The plug-in lunch box that cooks food at your desk
SQUASHED sandwiches wrapped in sweaty clingfilm are enough to put anyone off their lunch. But, according to recent research, office workers who opt to buy their lunch out spend almost £2,000 a year doing so.
Perhaps not surprisingly, there’s an increasing array of smart lunch boxes for the growing number of us who prefer to pack our own lunch.
So which will encourage you to save thousands on your snacks, and which are guaranteed to send you off to the nearest sandwich shop?
THE PRACTICAL ONE
Sistema Chill It To Go, £8.95, tesco.com A ROBUST plastic container with a slim, refillable ice pack which sits neatly inside the top to keep your food cool. There’s a screw-topped pot for salad dressing, and a handy knife and fork fixed into the lid.
PROS: Once filled with water and frozen, the ice pack will keep contents of this lunchbox cool for around six hours, so you can pack a substantial salad into this neat box on a warm day. It’s big enough to comfortably store a sandwich, some fruit, a cereal bar and a yogurt, too. Dishwasher, microwave and freezer safe, the clip- on lid is watertight and the cutlery is practical.
CONS: As the ice pack defrosts, condensation drips into the bottom of the box and soaks the contents. Yuck.
VERDICT: A compact lunch box that stays cool in warm weather — but the drips are rather off-putting.
SCORE: 5/10
THE ELECTRIC LUNCH BOX
Prepology Electric Warming Lunch Box £10.98, qvcuk.com A NEAT, plug-in lunch box (main picture) that allows you to steam food at your desk.
PROS: I was very sceptical, but this worked incredibly well. You pour a little water into the base, pop your food inside, lock the lid shut, turn the steamer on and wait for 20 minutes. My portion of chicken stir fry came out piping hot. Because the lid is locked shut during steaming, the air didn’t fill with the smell of cooking, so you don’t need to worry about offending your colleagues. This has enough capacity to warm a meal for two people.
CONS: It’s not as quick as a microwave, and the lid on the i nner cooking container doesn’t seal shut — so you can’t use it to transport food.
VERDICT: A bit fiddly to use.
SCORE: 5/10
THE SOUPER IDEA
Klip Klip It It Soup Soup Mug, Mug, £4.49, £4.49, lakeland. lakeland.co.uk co.uk A MICRO-WAVABLE mug with a a watertight lid.
PROS: PROS: With a generous 656ml capacity, the mug is big enough to hold an entire carton of fresh soup. The secure lock-down lid means it can be transported upright without spillages. Click open the vent on the lid to prevent splashes in the microwave. The handle stays cool, so it is easy to eat from the cup. It is also useful for heating up porridge, leftover stews, noodles, pasta and beans. The mug is freezer and dishwasher safe.
CONS: CONS: When I left the mug upside down to check for leaks, there was a tiny bit of seepage. Transport in a plastic bag to be on the safe side.
VERDICT: Practical and well priced — just watch out for small leaks.
SCORE: 6/10
THE STYLISH ONE
Aladdin Bento Lunch Box by Design Plus , £23, gooutdoors.com A STYLISH lunch box featuring two containers that stack neatly on top of each other and keep food hot or cold for up to four hours.
PROS: You’ll get lots of comments when you pop this eye- catching container onto your desk. You can use one or both of the containers, which click together seamlessly with a satisfying clunk. The top one has an optional divider. Depending on whether you use them to store hot or cold food, they need to be warmed or chilled first. It is microwavable but not dishwasher safe.
CONS: Large and cumbersome — and it’s hand-wash only.
VERDICT: Awkward to carry around, but works well.
SCORE: 6/10
THE POSH ONE
Box Appetit by Black + Blum, £16.95 with matching lunch bag, £6.50, notonthehighstreet.com AN ATTRACTIVE lunch box available in five c ol ours. The see-through lid has clip l ocks and seals securely. Inside there’s a removable dressing pot and a separate triangular container for sandwiches. You can buy an insulated lunch bag to carry it in, which opens out as a placemat.
PROS: This microwave and dishwasher-safe lunch box has are movable container perfect for warming up an accompaniment to a cold side salad. The dressing pot is a good idea, too, and even has a small lip to make pouring easier. The fork has a wider, flat edge which can be used to cut food.
CONS: Well designed, but laying the whole thing out as a place setting at your desk feels a little ridiculous.
VERDICT: Stylish and practical but pricey.
SCORE: 8/10
THE COMMUTER’S FRIEND
Beau & Elliot Lunch Tote, £15, johnlewis.com AN INSULATED, wipeclean lunch tote bag that comes in four bright colour ways and patterns including hearts, stripes and a filigree design.
PROS: Attractive and easy to carry, this tote is a convenient way to t ake l unch to work. Although the bag is roomy, the zip opening is too small to accommodate a regular lunch box, so items need to be packed separately. It is lightly insulated, but by adding a frozen cold pack I was able to keep my lunch cool until midday.
CONS: This bag is wipeclean, but machine washable would be more practical.
VERDICT: Handy and attractive but tricky to keep clean.
SCORE: 7/10
THE REUSABLE SANDWICH WRAP
Onya Lunch Wrap, £7.50 onyabags.co.uk A RE- USABLE food wrap ma d e from RPET, a fabric that is woven from recycled plastic bottles.
Designed to minimise packaging waste and keep food fresh, it is intended to replace disposable cling film, foil and sandwich bags.
PROS: Anything that cuts down on wasteful food packaging can only be a good thing. The wrap — which closes with Velcro straps — is strong and lined with a food-safe layer that is designed to be wiped clean between uses. You can also handwash it and then leave it to air dry.
CONS: Unless you eat giant baguettes, or are packing up rounds of sandwiches for a family picnic, at 44cm x 37cm this is way too big. A regular sandwich is dwarfed by the wrap.
I found that the quickest and safest way to clean it was with a disposable antibacterial wipe — which goes against this wrap’s ecofriendly credentials.
VERDICT: A great idea that needs refining.
SCORE: 5/10