The arrival of PlanetBox lunchboxes in New Zealand has been long awaited by Mums and/or Instagram food stylists for a long, long time. With a picky eater on my hands, these bento-style lunch boxes looked like just the thing to help Nix make the most out of his packed lunch each day. Little & Loved kindly provided the Rover for review, check out their range of PlanetBox products and accessories here > PlanetBox Lunchboxes available in New Zealand!
I’m writing this mid-bedtime battle with Nixon, so I feel like I’m banging on a bit about his somewhat ‘difficult’ behaviours at the moment but it is what it is. Our little guy is a gorgeous wee package full of surprises and challenges and we love him for that, as trying as they may be.
Anyhow, food is the topic de jour, in particular, Nixon’s LOVE of food.
This statement comes with caveats, of course, doesn’t everything when you’re discussing a 4-year-old?
Nixon loves all food that is;
- Quick to eat
- Not touching other foods
- Not mixed with other foods ie he loves berries and he loves yoghurt but he can’t stand berries IN yoghurt.
- Not in any way being devious about vegetables. “Just don’t try and hide veges in my shit Mum, just don’t”.
- Not past it’s prime, even slightly. no brown bits on bananas, apples or avocados, please.
- Not a fancy hybrid of any kind. A croissant is perfection. A pain au chocolat is abhorrent!
- Not in excess of any one element; too cheesy no good, too buttery no good, too much mince in a mince pie? No good.
So meal times at our house are usually a two-step process. We usually cook all the components of our meals separately, serve Nixon in his divided plate and then combine the ingredients for everyone else’s meal. Last night we had an amazing turkey and vegetable fettuccine. Nix had roasted turkey, fettuccine pasta with alfredo sauce (no bits!) and chopped tomatoes and beetroot on the side.
Kindy lunches are a similar scenario, complicated further by the fact that lunch must be packed separated and stay separated throughout the day – bento style. Needless to say, we’ve had lots of semi-full lunch boxes (with the contents inadvertently mixed together) return home at the end of the day with a very hungry wee boy. Nix needs to eat a lot and to eat often, so finding the right lunchbox for him to get used to before he heads off to school later this year is key right now.
I’m totally aware of how OTT this sounds (it’s just a freaking lunchbox right???), but, Zoe from Little & Loved took some time via Instagram to chat me through lunchbox options for Nix and his ‘requirements’. There’s no doubt that PlanetBox as well as other bento-style lunchboxes have become popular in recent years BUT, they are quite an investment. If you’re looking at purchasing online it’s amaze being able to ask questions before dropping 90 bucks on your kids’ school lunch receptacle right?
So, Nixie’s PlanetBox Rover arrived and I was immediately in love; the gorgeous, retro packaging, the seemingly indestructible nature of its eco-friendly, stainless steel construction…….. I know a friend who has had 3 PlanetBox lunchboxes for her kids since her eldest began school over 6 years ago and they are still going strong, so the longevity of these guys is amazing.
However, I underestimated the depth of my son’s food ocd. That river runs DEEP ya’ll. I was all set up to send him off to kindy on Friday with his new PlanetBox lunch box but, a ‘Farewell Day’ for his plastic Systema was required. Literally, I had to agree to one more day before we could recycle the lunchbox I thought he disliked so much because his food got all mixed up inside it!
Strange little fellow lol.
Two weeks into PlanetBox Life, both Nix and I are converted and convinced. I initially worried that the latch system might be a bit tricky for him (no idea why I presume my 4.5yo is a baby still?!) – it isn’t, that it might be a bit heavy – it isn’t, that it might not hold enough – it does. But my most overwhelming observation comes from the fact that Nixon’s PlanetBox comes home from kindy four days a week completely empty. These are the most perfect, rubbish free, bento-style lunchboxes I’ve personally ever used or seen. Nix eats everything now because his food stays separated………no matter what. I’ve flipped it, shaken it all about (as does Nix on the daily!) and the smart design stays true every time.
Zoe has a great range of eco friendly Planetbox stainless steel lunch boxes and accessories in stock here in New Zealand, all with a five year warranty. Dishwasher safe, eco-friendly, non-toxic and built to last, I know I’ll be using this awesome lunch box for years to come.
Shop the Little & Loved collection here > Stainless Steel PlanetBox Lunchboxes
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