Back to School With Litter-Less Lunches + a Giveaway

Be sure to read to the end of the post for the chance to win with 4MyEarth.

The past few weeks Immy has been having a bit of fun with practice ‘lunchbox lunches’ in preparation for kindy. This exercise can be really useful for ;

  • Teaching children which foods are for recess or ‘little lunch’ and which are for lunchtime,
  • Providing plenty of opportunity for your child to practice opening (and packing away) the wraps, containers, drink bottles and packets you will send them to school with; and
  • Helping you to determine how much food to send for your child. Sending too much food can lead to unnecessary waste, and can frustrate a child who wants to go and play but has been told he/she must sit and finish her lunch first.  Wearing my teacher hat for a moment, I have always found that sending a child with multiple, small serves of familiar, easy-to-eat foods is best.

I have simply been pre-making Immy’s lunch with a range of different lunch food, fruit and/or snack choices each day and packing it into her insulated lunch bag with an ice brick.

And wonderful Childhood 101 sponsor, 4MyEarth, has made this process even easier for us with their fabulous range of reusable wraps and pockets that replace the need for plastic wrap or zip lock bags!

We have been trialling a Value Pack which includes two wraps (one sandwich sized and one snack sized) and two expandable pockets (one sandwich sized – which is also great for popcorn snacks –  and one snack sized). Made from a polyester fabric that is manufactured (and has been professionally tested) to ensure that there are no harmful substances present, the pockets and wraps are available in a range of printed designs. Both styles are easy to use with the velcro fastenings making them perfect for little hands, Immy has found them easy to open and the pockets easy to close. I have appreciated how easy they are to wash, giving them a quick hand wash after each use (though they are fully machine washable).

4MyEarth also stocks a range of lunch bags and sacks, stainless steel drink bottles and reuseable school book covers.

Childhood 101 readers (open internationally) have the chance to win one of two 4MyEarth Sandwich Wrap and Pocket Value Packs. Each pack includes one snack wrap, one sandwich wrap, one snack pocket and one sandwich pocket.

For your chance to win, visit 4MyEarth to check out the fun range of wrap and pocket print designs and then leave a comment on this post telling me you like most and what your child’s favourite packed lunch would include. Entries close 6pm AEDST, 26th January 2012. THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

The fine print:
1. The competition ends at 6pm AEDST, Thursday, January 26th, 2012.
2. To enter you must leave a comment on this blog post sharing favourite 4MyEarth print design and the contents of your child’s favourite packed lunch.
3. Entry is limited to one comment per household/IP address.
4. Please register a routinely checked email address in the email field of your entry.
5. The winners will be notified via email within 7 days of the competition closing.
6. Should the winner fail to make contact via return email within 72 hours of notification a new winner may be selected.
7. The winners’ contact details will be passed onto 4MyEarth and the prizes organised directly by them.
8. Entries remain the property of Childhood 101 and may be republished.

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82 Comments

  1. Love the cars pattern as I have a car loving girl and a baby boy in the house:). My daughter’s favorite packed lunch would include: a PB&J, popcorn, a clementine, and sugar snap peas.

  2. Well in truth my youngest child likes sausages the most! I don’t think that will be too healthy a lunch to pack for Kindy! Being part of a waste wise school these wraps mean your kids can always put their hand up and say they’re Waste free!

  3. I love the Words on Navy print. My son’s favorite lunch would include a turkey sandwich, veggie chips, cantaloupe, hard-boiled egg and chocolate!!

  4. Words on Navy is bright and colourful!! 🙂
    My daughters daily meals include: Grapes and Blueberries for fruit time then Ham, Cheese, Avacado & Tomato Sandwich for lunch and a Yummy Yoghurt Top Musili Bar for Arvie Tea!!! Yummo!! Theses Wraps look like a Fantastic Idea!! 🙂

  5. My favourite design is Birds in Blue.

    My children’s lunches include: chopped up cucumber, red capsicum, cherry tomatoes, avocado. Seaweed rice crackers with hummous or avocado for dipping. Chopped apple slices & cheese in cubes.

    We have a policy of Equal Opportunity Lunchboxes – where everything has an equal opportunity of being eaten. Treat foods are for at home or with my supervision.

  6. Jennifer Beavers says:

    My daughter would so love these she is into green!! The navey dots would be her fav. Here normal lunch is ham and cheese, veggie chips and strawberry apple sause.

  7. For my 2 boys I would go for the car design. Favourite lunches would include; salami, cucumber, cheese, strawberries and sandwiches shaped like dinosaurs.

  8. We’d most likely get the cars snack pack because that’s what my little guy is into right now. Our lunches are changing right now as we’re trying out gluten and dairy free eating. These would be perfect for the hubby’s sandwiches and the little guys snacks. Thanks for the chance!

  9. I love the cars pattern! It would be fun to try one of the wrap style bags. My daughter is just about to start preschool, and it would be a fun challenge to come up with lunches for her. She loves gyros and falafel, and a pita would fit in there quite nicely 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!

  10. Heidi is still obsessed with butterflies so that is what I would choose on our wraps. I think these are a great idea.

    Annie loves zucchini slice, I recently found a recipe that includes rice in the slice and I’m looking forward to giving that a go as I think it might be a little more filling. The secret to a good zucchini slice is adding a little fried bacon and onion, really boosts that flavour.

    Heidi enjoys plain rice and I’ve purchased some cute little rice shaping moulds – it helps the rice stick together and be less messy – as well as making cute fish, teddy bear, rabbit and other shapes. I simply use medium grain rice with twice as much water to cook, making it stickier, rather than going to the effort of making proper sushi rice. Heidi doesn’t mind.

  11. My girl would love the two little birds inside the heart. Her favorite packed lunch is sunbutter and jelly sandwich, garbanzo beans, blueberries, and soy milk.

  12. These look great! I’d love the 4myearth logo design so both kids could use them. My daughters favourite lunch is salami, cheese and pizza sauce on a wrap. And peeled carrot sticks. There’s a joke at kindy that she’s the class bunny rabbit because she ALWAYS has (& eats) carrot sticks.

  13. My 5yo’s favourite lunch – rice cakes with vegemite, some carrot and celery sticks, cheese and rice crackers and maybe some dried fruit. I quite like the butterfly design sandwich and snack wraps.

  14. The butterfly design is nice. My daughters would love to have it! Among their favorite snacks are cheese cakes, brownies and french fries. Thank you for the chance. More power to you! 🙂

  15. Well I like words on navy, but my son would be far more excited about cars!!
    New favourite at the moment is carrot sticks! Yay for easy healthy snacks!

  16. The one earth ones are definitely our favorite, as my son loves the color red. At four, his absolute favorite lunch is peanut butter and honey on wheat bread, with carrot sticks, raisins, a cutie, and a granola bar for dessert. He loves it when I put in chocolate milk, but will also happily drink water.

  17. Jodie Van Der Zwan says:

    I like the words on navy design, with the great inspirational and fun words for kids to eat as they have lunch! The sandwich and snack wraps are such a great idea. My toddler would have a sandwich (usually Vegemite) and lots of grapes – his favourite food at the moment – in his packed lunch.

    1. Jodie Van Der Zwan says:

      Oops that should be read not eat!

  18. kirsty higgins says:

    the girls butterfly wraps are gorgeous, my girls would love to have their lunches wrapped so stylishly! a favourite packed lunch around here would have to be egg and lettuce sandwiches and some rockmelon. yummo! thanks for the opportunity to win these wonderful products.

  19. Miss LittleNotebook says:

    My son would go just a little bit nuts for the Cars wraps. We are all about the cars at the moment (and the buses, and trains, and trucks…).
    His favourite lunch would be cheddar cheese cubes, slices of cucumber, avocado (mixed with a little lime juice) on bread and a HUGE handful of blueberries (he eats blueberries like they are lollies – can’t get enough).

  20. I think Miss 5 would love to start school with the butterfly snack pocket and sandwich wrap! We have recently discovered a love of cream cheese, grated carrot and cucumber wraps for lunch. I find a good way to send apple is to cut it up and then sprinkle with cinnamon. Apple is easier and quicker to eat cut up and the cinnamon disguises any brown bits that may develop before snack time!

  21. My daughters would love the butterfly pattern, it would match the name stickers my eldest daughter who is starting school has. Her favourite lunches include yoghurts, puffed corn, blueberries, strawberries, a sandwich, wrap or roll with anything from jam/vegemite to salad in them and rice crackers. Thanks for all the starting school tips!

  22. Sumei Wrigley says:

    They are all gorgeous and can’t wait to buy some and tell all the school moms about them! Here’s a tip for moms that have kids that love sliced apples but wont eat them if they go brown … soak in bowl of water with a sprinkle of salt for about a minute, then pat dry with paper towel and it will stay as fresh as when first cut up in their lunch boxes. My daughter has an apple a day, but she loves them sliced up as she finds a whole apple too hard to bite into with her wobbly teeth.

  23. There are so many gorgeous designs!!! I think my boys would love the Commando style best, though all of them are neat. They like to take a piece of meat, ie: sausage or chicken leg, a sandwich, and a cake or a muffin. In this hot weather, they like a frozen drink to keep it all cool too.

  24. The butterfly snack pocket.
    I usually pack too much but we eat some after school too. She loves various individual serving cheeses, applesauce, and yogurt. I include some fruit: apple, orange, blueberries, raspberries, banana, grape tomatoes, or dried apricots if nothing else. I also include a dry snack like pirate booty, smartfood popcorn, cheddar bunnies, or similar. I used to pack her nuts and bars when it was just us, but those aren’t allowed at her nut-free school. I also used to pack her a “dessert” (ex: fruit lether, gummy fruit snacks, yogurt-covered pretzels) but she’d often eat that and not eat her lunch so then I would only send her fiber gummies as dessert and now not even those (we have them at dinner instead).

  25. MultipleMum says:

    I like the combi design best. I loathe school lunches. Nugget is so fussy but with Doo Dah starting school this year, we might be able to get a bit more adventurous (he is a great eater). We usually pack a sandwich or wrap, some berries, cut up apple, home made biscuits or crackers and cheese and some rice wheels or popcorn. Pretty exciting stuff. I am keen for some new ideas for 2012. x

  26. Anjanette says:

    I love these!! And I could hope that my fave design (Cars) would motivate my 5yo new-to-big-boy-school to keep them in his bag. Of course, I’d not take any chances…iron on labels compulsory!

  27. My girls would love the words on navy! We can’t get ziplocs here in Prague and really want to use less plastic anyway so we really need some of these. 🙂

  28. My little man would love the cars design 🙂 his favourite lunchbox treats are grapes, cucumber and capsicum sticks, turkey wraps, and strawberries 🙂 yummo!!

  29. OMG these products are amazing! How inventive, I swear I go through way too many plastic bags and cling film it is ridiculous. I really like the Words on Navy print and Miss M’s favourite lunch would be cream cheese sandwich with watermelon pieces and a muesli bar. 🙂

  30. Cath Hamilton says:

    I love the words on navy.My daughter’s favorite lunch is a vegemite sandwich, an apple and a little baked treat 🙂

  31. I love Butterfly ones for my girl. 🙂
    Her favourite lunch (or it can be breakfast, snack & dinner) is sushi. It’s usually sushi with japanese mayonnaise and ham/egg/pork floss. And i’ll add some grapes to complete it.

  32. I love the words on Navy, thanks for pointing me to a great product! My daughter Camryn’s favourite lunch is cold rolls with chicken and salad.

  33. I like Birds and Words On Navy.
    My children love popcorn, biscuits, cookies and doughnuts.

  34. Love Words on Navy. These are just awesome – a clever idea. M2 will have to find an alternative to peanut butter sandwiches (his fave but we must abide by the no nut policy) so it will probably be avocado and vegemite sandwich, sultanas, strawberries and crackers.

  35. My favorite print is the Commando! What an awesome giveaway! My daughter likes anything with quacamole in a wrap.

  36. What a great idea. I would go for the words on navy design. Do you know if the snack pockets are water tight or not? My daughter is addicted to grapes and it would be so nice to pop grapes into there if they wouldn’t get wet and soggy. For a packed lunch she loves peanut butter sandwiches, grapes and a banana.

  37. I would have to go the Bird design being that it is the only pink one (Miss 2 and Miss 4 LOVE pink). They love peanut butter but obviously that’s off the menu at big school so a cheesymite sandwich, some fruit, and some crackers. They are very plain eaters so actually school lunches will be easy for me as they would happily eat the same sandwich day in day out – or as a ‘special’ treat, a plain bread roll!

    (Yes, really)

  38. I love the cars print – with 3 boys it will be a hit!

    The favourite packed lunch is a burrito bread with cream cheese spread, a slinky apple, and a small piece of Banana & Raspberry bread.

  39. I have a little man who would just LOVE the blue cars wraps and pockets.

    Both of my boys are on the autism spectrum, so they’re not fans of change. They both insist on having the same lunches every day, preferring not to change it up too much (makes it boring for me, but what can you do?).

    Boy 2 (who I would get these for) has yoghurts, bananas, rice crackers, star shaped sandwhiches, popcorn or a baked fruit bar.

  40. vanessa ness says:

    I love the worsds on navy – extra sight word practice haha! My ds is 20mnths and his best daycare lunch is: 1 honey sandwich, little cubes of cheese, beetroot, coldmeat or tuna fishball, cherrio cereal, rainins and fruit – all eaten with a fork (its a new skill and he even tries to eat cereal with a fork). He often has a yoghurt too – and no, we manage to persuade him that a spoon works better!

  41. Jody Coomer says:

    Wow, what a choice! I love “Birds”, 6yo likes “Commando”, and nearly-4yo likes “Combi” simply because it’s red!
    School lunch would be faux-sushi (mountain bread with tuna (mixed with a little mayo and sour cream) and carrot and cucumber battons), cheese cubes and cherry tomatoes, sultanas for the youngest & popcorn for the oldest. Fruit time would be grapes for junior and an apple for senior child.

  42. my two boys 6 and 7 one love bananas and the other loves apples.

  43. Teacherlauraoreamuno says:

    Hi Again! I have never seen such a clever idea in my country ( Costa Rica).
    I would really love to get some…They seem so wonderful to me as a Science and Around the World Teacher.
    I also have my grandaughter going to formal preschool for the first time and this idea would be an excellent practice. Thank you.
    Laura Oreamuno
    Costa Rica
    Central America

  44. Amanda Eastment says:

    All the range look great. I love the idea of earth friendly wrapping. We don’t do glad wrap here for lunches but still use reusable plastic containers. I also love how easy the products are to open. Sometime the containers can be a little tricky for small fingers. My favourite product was the snack pocket. It would also be easy to put in your handbag for easy snacking when out with kids.

  45. Florence C says:

    I like the butterfly one!

  46. Florence C says:

    Oooops I forgot to mention that I don’t have children yet… but my favorite packed lunch is a wrap 🙂 and for snacks, grapes and strawberries 🙂

  47. Words on navy looks great. Two of my kids are gluten-free so for lunch they like a salad with carrots, cucumber, lettuce, mushroom and cheese cubes and some chicken or meat to go with it. And half an avocado with rice crackers or leftover roast potatoes (if we have leftovers!) for recess.

    This looks like an excellent solution to all the disposable wrapping.

  48. I love both the birds and the butterflies. My Dwight lives peanut butter sandwiches but with nut bans so prevalent, I doubt that will be appearing in our lunchboxes! Carrot sticks and dried fruit are other favourites that will be on high rotation.

  49. Justine Smith says:

    I love the Combis and the birds. I am also about to start with school lunches this year-thinking fruit/vege muffins, cheese sandwiches and diced fruit for Mr 5.

  50. Gigi Smyth says:

    My child’s school colours are a yellowy gold and dark navy, so i would love to send her to school with the pink butterfly design 4MyEarth wraps and pockets, to brighten up her day. Her favourite packed lunch (very picky eater) is cheese, ham and beetroot dip on wholegrain sandwich, water crackers with cream cheese (not sure if they will go soggy by the time she eats them), one piece of apricot rolled in coconut. She likes to eat banana, pear, mango, watermelon, so i’ll experiment how those last in the lunchbag (esp pear cut up). And bottle of water.

  51. My son will eat pretty much everything but to the disgust of his German father, his absolute favourite is a good old Vegemite sandwich 😉
    Love the look of the Combie design and as long as there are wheels so would the little boy!

  52. My favourite is the birds- and my daughter would love it filled with homemade popcorn!

  53. I love those cute little combies and my boys would too. Such a great idea – I have been meaning to try and make some of these sandwich wraps but these might save me a lot of time! Fingers Crossed.

  54. We love the spotty one because it’s all about spots and stripes in this house! Best kid’s pack lunch would be hummous and grated carrot on sourdough, yoghurt and blueberries, a banana, some cherry tomatoes, and a drink of icy cold milk. Yum!

  55. give them healthier lunches and apples

  56. Helen de Brueys says:

    My daughter loves anything with hearts and she loves to pack her lunch box with crunchy veges, salsa and guacamole or some rice crackers. She helps me pack them every day is such a lovely girl she would love these for her school lunchbox!

  57. claudia fulford says:

    I love the red ‘girl’ one, with all the countries on it. To fill it I would have to include a berriy muffin, kiwi fruit which those handy spoon/knife thingies and a hommus/ham sandwich.

  58. my little one loves a salad roll and a little collection of fruit. a little container of cereal is also a hit. hummus and biscuits also make a healthy alternative to bread.

    love the words on navy.

  59. Krystle Duckett says:

    I love the Words on Navy Snack Pocket, they would be perfect for the kids’ favourites, fruit mince pies left over from Christmas!

  60. I like the cars one but my boys would probably really like the commando one. It looks like dad’s stuff! I think a packed lunch for them would include pb&j, carrots, peppers, pretzels. Those are the faves!

  61. Like the Words on Navy design, something to (oneday) read while eating his fav lunch of tomatoe and cheese sandwich, capsicum and carrot sticks and unsalted home popped pop corn

  62. Amanda Joyce says:

    I showed my son and he love the red one with the little cars – lately I’ve been cutting the kids sandwiches into star shapes, they seem to love it. I also try and give them a ‘rainbow’ lunch with orange carrots, green apple slices and red cherry tomatoes.

  63. These look great. We have been experimenting with lunches lately too. My son would love the car design – especially that is has a sign on it too. His favourite packed lunch would include a sandwich with his Great Grandma’s special apricot jam and a snack of blueberries, fresh green beans, banana cake and some cheese.

  64. This is such a fabulous product! All the patterns are beautiful but i would go with the red commando. My kids love eating fruits and their favourite lunch would a mix of fruits like grapes, strawberries, rockmelon for morning tea, tuna sandwich or tomato and cheese sandwich for lunch and organic non-sweetened yoghurt/hummus and pita chips/cucumber, celery and carrots for afternoon teal. Yummm!

  65. bubble936 says:

    I love the car one….My son’s favourite lunch would be egg and vegetable tortilla.

  66. My daughter would love the butterfly design, and the snack pockets are so practical and versatile. Favourite lunch at the moment is a Vegemite sandwich, fresh assorted fruit cubes and rice crackers.

  67. My daughter would love the bird design. What she would love in her lunch box would be plently of cherry tomatoes, a ham sandwich, a kiwi fruit and of course something sweet – usually a muffin.

  68. I like Birds in Blue.
    Preschool lunches here are sandwich (on home made Gluten free bread), rice crackers/vege sticks and dip, a piece of cake (home made) and some popcorn and fruit. Bananas are a winner, but peaches seem to please too!

  69. I love the combie van design, but I suspect that Little Miss would prefer birds in blue. She loves Peanut butter and cheese on brown bread (honestly!) or tuna and cream cheese wraps, plus whichever fruit she’s into this season, some rice crackers and perhaps a little something left over from weekend treat baking. I find that my very independent Little Miss eats more and readily tries new things if she was involved in putting the meal together so these wraps would make it so much easier for her to wrap and pack her own lunch.

  70. helen webb says:

    My 2yo’s favourite lunch – toasted ham, cheese and avocado sandwich. I like the butterfly design – very cute.

  71. I love the One Earth design 🙂
    Take a piece of bread with the crusts removed, roll it with a rolling pin, spread with avocado, top with ham, then roll it up like a swiss roll and cut it in two … always a hit 🙂

  72. Jody Szczerbanik says:

    My son would love the skate boy design, my daughter would love the butterfly design, so either would be great. My kids love it when I make a batch of my famous banana muffins, one each for morning tea, and a chicken ceasar wrap for lunch, pop in a bit of fruit, (they love all fruits) and they are happy as larry 🙂

  73. I love the GIRL design. I love the bright colour and the fact it features different countries’ names. Would love to win it for my daughter.

  74. My son would love the rrrr!! pirate design. I often make homemade pizza. The pirate pizza holding pocket would go down well him. Simple and environmentally pleasing.

  75. Liz Milner says:

    I love the words on navy and my boys love the skate boy.
    Their favourite packed lunch would include grapes, apricots, slice of quiche or bacon & egg pie, bottle of cool water, hummus and crackers and something sweet like a muffin or piece of slice

  76. I like the dots, they are versatile enough for either of my kids. Always packing Cheerios and raisins for a quick save when we are out and this would be great!

  77. For Mr Monkey’s lunches lately, I’ve been packing a fruit smoothie but I hate sending it in a ziplock bag (for spillage). His kindy also has a new food policy being I need to send in two containers one for fruit and one for a snack and then another container with the remainder of his lunch. He loves Paleo Banana Bread, mixed fruit (partial to berries) and cut up mushrooms (raw). I’m torn between the styles – I love the words on navy, cars and bird. But he choses cars 😛

    Thanks for the opportunity to enter.

  78. The pattern with the cars is right up my son’s alley!!

    He is 2 and his favourite lunch-time treat is a gorgeous fluffy hommus sandwich for lunch, and some blueberries on the side. I never get any return when I pack that for lunch!

  79. jennifer eighmey meyer says:

    I love the car pattern for both my lil’ girl and boy. My kids fav snacks are cheese, popcorn and carrots:)

  80. Catherine says:

    I love the Bird and Butterfly sandwich pockets! My son loves a hot lunch with something like meatloaf. My older daughter loves PB&J with raisins and Cheezits. Younger daughter loves yogurt and bananas and Jello.

  81. My little girl would love the butterflies, or the bird sandwich pockets. They’d be great for fitting in so many different things! Her favourite lunch at the moment is wraps with avocado, cucumber & ham 🙂

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