We’re still months away from National Bento Month. Yes, if you didn’t know, such a phenomenon exists. I didn’t either until I came upon this as I was bouncing from one tab to another on my browser to research my next blog topic. That said, this isn’t a topic that needs a ton of research either. What is at its core is a love letter to one of the finest Japanese companies (at least IMO), but with one tiny complaint.
Why I love Zojirushi Lunchboxes
I came upon Zojirushi more than a decade ago when I wanted to send cute bento boxes for my husband, if he ever felt like a home-cooked meal.
But you wonder why an Indian blogger is even looking for a lunchbox when Indians have the infamous tiffin dabba? You see, the tiffin dabba is built for a hot and humid climate where the food does not dry out and has your food at room temp at best even when left open on a plate. But the conditions we have here in California are the exact opposite.
While my husband appreciated my efforts into giving him lunch, he loathed digging into a cold lunch. And a little fun fact about us Indians is that we are obsessed with hot food. The tiffin dabba may be ok for cold and snackable room temp foods but not hot food. So no, none of the lunchboxes we tried here in California worked.
After a ton of research, I discovered Zojirushi and bought it after being convinced by the many reviews that claimed it kept the food hot after several hours. That alone sold me on the lunchbox. The lunchbox itself is a 4-tiered stackable lunchbox with an insulated carrier. Of the 4 containers, one is a large container meant for soups and stews, one for rice, pasta, or roti/pita, one for veg or a protein, and one for fruit/dessert. Just the right mix of portions and container types.
We cook a ton of Indian food in our home if it wasn’t obvious from my site. But even after a decade of owning this beaut, there is no staining or residual smell of spices. Mind you, we have had days where my husband completely forgot to bring his lunchbox home and I have seen all kinds of flora growing inside of it. Of course, this was followed by heavy sanitization and sterilization to make sure the box was mold-free.
The lunchbox my elementary school kid uses
Fast forward a decade later, I still use the Zojirushi lunchboxes on days I need to pack lunch for my husband. But my sweet, little elementary school child has this particular one from OmieBox, which is the best we have found in the kids lunchbox category. The OmieBox has an insulated container which claims to keep the food warm up to 4 hours. I am yet to experience that. My child says it is not hot or warm but it is not dry. So I guess that’s a win in my book when compared to the many “cute” options in the market which dry out the food almost instantly.
American Schools and Cold Lunches
And then there is also the great American School Cold Lunch. While the cafeterias serve a mix of hot and cold school lunches, lunch boxes brought from home are often kept in coolers or refrigerators to maintain the lunches at food-safe temperatures, as recommended by USDA food safety guidelines. This absolutely sucks if you come from a culture that loves hot food. So we’re really looking at almost everyone from the Indian subcontinent, but honestly from other Asian cultures too.
Yes, you could place a request to the teacher to leave the box out. Not a problem. Just one more thing to do among the gazillion other things parents have to remember and keep track of.
The Quest for The Perfect Kids’ Lunchbox
My quest for a kids lunchbox that ticks the “keeps warm” box restarted when my husband came back from work this one time full of praise for the amazing food I had sent him. In that moment, it dawned on me that my daughter rarely came back from school, with appreciation for her lunchbox. I always chalked it up to her being a typical elementary school kid who was too busy in the playground. While it is true that elementary school kids don’t talk too much about their lunch, I have a child who will talk non-stop about good food. So this appreciation from my husband triggered the onset of a rabbit hole to find the perfect lunchbox for my daughter. I should also mention that the lock snap of her OmieBox just recently died on us after nearly a year of use. One more reason for the quest to continue.
I love Zojirushi lunchboxes except this one thing…
My research brain instantly checked out Zojirushi because I have never found a lunch box that could work as well. Of course, I was disappointed to note that they only made Hello Kitty food jars which are completely different from their tiered lunch boxes. You would think that a company that comes from the land of Hello Kitty, Super Mario, and Sailor Moon – and I say this as the mother of a humungous Super Mario fan – should be able to make cute lunch jars for kids.
I have found other companies that have similar models but none that is created with the same finesse and thoughtfulness you typically find in Japanese products. I don’t want an adult jar. That would mean too many boxes to open and set out on a school cafeteria table. What I want is something that my child can open, carry, love, and still find warm, like a hug from her mom at noon. Here is my little note to Zojirushi –
Dear Zojirushi,
I love your lunchboxes but I truly wish you would develop a kid-friendly version.
If you can recreate it bento style, I would take that too.
Thank you
Your Biggest Fan,
Pakoda Stories