Instead of squeezing all your lunch into a single plastic or metal box container, you can segregate them neatly into a few compartments. You have up to four containers to store food in Zojirushi Mr Bento and three containers to work with in Zojirushi Ms. Bento.

These containers stack up vertically and fit nicely into the stainless steel external container, which is secured with a lid with side clasps. This design keeps your lunch very organized. You do not have to worry about your three-course lunch ending up in a mess, or your food getting cold as the stainless steel container is vacuum insulated to keep your food warm even after a few hours.

This stainless steel lunch jar set also comes with a zippered carry bag with a strap for easy carrying. The color is a neutral grey and black that is suitable for any gender. Nobody would have guessed that you are carrying your lunch box in such a cool bag!

We like our lunches to be warm, so using a stainless steel insulated lunch jar has become part of our lives. Even our children also enjoy bringing their own lunches to school in the lunch jar.

Bringing your own lunch not only makes you think about packing healthier food, but also saves you a lot of money in the long run for not eating outside. It also allows you to make good use of dinner left-overs for next day’s lunch. Isn’t this a win-win? Get one and try it for yourself today!

Well, do you mean Mr Bento or Ms Bento instead?

Zojirushi’s stainless lunch jar series only come in Mr Bento, Ms Bento, Mini Bento and Classic Bento. We think so far they have not manufactured any Mrs Bento yet.

The most popular Mr Bento stainless lunch jar contains four microwaveable inner bowls, a forked spoon with cover and a bag for easy carrying. It is also BPA free. The outer container features durable stainless steel construction and vacuum insulation that can allow you to keep food hot or cold for hours.

If you do not require transporting four bowls of food, Ms Bento offers you another alternative with only three microwaveable inner bowls. There is also a forked spoon with cover and a tote bag for carrying. It is also made of stainless steel with vacuum insulation and is BPA free as well.

Whether it is Mr Bento or Ms Bento, Zojirushi’s range of stainless steel lunch jar delivers. Customers who have bought them are amazed at how their foods were still kept cold or hot after a few hours. We are quite sure you will not be disappointed as well. Isn’t it awesome to have a hot, piping lunch on a cold day or a cool, crisp salad on a warm summer day as you wish?

Ms. Swanson, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Kentucky, likes to show her kids she loves them with art and notes. “You could probably psychoanalyze moms by the notes they leave in their kids lunches,” she says.

The lunch-box note used to be an occasional smiley face on scratch paper. Now it’s an elaborate fixture of the school cafeteria. Some kids complain when they don’t get a lunch note. Or they may compare lunch notes with friends. Parents hear about it when their efforts fall short.

Enter the retailers. Pottery Barn Kids and Toys “R” Us sold packets of preprinted notes this back-to-school season. Lunchbox Love, a line of preprinted cards from Say Please, Inc., are priced at $3.99 for a small box of 12 at Pottery Barn Kids. Messages include “You’ve become so mature,” “I love you unconditionally” and “I can’t believe how creative you are.”

Disney has introduced free downloads of lunch notes featuring Ariel, Mickey Mouse and other characters on its Family.Go.com website. “Don’t Eat Too Fast!” says a note featuring Lightning McQueen from “Cars.”

“A lot of us are moms here, and we know that when we do these notes ourselves it means something to our kids,” says Diana Charkalis, editor in chief for Disney Interactive Media Group.

Some teachers recommend lunch notes as a way to cultivate reading. “It’s like an idea time, because they’re sitting there unpacking their lunch,” says Amy Mascott, a reading specialist and literacy consultant in Brookeville, Md. “It’s like the cereal-box reading at breakfast.” She writes lunch notes to her own three children and recommends the practice to clients and readers of her blog. “I am a huge nerd of a mother and teacher,” she says.

Last year, Wendi Aarons visited her son’s school at lunchtime and saw many students reading their lunch notes. “I thought, ‘I really should be doing this if all these other moms are,’ ” she says.

Target and personalized one for her son’s lunch the next day, nestling it in between the peanut-butter sandwich, apple and potato chips. When Sam’s friends saw it, they teased him. “They called me a ‘mama’s boy,” says Sam, now 10. He came home and told his mother to stop. “I loved getting the note,” he says, “but I didn’t like my friends making fun of me.”

The Lunchbox Love line is intended for children from pre-kindergarten through about fifth grade, says Judi Willard, who co-founded Say Please with a business partner four years ago.

“Once kids get older, they can be too savvy and concerned with what’s cool and what’s not cool,” Ms. Willard says.

The company has introduced a set for teens and tweens. “Love isn’t blind. It sees everything and loves anyway,” one message says. “I’m sorry we fought,” another one says. “That’s important because you yell at them all the time at that age,” Ms. Willard says. (The company donates a portion of profits to a not-for-profit that aims to provide daily meals to at-risk students in South African township high schools. Ms. Willard declined to say how much. “We are still very small and at the end of the year, we see what’s left and make our donations,” she said.)

On most days, Caroline Young, a kindergarten teacher in Houston, puts a note into her third-grade daughter’s lunch. She keeps track of lunch-note ideas on Pinterest, a social network popular with crafters and teachers. “Lunchbox notes are a fun way for me to encourage my daughter and let her know I am thinking about her,” Ms. Young says. She stopped sending notes with lunch for her son, now in sixth grade, but she is reconsidering. “I guess I should, just to keep that connection with him,” she says.

The flourishes can be hard to top. The website CafeMom has an article suggesting gift-wrapping a sandwich with a note on the inside of the wrapping paper. Some parents on Pinterest share techniques for using toothpicks to etch designs and messages into the exterior of bananas.

Rob Kimmel, a graphic designer in Northampton, Mass., began creating notes for his son, Ben, when Ben was 3. Mr. Kimmel would draw, say, a cat with the caption “__ A __”; Ben would fill in the letters and bring the finished drawing home.

Now, Ben, age 8, spends time at lunch completing his dad’s half-done drawings of flying saucers and dinosaurs.

Last week, it was a kangaroo with an empty pouch and the words “The kangaroo adopted …” Ben drew a creature with fangs and pointed ears and added the words “a rabbit goblin.” Mr. Kimmel posts the before and after on his website.

Ben says his school friends like checking out his dad’s handiwork, and last year one friend asked her mom to do it, too. “Her mom made her a lame one,” Ben remembers, “and then she said to her, ‘Why don’t you make an alien or a monster?’”

Source: WSJ Life & Style

It’s common knowledge that despite attempts to improve the state of affairs, the school cafeteria is essentially just another franchise; with limited exception and despite facing increasing scrutiny, school cafeteria foods aren’t healthy and well-balanced. Chicken fingers, pizza and refined (white) bread, rice and pasta just don’t cut it when it comes to good nutrition, and these types of foods are prevalent in school cafeterias frequented by 5-year-olds to 17-year-olds. And what’s more, vending machines offer chips, cookies, sodas and all kinds of other junk foods that children shouldn’t be eating, certainly not without parental supervision.

This unhealthy environment has created a challenge for parents that many have decided to ignore, whether by design or just because they lack the time and energy to pay closer attention. Many parents rationalize that the rest of their children’s meals are healthy and nutritious, so they can be lax regarding school meals. This is a misconception, especially if you consider not only what is being served in the majority of school cafeterias, but also that most kids are at school for at least a half a day and up to a full day, depending on their age.

Although programs have begun to appear over the past few years addressing the problem, the fact is that not much has changed. The majority of entrees served on school campuses include pizza, Sloppy Joes, cheeseburgers, spaghetti, hot dogs and corn dogs. It’s rare that you will see anything made with fish and chicken, unless it’s fish sticks and chicken nuggets, which contain processed meat that is breaded and deep fried. This is just not nutritious. It’s time to accept the fact that raising healthier children means they won’t be eating school lunches, but instead will need to be provided lunch from home. Here are some suggestions for how even the busiest parents can do it.

Perfect Packing

Part of putting together a healthy packed lunch is having the right storage containers. After all, you want your child to look forward to eating their meal. If foods that are intended to be cold end up warm by lunchtime, and/or if their lunch box is overflowing with items that fall out as soon as they open it up, children will quickly be turned off. Be sure to use an insulated lunch box that will hold up to four small food containers and a thermos. When purchasing the containers, you should buy at least two sets; this will help you to avoid having to wash a them each night. As for the thermos, be sure that it is the wide-mouth variety; this will allow for a wider variety of foods to accompany your child to school.

The Beverage

When it comes to healthy lunches, milk, juice and soda should be avoided at all cost. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that juice consumption is contributing to cavities and gastrointestinal issues for children, while milk has proven to be a common food allergen. Your best option is to encourage your child to drink water. This can be done by providing water for them in their lunch box using a stainless-steel thermos or by placing ice cubes in their thermos in the morning. By lunchtime, they will have begun to melt and, in the meantime, they will have helped to keep the other items in the lunch box nice and cold.

The Entree

Great sources of protein that can be put in a small lunch container are cubes of baked chicken, turkey or fish. This does not include processed meat that you buy at your grocery store, but should be prepared at home and cut into bite-size pieces. Remember that you can freeze these in small portions and use them randomly over the course of several weeks.

A hard-boiled egg is also a great source of protein. And don’t forget that wide-mouth thermos; beans are an excellent source of protein and can be served in a thermos with organic tortilla chips for dipping. Alternatives to beans include meat or vegetarian chili or stew. If these options seem like a hard sell to your child, it probably means you’re not including them in their daily diet at home. Perhaps it’s time to evaluate your child’s diet to make sure they’re getting exposed to a wide variety of healthy foods. This will give you a wider variety of foods to choose from when packing their lunch.

A Note About the Traditional Sandwich

Commonly found in the packed lunch is a sandwich; the problem is that bad choices can be made here as well. White bread bought at the store contains bleached flour. And don’t be fooled by the word “enriched,” as adding back a portion of the vitamins removed during the bleaching process doesn’t undo the damage.

Better sandwich choices include whole-wheat bread with a lot of grains, and almond butter instead of peanut butter. And be creative. Try to put vegetables into a sandwich as much as possible. If your children “don’t like vegetables,” stick with it. Sometimes it’s just a phase, and the more exposure they get (and choices), the greater the chance they’ll surprise you.

Another great sandwich option is a healthy wrap. This can be done by purchasing whole-grain tortillas and wrapping up healthier protein and vegetable sources. For instance, baked turkey or chicken with lettuce, cucumbers, sprouts, red peppers – maybe even some beans sprinkled inside make a tasty protein.

The Side Dishes

Most children don’t consider lunch complete unless there are chips and cookies. These must be avoided at all cost; chips and cookies are an occasional treat, not a lunch staple. The side dishes for your children should be tasty cut vegetables, keeping in mind that greener is better.

Fruit is also a great side dish, but while it is healthy, it is also a source of sugar and not as rich in vitamins and minerals as vegetables. Try to serve fruit just once for every five servings of vegetables. Remember that it should be fresh, organically grown fruit, not processed “substitutes.” Fruit roll-ups are not fruit.

Invite your child to help you prepare vegetable soup or vegetarian chili. These can be put in a thermos and taken to school over the span of a week.

Consider putting together a grain salad. This can include couscous or steamed long-grain brown rice with chopped cucumbers, red peppers, baby carrots, or any other similar vegetable. You may also choose to marinate the chopped vegetables in a salad dressing for a few days prior to preparing the salad. Drain the vegetables and then mix them in. This will add moisture to the salad without having to add excess dressing.

Source: ToYourHealth.Com

Instead parents in England wanted more advice on how to prepare healthier packed lunches, inspectors said.

They said heads often felt uneasy about issuing edicts on lunch boxes.

Inspectors also say some families who are on low incomes but are not eligible for free school meals are struggling to afford school dinners.

And they found some secondary schools in England still used systems which made pupils receiving free school meals readily identifiable.

Inspectors visited 39 primary, secondary and special schools in England between September 2009 and January 2010 to see how they were getting the healthy eating message across.

They found more primary than secondary schools complied with the standards set out for school lunches.

In primaries, the guideline most often not met was the requirement to provide a piece of fruit for every pupil eating a school lunch.

In secondaries, the standard most often not met were those restricting meat products, deep-fried foods and starchy foods cooked in oil.

Inspectors said schools’ healthy eating policies could be undermined when pupils brought in unhealthy packed lunches.

While some schools brought in rules on lunch boxes, others were uncomfortable with this.

“Some of the head teachers spoken to were reluctant to do this because they did not think that they should tell parents what to do and did not wish to be patronising,” the report said.

“Where consultation with families had been poor or where information had not been worded sensitively, parents saw the school as being ‘interfering’ and ‘bossy’ and reacted against the advice.

“Many of the parents with whom inspectors held discussions said that, rather than being told what not to give their children, they wanted more guidance on how to prepare a healthy and balanced packed lunch.”

Source: BBC News

Well, my idea of a perfect Mr Bento is: