Why is it so important to keep lunches cool?
Keeping your child’s food safe is very important, particularly if you have packed meat into your kids lunch bag. The NSW Government’s Food Authority has conducted a study into lunch box safety and found significant benefits for keeping lunches cool.
What is the best cooler bag for kids?
Kids are required to take their morning snack and lunch to kinder and primary school, so consideration on how to keep their lunch boxes cold all day and adhering to nude food school policies can be difficult.
As a mum of two, we have put together what we believe is the winning combination of both a lightweight and cool’ kids lunch bag! One of the considerations in the design process were that kids are going to have to carry these items around in their bags and therefore wouldn’t want a 1kg ice-brick also in their bag. If it’s too heavy, they won’t want to carry their backpack. Another consideration is to have an area for your kids to put dirty cutlery after the have had their lunch. We have designed our cooler bag so that it has a separate zippered compartment on the front!
Lastly, our bento cooler bag is easy to clean, which saves you time after a long day.
How to keep your kids lunch cooler?
To keep your child’s lunch cooler for longer, you can take some simple steps to reach maximum freshness for that 12-1pm lunch rush.
- Try keeping the bento lunch box in the fridge the night before. I don’t always get around to making lunches the night before, but this doesn’t mean you can’t store the lunch box and the bento cooler bag in the fridge overnight - I highly recommend it. By doing this, it reduces the need for your child to have to carry around a heavy ice pack in their school bag. Some other things I do is keep the fruit in the fridge the night before that will be placed in the lunch box the next day as I find it time saving and a much-needed reminder as to what I planned to pack the night before, the fact it’s all in front of me when I open the fridge door is super handy for the morning rush.
- We have some super cool and lightweight ice/cold pack you can check out. They have a picture of Antarctica on the back to raise conversation about global warming and the continents of the world. They make awesome gifts too!
Storing Meats and high-risk foods in children’s lunch boxes
Further to the NSW Government’s Food Agency study, when considering adding items such as lean meats and poultry, fish or eggs to your kid’s lunch box, educate your children around the fact they should eat this first. This is not only for good eating habits, i.e. “savoury before sweet” but also for awareness around what will perish soon. When I finish making my daughters lunch in the morning (or night before) I show her what’s in there and explain to eat the “chicken schnitzel” or meat food first and why its important. They love the feeling of being made responsible to do the right thing.
