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Last week, when I attended a lunch for bloggers about packing lunches for kids, I got inspired.  I was expecting to walk away with ideas for irresistable packed lunches for my children.  But instead, I left the restaurant with a desperate desire to shop. 

As you probably already know, people eat with their eyes first.  And our children are no exception.  Maybe they moan and grumble about the foods that you pack them for lunch.  But what if they came in a fantastic reusable container, equipped with teensy sauce bottles and colorful food picks?  Suddenly the mundane becomes wildly exciting!

So, shop is what I did.  On my way home, I stopped at Daiso, a Japanese dollar store in South San Francisco.  Almost everything in the store is $1.50 – and boy did I clean up!  I couldn’t wait to show my kids our booty.

• On the top left of this photo, you can see some little reusable forks and spoons.  They each have a cute animal imprinted on the tip of the handle – and are cute enough that my kids have vowed to protect them and keep them from the depths of the school trash can.
• The four packages on the right side of the photo show reusable silicone food cups in a variety of sizes.  The pigs are my personal favorite.  These cups are ideal for those kids who just can’t stand the idea of different ingredients touching each other.  My kids don’t have that particular concern…but they like to keep cheese or sandwich meat and crackers separate, so that the crackers stay crisp.  The store also sells lots of paper food cups, but my goal is to save resources and pack a waste free lunch.
• The little flower shaped items hold liquid sauces.  Simply squeeze an empty flower into a bowl of soy sauce and when you release the pressure, the container fills up.  They can be easily washed using the same method with soapy water and rinsed with clear water several times.  My son said these were a HUGE winner!
• And he couldn’t wait to eat chunks of strawberries and cherry tomatoes with the colorful food picks, shown on the bottom left of the image.  These picks are very sturdy and can be washed in warm soapy water and then reused.

At our lunch meeting, I was thrilled to see my friend Amy from Laptop Lunches.  Plus, she gave us a sneak preview of their new products!  I think you are going to LOVE the new floral print and alien carrying cases!

Stay tuned for tips on  how to pack delicious school lunches and yummy recipes to put inside all of your reusable containers.