Opinionated guide to lunch gear & cookbooks

A couple of weeks ago I started putting together a blog entry on commonly available containers doing double duty as bento boxes or sauce containers, but the list of products quickly grew extremely long and difficult to organize. Instead of putting all of the information into a normal entry, I’ve created the Lunch in a Box Amazon aStore with opinionated notes on the products, suggested cheaper alternatives or stores, and references to equipment reviews from respected sources like Cook’s Illustrated magazine (accepts no advertising).

I’d like to emphasize that you do not need a lot of fancy, expensive equipment to pack your own lunch!!! But if you’re looking for something in particular, these links may give you ideas or point to low-cost alternatives that you can purchase locally. If you will be buying from Amazon.com anyway, using these links to get to Amazon will help support Lunch in a Box, even if you wind up purchasing different products. Orders are fulfilled by Amazon. Thank you!

Lunch containers (Tupperware, thermal lunch jars, non-plastic containers, containers with built-in ice packs, etc.)

Lunch bags & ice packs
Drink containers
Condiment containers
Packing accessories
Utensils & napkins

Kitchen equipment (mini pans/pots, reasonable rice cookers, fish roaster, toaster oven, etc.)

Speedy prep tools
Shaping & decorating

Cookbooks

Japanese
My favorites
For kids
Food reference

Magazines

Grocery

Japanese
Other international (under construction)

Picnic gear (under construction)

Feel free to comment with any ingenious products or how-to’s you’ve stumbled upon that you’d like to share with readers. I’ll continue to add and delete products accordingly.

READ MORE:

• Need for speed: A mommy’s lunch manifesto
• Food safety for packed lunches
• How to pack a bento lunch and use “gap fillers”
• Choosing the right size bento box
• Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and equipment reviews