Over Christmas, my brother asked me if I has some gift ideas for the kids. Straight away the idea of a ‘Lunch bag’ came to mind. Something practical, useful and far from being another toy under the Christmas tree.
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And so it begins…
Come Christmas day and my brother presented me with the gifts of two colourful lunch bags, ones that any kid would love to have. Pretty cuffed that I was wayyyy ahead of schedule for organising all things needed for school, it dawned on me (and when I say dawned on me, I mean one of those wake up at 2am thinking about it mum moments) that there’s no way that my kid will be able to open up zip lock packs of food that I throw into their lunch boxes. Im pretty sure the teacher won’t be impressed opening up 10 zip lock bags everyday either. So I made it my mission to find a lunch box.
A quick look online the next day I was inundated with a variety of different types of lunch boxes available for purchase. Some too large, some too small, others with complicated latches and others with hardly any space to store food at all. In other words, not ‘kid friendly’ to say the least.
Bento Box! Where have you been my whole life?
Doing another quick search I came across the idea of a ‘Bento Box‘. The great things about a bento box is that I noticed immediately that it had different sections or portions to store food separately. Something fun for kids and convenient for parents.
The idea of a modern bento box is inspired by 5th Century Japanese lunch boxes traditionally used to store foods such as noodles, fish, rice, meat and pickled or cooked vegetables. These bento boxes can be reused and are compact enough to carry and fill with lots of delicious food.
I came across one bento box in particular that I knew straight away was the perfect bento box with everything I was searching for. The Sistema 1.65L Bento Lunch TO GO lunchbox. Firstly, I recognised the brand, a very reputable and well known brand in Australia. A brand I have purchased many times and still do. I put in an order and not long after it arrived on my doorstep. I have to say, I was vastly impressed when It arrived.
To make it easier, I am going to review the The Sistema 1.65L Bento Lunch TO GO lunchbox that I received and give details of what I find so great about this specific bento box.
The Sistema 1.65L Bento Lunch TO GO lunchbox
The features I think are exceptional with this lunch box is that it especially takes in consideration little hands. It also has a lot of options for parents to place and separate food for kids. I like that it has a fun functionality by including removable compartments which eliminates the use of ziplock plastics which makes it environmental friendly too!
For such a compact lunchbox, this bento box holds heaps of storage, on each removable compartment and underneath it. It also includes a handy 150mL yoghurt pot which as suggested holds liquidy foods like yoghurt or you could even put foods that may have juices (such as cut up tomatoes or oranges).
To open and close this bento box is extremely easy especially for children. It has one easy locking clip secure yet simple to open and the comes with a range of funky colours. Each of which the compartments and clips match beautifully. The bento box is clear from all sides so it is easy for children to see what foods are in the box.
When it comes to cleaning, it is very easy to wash, with every section being dishwasher safe. It is also compatible to be used in the fridge and freezer with ease. And something most parents check for when purchasing products for kids is ensuring its safety for children, the bento box is entirely BPA free.
The best points – To Summarise
To sum all these points up, here are some of my favourite things about the The Sistema 1.65L Bento Lunch TO GO lunchbox,
- Compact yet fits a lot of different types of foods
- Is stackable and fits very well in a lunch bag or school bag and good for storage
- It is environmentally conscience as the use of compartments eliminate the use of once-used plastics such as ziplock plastic bags
- Easy to function and use especially for little children
Clearly holds a lot of food! - Comes in many different colours, guaranteed to find your child’s favourite colour
- Has easy to remove compartments with little lips on the sides to help with taking the sections out
- Is clear so it is easy for your child to see what foods are in which compartment
- Foods can be placed on the compartments and below them
- Comes with a yoghurt pot to store liquids or fruits/nuts. Large, easy to turn lid thats quite secure
- Yoghurt pot is removable so you can use the space it is placed in for other foods if you don’t need the yoghurt pot
Holds a variety of different types of food with ease - Easy to open and close with convenient clip for your child to easily open and close. Holds in place strongly
- It is BPA free and freezer, fridge and dishwasher safe
- Made by Sistema, a reputable and well known brand
- Comes in a handy 1.25mL, 1.65mL and a larger 1.76mL for older kids (or very hungry little ones!)
- You can personalise the bento box by putting your child’s name and class on the lid (you can use a Cricut machine to do this or order labels online)
If you have a cutting machine, you can use it to cut out labels to easily place on the lid of the bento box
Some handy tips for children using a bento box for the first time
Most little ones will be either super excited to start school or super nervous or even a mixture of both! All in which is perfectly normal. One thing I found very beneficial for children during these milestones in their lives is to help ease the process by making it a little easier for them.
The best thing to do is to allow your child to practice through role play. This will allow your child to start to gain confidence with routines around school and activities, feel prepared around doing the activities and associate positive and fun feelings towards those processes.
Below I have listed some of these processes to help your child familiarise themselves around lunch times (each school may do this differently, so feel free to change it up according to what your school does). Let your child help you while setting up this activity.
- Grab your child’s school bag and pack their lunchbox/bento box and water bottle in it.
- Get your child to carry their backpack to a bench and unpack their lunchbox/bento box and bottle on it.
- Have your child collect their lunchbox/bento box and water bottle from the bench and place it on a table/dining table (where they are going to eat)
- Show your child how to open their lunch bag and bento box (including how to open the latch and take out the compartments and open the yoghurt pot)
- Allow your child to practice opening the lunch bag and how to operate the bento box
- Show your child how to put away the compartments and how to close the bento box into their lunch bag.
- Get your child to then place their lunchbag away with their water bottle back into their school bag.
Fun and easy for little eaters
Remember, they are still learning and practice makes perfect! Give lots of feed back and positive reinforcement while they learn these new skills!
Where can I find the Sistema Bento Boxes?
In Australia, there are a variety of places you can purchase these, I’ve listed them below for your convenience,
- Big W
- Coles
- Foodworks*
- IGA*
- Nisbets*
- Spotlight*
- Target*
- Woolworths
- Amazon Australia
*I couldn’t currently find the product on these websites, but they could be available from these places in the future. Some of these sites I also couldn’t put the link for online shopping due to the product being sold in specific stores or areas.
If you are from outside of Australia, click here to see where they are available in your country.
Well there you have it! A comprehensive review of the The Sistema 1.65L Bento Lunch TO GO lunchbox! As well as some tips I hope you find very helpful for your child to use. I am very happy with this purchase and know it is the right and best choice for my child to use on their first day of school and throughout their schooling journey
Disclaimer: We are not paid or receive any incentives from the brand Sistema to write this article. This is all from our suggestions of products we use from experience and have found them positive in how children use and interact with them. All photos of food in the bento box are suggestions only. Always cut foods that are safe for your child to eat according to their age, maturity etc.
Remember to use products at your digression and base it on a child’s age and state to wether they are safe to use them.
To find out more about Sistema and their products, click here.
Have you used or your child used/currently use the Sistema bento box for school? What are your thoughts on it? What suggestions or foods do you find great to use in it? Let us know in the comments below!
Want to read more of our blogs? Check this one out – 25 First Day of Preschool Checklist Essentials: Your Comprehensive Guide of What to Pack
