How to Choose the Right Lunchbox for Your Favorite Foods

Find the lunch container that is right for you with our smart lunch box selection tips. Food habits can play an important role in selecting your containers, so think about your favorite foods and what kind of mess your food makes when you’re in search of the perfect lunch box. We’ve got some tips on lunchbox types and their functionality to help you narrow things down or make better use of what you have on hand.

Today we’re going to talk about the following:

• Plastic Leak Proof Containers
• Bag Lunches
• Metal Stacking Stash Boxes
• Vintage Lunch Boxes
• Portion Trays (SPOILER: These are our favorite and the basis for our Snack Attack Pack strategies.)

Any box can be a proper snack box, even for a beginner in the kitchen. Find some snackspiration for your routine in today’s roundup or subscribe to follow along over at Snack Attack TV.

Plastic Leak Proof Containers

Let’s start with the basics. These are the boxes we all have seen and probably even own.  They line the aisles at Target and even some finer grocery stores have a decent selection. They can be solid and simple or innovative and fun. Lot’s to choose from!

PROS: These boxes keep things secure, in tact, and dry. A quick search for leak proof lunch boxes leaves you with plenty of basic plastic storage options. These containers are often great for leftovers or we really like the salad ones that help keep your greens fresh and your dressing ready to go!

CONS: The sheer volume of options in this category and lead to choice overload. Additionally, many of these are extremely specialized limiting their versatility – you could need a sandwich version, a salad version, a cold food version, and a hot meal version, etc. The more complicated lunchboxes can be difficult to clean and while the versions with ice packs are occasionally convenient, they can be cumbersome in the cabinet.

Bag Lunches

We’ve come a long way from plain old brown bag lunches. There are a lot of accommodating lunchbags out there, ranging from recycled grocery bags to (we like the ones with handles) to waxed canvas and leather bags. 

PROS: If you excel at preparing sandwiches for yourself, bag lunches can be packed full of a variety of snack foods and are excellent for sandwiches, whether you use a sandwich container or have mad sub wrapping skills.

CONS: These are great for smaller meals but don’t consider packing up your leftovers in your bag if you bring meatloaf for lunch, so you’ll need plastic containers and baggies to accessorize your snack bag. Things can get smashed and smooshed easily and there’s not a lot of room for larger meals.

We’re really digging the neoprene picnic lunch bag.

Metal Stacking Stash Boxes

Do you like to stash candy and snacks in your desk? The stainless steel box style is excellent for packing up a week’s worth of pantry snacks to keep in your workshop, backpack or at your work station.

PROS: Non-refrigerated items like dried fruit, jerky and other backpacking style snacks are kept tidy in your sleek metal container and can last all week, or month! Refresh your emergency snacker when needed and keep from plowing through an entire container of nuts in one sitting by having emergency protein or chocolate on hand.

CONS: This type of lunchbox can be known for leaking unless you get the more expensive insulated versions, so it’s not the best lunchbox choice for daily food use if you don’t put everything in a container or are heavy on the saucy leftovers but it’s a definite sleek and attractive way to store your desk stash or stow away some backpack snacks.

Retro & Vintage Lunchboxes

Do you ever find yourself buying cute lunchboxes but are not quite sure how to make them a part of your routine? Metal or plastic, odds are you have one already and we know you eyeball them when you’re out thrifting!

PROS: So fun. So colorful and wonderful. But when you are a grown up, how do you use these? Accessorize your life with a pop of vintage or maybe your favorite fandom and pack up a hot chocolate toppings bar to go with your favorite hot cocoa on rainy days. Keep some cider and cinnamon sticks at work for sharing with coworkers on cold mornings. They are also excellent places to stash your tea or perhaps create a fun smores pack for bonfire night with friends.

CONS: There’s a downside? Maybe not be something you want to damage or lose, especially the irreplaceable ones, and they’re not generally dishwasher safe or easy to clean out if you have any food disasters. So okay, they’re probably not the best thing for daily use.

Start a cute countertop collection and keep your cabinets freed up for other kitchen clutter. Find your childhood at the thrift store, dust off your vintage lunchbox from the attic, or pick up a new one online to match your personality.

Portion Packs

This restaurant style box is our favorite and what we focus on Snack Attack TV. Because portion boxes pack up excellent for cooler camping, roadtrips in the car, motorcycle adventures, and all kinds of outdoor activities they allow for more time spent having fun and less time focused on preparing food.

PROS: Portion boxes are great for packing multiple lunches at a time, especially for more than one person. They store neatly stacked in with each other to help reduce clutter in your cabinets. They are microwave safe as well, if you’re more prone to prepare proper meals or leftovers than snacks and apps.

CONS: Make sure you pack your lunches restaurant style with dip containers, toothpicks and kabob skewers, sandwich wrappers and reusable items like soft silicone cups and plastic containers to help keep things organized because like your take-out lunch, they can be prone to accidents if you’re eating leftovers or saucy meals. Full meals won’t store well upright in a backpack but they can handle snacktime like a champ. We know these are not permanent use items, so be prepared to recycle them after you crack open a box or two in your daily travels.

These semi disposable lunch boxes come in multi packs and are generally purchased in bulk knowing they eventually need to be recycled, but they are hearty enough to throw in your dishwasher and with good packing habits, minimal cleanup will be needed! We use the Welco containers. They come in a 10 pack and sporks are included!

Phew! Thats a pretty comprehensive list for these box types. Did we miss anything? What are your favorite lunchbox types and foods?