Gadgets: The Goodbyn Back-to-School Lunchbox
Back-to-school shopping is usually all about the clothes, but for gourmands in the making the right lunchbox is just as important. In support of the Future Foodies of America (FFA), I decided to go on a serious hunt for the coolest, most epically awesome lunchbox I could find. What I discovered was a hell of a lot more fun than I'd ever imagined—in fact, the Goodbyn almost made me want to go back to school.
Aside from having a really cute name, the Goodbyn features a smart design that's both practical and environmentally proactive—a tough combination to master given the reputation of eco-friendly products as sometimes underperforming or requiring more work compared to non-green counterparts. Besides being made of recyclable materials and eliminating lots of excess waste, the Goodbyn is a product that simplifies an often overcomplicated task: making lunch simultaneously fun and healthy.
With five compartments designed to hold all the fixings to a healthy meal, the Goobyn invites smart meal planning. If the large containers are filled with a main course and some fruit, there's still enough space for a small amount of sweets and a side or two. There's even a little eight-ounce bottle built in, which for some reason made me really want apple juice.
Since it does require daily cleaning, the Goodbyn may not be for everyone. However, the green consumer will be happy to reduce the amount of individually-sized packages they waste, while those concerned with a different kind of green will be happy to save the money those packages often cost.
Over a short week of testing, the flaws were minimal. There was just a little condensation on the bottle, and a failed promise that a frozen water bottle would keep my food cold rather than room temperature. As advertised, the individually-locking containers kept my flavors separate, but my hands-down favorite feature was the roll of nearly 300 stickers that allows kids (or kids at heart!) to turn their oddly shaped box into a mini-masterpiece. I'm betting the FFA would approve.
Related
Serious Green: Plastic-Less Ways to Transport Your Lunch
Gadgets: HotSpot Eggshell Silicone Egg Poacher
Gadgets: Wusthof Knife and Scissors Sharpener
Gadgets: The 360 Vapor Pot
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
16 Comments:
Wow. Weird and cool to see internet jargon migrate to a kid's lunchbox.
Adam Kuban at 10:21AM on 08/20/09
I would like one please, only in blue.
Linnea Covington at 10:47AM on 08/20/09
Am I completely out in left field to say that that is the creepiest and weirdest thing I have ever seen?
LetThemEatQueso at 10:52AM on 08/20/09
HAhaha I think its only creepy because of the sticker placement. Without the stickers, it'd probably look normal and perhaps boring. With the right stickers, it'd be cute. With too many, you going into Picasso-style painting zone.
I think it's cute! However, I think it wouldnt be practical for me... because it'd have to fit into my bag for work. :P
engmcmuffin at 10:57AM on 08/20/09
Though I won't hide the fact that I definitely brought this to work myself (and enjoyed every minute of it), it's definitely not an adult lunch box. It fit all the food I cared to eat in a day (this surprised me, actually), but it's not practical in terms of fitting it in your purse! For a kid, though, the size is designed to fit in the large outer pocket of a standard backpack. And as for the creepy/cute stickers, they're infinitely customizable to make your own look. And yes, Linnea, they have them in blue!
Nikki Goldstein at 11:17AM on 08/20/09
I doubt this would fly with my 8 year old. There's a shocking lack of Jonas Brothers on that there box.
juliebugsmama at 11:49AM on 08/20/09
Nikki, I was just going to ask, how big was the thing? I saw it recently with no scale in the photo, then a brief photo of the thing in a kid's bookbag and it was HUGE!!! Like the size of my desktop (of an actual desk, not a computer) in elementary school huge! And how much food do you think it holds?
Thanks :)
feistyfoodie at 12:42PM on 08/20/09
This is really cute! My kids both have Laptop Lunchboxes, which is basically a bento style lunch box. Pretty much the same concept, only it's square.
I do like how with this one, it seals each compartment separately, keeping out tastes/smells from the other items inside. My daughter always complains that certain items "tastes like lunchbox" which means, it's absorbed the flavors of something else inside lol. I might get her one of these for the upcoming school year.
violetcassis at 12:53PM on 08/20/09
FesityFoodie, the goodbyn is about 8x11, about the size of a magazine or sheet of paper. And about three inches deep. So it's definitely a little on the large side. As for how much food it holds, yesterday I packed in some cereal for breakfast, as well as a bagel in the sandwich-looking compartment, rolled up slices of lox in one side compartment, sliced onion in the other (gotta love the ultimate Jew lunch!), with peanuts in the small compartment and two pieces of fruit in the large one at the end. In other words--food to last the whole workday. And if you go on their website, there are lots of photos with packing suggestions that help.
Violetcassis, I purposely tried the bagel with lox idea to see how the strong scents of lox and onion dispersed or didn't, and I was happy to report they were all sealed away!
Nikki Goldstein at 1:47PM on 08/20/09
I have long wanted a kids lunchbox that was like a bento box. We try not to use plastic baggies for each food in the lunch. I have tried separate little containers that the kids bring home and I wash and send again the next day filled with something different. Sometimes those containers are lost, so I do buy a lot of tiny containers (99cent store). This would be great until it gets lost, and it will get lost. I hope they are not $20.00 ea.
zilli at 1:55PM on 08/20/09
Where oh where can I get one of these? My niece would love one.
2kidsmom at 2:33PM on 08/20/09
Does a kid have enough time in the school day to eat this much food? I can't imagine being a busy mom and having enough things on hand to fill each compartment every day. Which makes sense cause I'm not a mom. :)
syannelevovna at 2:55PM on 08/20/09
Nikki - thanks so much! I'm already in the packing-lunch-mode (bento-style of a sorts), and that thing is HUGE! I think I'll have to pass but I LOVE the concept and am pretty sure one day I'll buy something similar for my future-not-yet-born kids. I think the large size also makes it easier for kids to handle; the smaller containers sometimes are fussy/hard to open.
@syannelevovna - I don't know the answer to your first question, but the latter part, a statement really - I would stuff it with leftovers the kid had liked from the night before, instead of making a ton of new stuff every morning. There's this great website if you're interested, lunchinabox.net that has tons of lunch packing ideas for kids (with photos and recipes and all!), though I do think the GoodByn is too big for most kids, if you stick fruit in the side, that could serve as snack time for the kid as well. Or if you stick "fluffy" high-volume, low cal foods like a salad on the side, that would be ok, but not sure how many kids eat salad as a matter of course.
(and I have a bento site as well, though I don't know how helpful it is, since I bento for myself - http://feistybento.blogspot.com )
feistyfoodie at 3:27PM on 08/20/09
no problem, feistyfoodie! glad to help.
2kidsmom, you can buy them directly from the goodbyn website--the product is still new enough that i'm not sure major retailers are carrying it.
happy lunching!
Nikki Goldstein at 9:31PM on 08/20/09
It's so cute and looks like it would be easier to clean than the laptop lunchboxes but its size and the inability to keep it cool make it a huge drawback for a regular school lunchbox. It would have been fine last year when my daughter was in preschool and they have a refrigerator for lunches but this year she's in kindergarten and no fridge. They really need to do an insulated sleeve for it with handles.
latenac at 9:13AM on 08/24/09
$35 for a lunchbox?! PLEASE! (And that's BEFORE shipping!)
Kaelsma at 11:53AM on 08/24/09