaway in a blog post and include a link back to this post.

And one for some shameless self-promotion…

• 10 Bonus Entries: If you are the author of a blog and add me your Blogroll (please and thank-you) 😀

Send me an Email at heidikelly13@gmail.com after completing the tasks for any bonus entries you qualify for.

I will use a Random Number Generator to pick the winner on Monday, March 29, 2010.

Good Luck!!

This giveaway is offered to US & Canadian residents only.

EasyLunchBoxes.com reserves the right to disqualify a winner if they have won and received product from EasyLunchBoxes.com within the past 6 months.

I’ve had a few things come up, so I will be taking the week off from blogging to attend to some personal matters, but will be responding to comments and emails daily ! 🙂