I still remember my metal Sesame Street lunchbox and Thermos that I had when I was a little kid. It's apparently a collector's item now, although mine would probably not have been worth much because it was well-used. (How fun it would have been to pass it on to my child to use!) Here are some great options for your child’s lunch or your own that will reduce waste and put healthier options close at hand. It's a great way to offer some structure and self-encouragement to healthier lunching habits for someone used to buying lunch every day, and can save you a lot of money!

Bazura Bags features a lunch bag made from recycled juice box containers. They are made in the Philippines and support fair trade. Juice boxes are collected from local schools, washed and then sewn into various items. Buying a Bazura Bag is a great way to support fair trade, keep juice boxes from the landfill, and have something colorful to put a lunch in. Available for $21.99 on Amazon.com.

The Build a Lunch Box Kit comes with a plain metal lunch box and a sticker book that you choose for your child to decorate their lunch box. You could also just purchase the plain metal lunchbox and find your own stickers. It is a great way for your child to personalize their own lunch box. The Build a Lunch Box Kit is $13.95 at Lunchboxes.com.

Built NY’s Munchlers Insulated Lunch Bags feature different animal heads (tiger, bunny, dog and panda) that not only insulate and carry food, but unzip to lay flat and serve as a placemat. Their cute designs are a surefire hit with young children and work for adults if you eat a smallish lunch. Muchlers are made from polypropylene and available for $9.95 on Amazon.com.

Mimi the Sardine has a number of different bright and colorfully designed bags. The bags are made from acrylic-coated cotton that is PVC-free and meets the Oeko-Tex 100 Standard, an international testing and certification system for textiles that limits the use of certain chemicals. Water and soil resistant and machine washable. The medium size is perfect for you or your child's lunch. Available for $17-$22 at Amazon.com.

Obentec's Laptop Lunches Bento-style lunch box is designed after the Japanese bento box, a food container that features different compartments for different food. Laptop Lunch’s Bento Box is made from polypropylene and polyethylene that is BPA and phthalate-free. You can buy the box on its own or with a bag, but because the container uses some non-lidded interior containers, the lunch box may need to be carried flat for some meals, which makes the carrying case a less attractive accessory. The Bento Box lunch box is available on Amazon.com for about $21/$38 with/without a water bottle and carrying case.

Another bento-style option in plastic comes from Lunchsense, whose lunch kits include high-quality Lock & Lock storage containers and a polypropylene outer shell that unsnaps and lays flat like the Munchlers mentioned above. Two of the Lunchsense lunch boxes' three sizes were given five-star ratings in the ZRecs Guide.

The bento box idea is great for reducing waste when it comes to packaging the food since it eliminates the need for plastic bags. Even if you don’t buy a bento-style lunch system, you can still incorporate the idea of having smaller containers like Tupperware or ThinkBaby Feeding set to hold your or your child's food inside a lunch bag instead of using plastic bags.

There are a lot of other great reusable lunch containers out there. Do you use or favor another brand or style? Share your recommendations in the comments!