Photo: Liza Corsillo
As concerns about microplastics multiply and parents cast a suspicious eye toward their kids’ lunch boxes, an influx of stainless-steel alternatives is flooding the market. My favorite of the recent newcomers, from kid and baby brand Lalo, can be used in multiple ways: as a school lunch box, as a sectioned lunch or dinner plate for toddlers, even as a lunch container for adults. While it was definitely designed for kids (the brand primarily makes products for children up to age 5,), it could easily be mistaken for something you’d find at the MoMA Design Store next to some stripe-y Dusen Dusen towels. Now I’m packing my own lunch in it on the days when I commute to the office just as often as I send it to preschool with my 3-year-old son.
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The Lalo bento box has a “squoval” shape and comes with a silicone lid, a removable nonslip silicone base, and a silicone cup for dips, sauces, or dressing. Sadly, I lost the little cup when I moved apartments last fall, but that hasn’t been much of an issue for my family. I have the orange and yellow Citrus Peel colorway, which I chose for its sunny vibe; it comes in eight colors total, including five two-tone options.
Since we got it just over a year ago, I’ve used it for hot and cold lunches at school and work, on weekend trips to the Prospect Park Zoo and Transit Museum, and to pack food for picnics and long car rides. I’ve also tested the seal of the lid, and it’s very close to leakproof: When I filled the bento box with water, some dripped out around the edges after shaking it and turning it upside down. But when I filled it with medium-viscosity yogurt and tried to re-create a ride in a preschooler’s backpack, the edges remained dry. All the parts are also dishwasher safe and, since there aren’t any sharp corners in the food compartments, it’s very easy to clean.
From top to bottom: Lalo, Bentgo, and PlanetBox stainless-steel bento boxes. Photos: Liza Corsillo.
From top to bottom: Lalo, Bentgo, and PlanetBox stainless-steel bento boxes. Photos: Liza Corsillo.
I also own a PlanetBox Rover that I bought on sale a few years ago. It’s a longtime Strategist favorite, especially for older kids, and it’s very well made. But it’s expensive, at $55 full price, and can be hard for little kids to open and close. (It also isn’t totally leakproof, which is often a trade-off you have to accept with stainless-steel lunch boxes that don’t have a silicone seal.)
When Bentgo later launched a stainless-steel bento box with a silicone liner in the lid, I called one in for testing. It’s reliably leakproof, but it’s also expensive (about $60 full price), and in the end, neither the PlanetBox nor the Bentgo product stuck for me or my son. Both are too big to fit in many “standard” lunch bags with more space than I need for the kinds of lunches I pack.
The Lalo bento box in my son’s small Bentgo insulated lunch tote.
Photo: Liza Corsillo
Lalo’s bento box is cheaper ($38 full price) and more convenient; it fits easily inside my son’s small insulated lunch bag, my LeSportsac work backpack, my Calpak lunch bag, or my favorite Clare V. purse. It’s even part of our regular rotation of toddler dinner plates (along with two iridescent stainless-steel ones from Ahimsa). And since we live in a one-bedroom apartment where I don’t have room for multiple kinds of lunch containers, I am delighted to have found something I can use in so many ways.
The brand also just announced that it’s adding a personalization option starting on May 1: You’ll be able to add your kid’s name, or your own, to the lid of the bento box for an additional $17 (with a ten-character limit). So now I am debating getting another one to go with my son’s personalized silverware.
The Lalo bento box is part of a growing collection from the brand that now includes a range of stainless-steel and silicone tableware. The colors are fun and juicy, and there’s even a stainless-steel toddler cup with a stainless-steel straw. It is exactly what parents of little kids want: stylish, non-plastic mealtime essentials that are durable, can be popped in the dishwasher, and won’t taste like soap afterward.
The stainless-steel toddler cup has a grippy silicone sleeve and comes in four colors.
The silicone suction base and stainless-steel plate in this set are top-rack dishwasher safe.
These nesting snack bowls come in two sets of color combos: Midnight Snack and Picnic Party.
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