When you spend all of that time preparing lunches for your kids, to make sure that their little bellies don't go hungry and they eat (healthy) delicious meals at school, the last thing that you might think about is the lunchbox. Turns out that's a pretty important step, especially considering that many traditional lunch boxes are made of vinyl. Some even have issues with lead.

It's incredible how many lunch boxes are made from vinyl, especially considering it's such a toxic material. We don't usually like to mix that with our lunch. Vinyl lunch boxes have been tested; lead was found, but deemed insignificant. We, however, agree with our own Amy Stodghill when she wrote on her blog: "But the bottom line is lunch boxes have lunch in them. Lunch goes into our bodies (and the bodies of kids), a place where lead should not go."

There are many eco-friendly alternatives that are vinyl-free and lead-safe like the Built NY Gourmet Getaway or the Basura Bag.

Of course, if you're using a lunchbox that you consider suspect, you might want to go ahead and test it. You can pick up a lead testing kit at most hardware / home improvement stores, and follow these simple instructions. More info can be found at the Center for Environmental Health.

Rebecca says: I spend enough time worrying about what's in my food, I don't want to be concerned if I'm making it worse!

This tip was given to me by Amy. You, too, can give me a tip! I know you've got one…