Best food storage containers (lunchbox friendly)?

[petey44]

Hi-

DH and I both WOH, and DD goes to daycare.  I am in charge of packing lunches for DD and myself every night.  We each have a laptop lunchbox, and I like that style (the 4 little containers inside the box), but it's exhausting to pack, come home, unpack, wash, repack, repeat for 5 days a week.  DH and I talked about it (tight budget) and decided that it would be worth it to buy enough little containers so that on Sunday evenings, I can pack up a week's worth of foods for DD and myself, and then during the week it's just a matter of scooping up the prefilled containers and throwing them in the lunchbag.  Picture, for example, 5 little containers filled with applesauce, one for each day's lunch for DD. 

We cannot afford to buy a bunch of extra laptop lunchbox containers.  I'm looking for containers that are budget-friendly, safe (non toxic, especially given that sometimes there will be food in them that needs to be heated up in a microwave), and small enough to fit several of them into a laptop lunchbox-size lunchbag. 

Any ideas or links?

Thanks!!

[mkksmom]

I wanted to buy the ones with the cubes, but ended up just using the take n toss bowls because they are BPA free. My dd likes that they come in pink and purple. I like that they are inexpensive.

[petey44]

Oh, I forgot to mention- I need a variety of sizes- like little ones for cookies or cheese cubes, but then also big ones for sandwiches or pasta.

[Aeress]

We use ziplock brand containers,not sure if they are bpa free but they work well and are easy to clean. We also use silicone cupcake liners to hold small things like cheese/crackers- stuff we don't want to touch other stuff. They are easy to clean and the kids think they are fun.

[hibana]

We like lock & lock containers. There are some other brands I've found at big Asian markets that are just as good, but the off-brand ones from walmart, target, etc don't seem as nice.

[mkksmom]

I've been looking at these bags:
http://www.amazon.com/ReUsies-Pack-Snack-Sandwich-Reusable/dp/B004AE3DPQ/ref=pd_sbs_sg_2

[sumershine]

I also have Laptop Lunches boxes which I pack for my husband, son, and myself. I have a set of bento buddies for each of us. They give us a bit of versatility with the extra lids and the sandwich sized box and give me a back up set. Every night, after dinner, I pack the next day's containers and my husband clean's that day's containers with the dinner dishes which works out great.