What’s Hot in Food & Cooking – Lunch Boxes & Bags
As summer winds down our thoughts start to move toward getting the kiddos ready for back to school. That often includes preparing their lunches to-go on a daily basis. The days of brown paper bags and beat-up old lunch pails are long gone. Today our children and many of us take lunch to school or work in insulated containers that can be heated or remain cold and are lightweight and easy to carry and clean. Here are a few examples of what’s new in taking lunch to school or work.
Bento Boxes
Updated for today’s world, the traditional Japanese lunch box can be used for children as well as adults. Different models and styles are readily available online and in many stores. They consist of a container that can be divided into multiple compartments and often stacked to carry all of the components of a meal. They range in price from just a few dollars to well over fifty dollars. Here are two examples of bento boxes – one for children and one with a more mature style. There are even bento box sets that come with their own insulated carrying bag, making them that much more convenient.
Stackable Thermos Lunch Boxes
Similar to bento-style boxes these are thermal isolated stackable containers that will keep your food hot or cold. They generally come with a built-in handle or carrying strap and come in many styles and shapes.
Lunch Bags
There are also insulated lunch bags designed to carry foods in containers or simply wrapped items. They come in multiple sizes and price ranges as well. Some are designed specifically for children and others for more mature tastes. There are machine washable models and more traditional soft-sided cases.
Self Heating/Personal Crockpots
For people who don’t like cold lunches the days of depending on a thermos to keep your lunch hot are over. The market is saturated with personal sized crockpots, electric bento style boxes and compact rice steamers that can cook rice as well as steam an entree. Simply plug one of these into an outlet by your desk or in your workspace and by lunchtime enjoy a fresh, hot meal.
For more cool ideas and a lunch box themed subscription style box visit www.theoutoftowncook.com
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