OmieBox for a Kinder Kid

https://www.bambinolove.com.au/collections/omielife

This year has been a big one for my little girl; Missy Moo headed off to three year old kinder. She’s never been in childcare or anything so this was quite the milestone for both of us. Her three year old kinder program is unique in that she does 1 x 2 hour stint of “nature kinder” in all weather conditions at a local national park each week, and 1 x 6 hour day at the actual kinder itself doing normal kinder things. Either way, I was going to have to step up my lunch game!

We’ve always been Yumbox users in the past, but with nature kinder and a long day program I was keen to explore the option of sending along hot food. Enter OmieBox.

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The OmieBox is a bento style lunchbox that can be used to carry hot AND cold foods together; revolutionary!

So we’ve been testing it out over the last few months and here’s what we learnt..

It actually works!
You can pack hot food for school/kinder in the morning and it will still be hot at lunchtime! I found to get the best results there were a few steps to take.

Remove the metal bowl (seen with beans above) and fill with boiling water. Make yourself a morning cuppa with the rest of the kettle water.
While enjoying your cuppa (throughout the mad dash that happens every morning) grab some leftovers and microwave them until they’re very hot (too hot to eat).
After you’ve finished your cuppa the metal bowl should be nicely pre-warmed and your microwaved foods hot.
Tip out boiling water, add your food to the bowl, seal the lid and continue to pack your OmieBox.

The insulated part can be removed…. hello sandwiches!
If you don’t have any hot leftovers, or want this lunchbox to be a bit more versatile you can remove the main insulated “square” and you’ll have the perfect place for your bagel, sandwich, cheesymite scroll etc.

It fits HEAPS of food.
Looks can be deceiving but this lunchbox holds plenty; way more than my three year old can eat. If you leave the insulated part in the OmieBox will hold four cups worth of food total, and if you remove it you will increase the overall volume to six and a half cups… plenty! This picture is leftover zucchini slice. I didn’t even fill the compartment and already it is more than I know my daughter is likely to eat. Definitely a lunchbox to grow with your child’s appetite for a few years to come.

You can reconfigure the compartments!
Take a look above, see that divider between the rice crackers and the apricot ball? Well it comes out and can move really anywhere in either the top or side compartment. Look back at my previous photos and you’ll see it has been moved around. Love this to help vary up how things can fit and be packed.

But….
Here’s the kicker, my three year old can’t open and close the OmieBox reliably. She’s a lightweight at 11kg and pretty tiny (I’m only 5ft myself) and simply can’t do it. I can leave the lid a bit looser, but then the food goes cold. Or if I tighten it too much, she can’t get in. In addition I found she also couldn’t shut the overall box when she was done at the end of her lunch. So, for my little girl when I sent this lunchbox to kinder it meant that I needed her teachers to help open and close it…gah!

At her particular kinder there is no lunch time; kids eat at their leisure when they’re hungry, making it particularly difficult to rely on her teachers for this task.

Therefore I’ll be honest and say I think the OmieBox is best suited for primary aged kids, kids who have assistance at lunchtime, or kids who are generally more reliable than my daughter in asking for help (current catch phrase is “I know what I’m doing, no worries”).

Other stuff you need to know…

Can be put in the dishwasher but hand washing is recommended. I’ve been handwashing it and find it cleans up really easily; quick rinse and you’re done.
Comes in five colours; blue, pink, purple, orange and green.
Retails for $69.95

We loved the OmieBox, and for now have enjoyed using it for zoo days or days out; I’ve even liked getting it ready for my daughter to use at home after a busy morning out. Once my girl gets a bit more meat on her bones we’ll start using it at kinder again. You can read more about OmieBox here and start planning your child’s hot lunches this Winter.