Sandwich wraps for allergy free lunches

MyItchyBoy is off to school this September and with it, starts a whole new world of packed lunches.  Having a food allergic child means that packed lunches are a part of every day trip.  But, school does mean a lot more per week than my imagination and organisation skills are usually prepared for.

I had already sourced a lunch bag that I hope will be a bit different to the others so as to reduce the chance of MyItchyBoy’s getting muddled up.  So, next my attention turned to the possibility of contamination, sharing and spillages at the table.   For this, I uncovered a whole new world of sandwich wraps.

These are (for the uninitiated) squares of wipe clean (or machine washable) material that you wrap your sandwiches/rolls/wraps up in and fix them with velcro.  The best way to explain it is to direct you to this fun video by Spanish company Boc’n Roll.

The basic idea is that MyItchyBoy can easily unwrap his lunch and then has a sort of place mat to eat off.  This protects his food from the school lunch table and hopefully marks out his lunch ‘territory’ to avoid getting food accidentally shared with his neighbours.

I was seduced by Boc’n Roll’s bright colours and swishy website.  However, I eventually went for EcoSnackWrap as I felt they had fun designs (although MyItchyBoy was disappointed there were no train designs) and good eco credentials.  I also liked that they were not too big.  I got the Eco Deal Bundle at £24.99 so got some snack pouches too, which I love.  The price is steep and the payment options are limited but am hoping they will last a long time.

We have taken them out on a few family day trips so far and I am completely won over!

MyItchyBoy loves them and certainly finds them far easier than foil which he could never seem to find the end to open.   We all love them and have found them practical and easy to use at picnic tables, on our laps – even in the car.  In fact, I was really impressed with how easy MyItchyBoy found eating his lunch (unplanned!) in his car seat.  The wraps catch the crumbs well.  Husband is really happy with the idea of taking them to office so he doesn’t have to take his lunch box to the pub after work.

Good things about sandwich wraps:

1. They are really light: great for carrying lunch for three when full or empty
2. They take up less space than plastic boxes
3. Super easy for MyItchyBoy to handle, open and use
4. They give you a clean mat to eat off
5. They cover your lap for catching crumbs
6. Can easily wrap up leftovers
7. Feels good not throwing foil wrapping in the bin
8. Easy to identify whose lunch is whose – important when 2 of us are dairy-free and Husbands likes his cheese sarnies
9. Easy to clean

 Bad Points:

1. The wraps are soft so some snacks like berries can get squished or crackers get broken.  It’s not a major risk as long as you don’t put heavy stuff on top of them.
2. Willpower is required! They seal your lunch but it’s not air tight.  This is fine until you open your bag an hour before lunch and get a waft of yummy sandwiches.   They certainly keep your lunch fresh enough for all day though, if you can last that long!

 

The finding and buying of sandwich wraps was all my own doing for a genuine purpose. I loved them so much and think they are a good product for allergy kids that I wanted to share.