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Unitasker Wednesday: Incredibly specific containers
If you or your loved one’s lunch keeps getting smashed or damaged on a regular basis, you may (not) want to invest in some plastic containers to protect the contents. But how on earth do you remember what is in each container? Well, that’s where these brand-specific containers come in handy. Do you need your Twinkies protected? No problem. What about your Nutri-Grain bar? Tired of smashing it when you are on the go? Then go ahead and get yourself a Nutri-Grain container. They come in different colors so you know exactly what flavor you are about to enjoy.
The Tater Tubs may haunt you in your dreams with their googly eyes, but you’ll never experience “crumblage” when enjoying your lunch time potato chips. It is nearly impossible for anyone to find a container to fit those crazy shaped Fudge Striped cookies, but now your prayers have been answered. A perfectly round container is available for you and it looks just like one of those Keebler endorsed cookies! You’ll never be caught off guard again.
Don’t even think about sticking a non-Keebler product into one of these — Keebler elves do not mess around when it comes to lunch time treats.
(I shudder to think of the space it would take to actually store all of these containers!)
**Unitasker Wednesday posts humorously poke fun at the single-use items that manage to find their way into our homes.
21 comments posted
Posted by William Mize - 03/19/2008
As far as containers go, nothing satisfies both my zen itch and my neat and uncluttered itch better than Bento Boxes.
http://www.laptoplunches.com/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/bentoboxes/
Posted by Steph - 03/19/2008
I used to have one of those Oreo containers… ahh, childhood.
The Nutri-Grain ones are really something else, though.
Posted by Michele - 03/19/2008
I’ve seen the sandwich containers at the local supermarket. Since they’re flatter than the containers I use to pack my sandwich every day, they would take up less space in my bag than the selection of containers I already have. I would consider getting one if they weren’t branded.
Neat link. Thanks!
Posted by Alex - 03/19/2008
I regularly use one that holds pringles. I store it in my lunch box. It holds a serving of pringles, and keeps them from being broken in my bag. Plus it was free.
And it is better then using a plastic bag every day.
Posted by zonebattler - 03/19/2008
To me, brand specific food containers seem to be a waste of precious resources. However, it might make sense to get a fancy container to protect delicate fruits like bananas in your backpack:
http://bananabunker.com
http://www.banabox.de
Then again, I somehow managed to get around for some 48 years without buying plastic stuff like that. And I carried a lot of bananas in my life!
Posted by spark - 03/19/2008
Some of those containers aren’t really unitaskers, they could be used for other things. They’d just become a “fancy” tupperware or gladware container.
But I MUST agree, for the most part, those are absolutely absurd. Especially the nutri-grain container and similar ones. Creating a product specific container for an already pre-packaged food is a definite waste.
I love my apple-cinnamon nutri-grain bar and don’t especially like it once it gets squished in my backpack…but no way in hell would I waste cash on that container thingy. They still taste good, squished flat or fresh from the box puffed up.
Posted by Celeste - 03/19/2008
My daughter’s plastic cupcake holder is truly a uni-tasker, but it clutches the bottom of the cake so the frosting stays put.
You can still eat a Nutri-grain bar if it’s in pieces, but a cupcake is delicate enough to need protection in transit.
Posted by Brandon - 03/19/2008
My wife and I were at my folks house for dinner last week, and my mom sent us home with a few cupcakes, neatly packaged in individual cupcake tupperware.
I will say that they made it home in perfect condition
Posted by Baerana - 03/19/2008
i’d actually like a nutrigrain container – i keep one in my bag at all times (for when my blood sugar drops too low) and they are always crumbs by the time i eat them
Posted by tay - 03/19/2008
why would i want one more piece of clutter in my kitchen? That’s all it would turn into. I’m thinking minimalist here.
Posted by Sue - 03/19/2008
It’s not just clutter–it’s ADVERTISING!!!
Posted by carol - 03/19/2008
rescued that nutri-grain container from the 99 cent store two years ago & haven’t eaten a squished / melted Powerbar since.
tough enough to toss into a gym bag, tiny enough for a clutch, but LIVES in my laptop bag – random lunch is always ready
absolutely saved me hundreds in on-the-go meals
not to mention the extra calories, packaging & environmentally unsound sadness of fast food…
talk about uncluttered
Posted by Hillary - 03/19/2008
I was addicted to Pop Tarts at one point in time and go the container for free after mailing in a few UPCs. I’ll tell you after I got it, I never ate Pop Tarts again and it just kicked around the house. CLUTTER! But had I kept eating PT I would have used it. Nothing worse than having crumbly Pop Tarts. Hopefully someone is getting use out of it now, as it was donated…
Posted by Emma - 03/20/2008
Totally off topic but ooooh Pop Tarts, I’ve not had one of those for years… I need one now!
Posted by Kimberly - 03/20/2008
I’m all about protecting your food on the go, but this is so specific. I use a small school supply container that I got at Wal-Mart for $1 to carry a few granola bars and a banana around in my backpack. It works perfectly and I can fit more than one piece of food in it.
Posted by Christine - 03/24/2008
These are so funny. I guess if you ate Nutrigrain bars or one of those other foods every day, it *might* be okay…as I have experienced the crumbly bar that someone else mentioned. But, my answer to that was to stop buying them. Part of the benefit of having pre-packaged food–as wasteful as it is–is to NOT have a container afterward, in my opinion. You might as well just make your own granola bars if you have to put them in a container anyway. BTW, my mom got me one of those laptop lunches someone posted about for Christmas. We sent it back because it just didn’t work for me.
Posted by vladimir cole - 03/26/2008
You had me going. I just started reading the blog, so I wasn’t aware that these were joke posts. I was ready to storm down here to the comments box and let you have it. Haha. This is a great find. What a worthless product. I’ve been collecting these myself. So far, just a small collection of four worthless consumer products:
http://www.vladcole.net/?cat=10
Posted by Java Monster - 03/22/2009
I went to the Laptop Lunches site, but unfortunately, none of the links to buy their product are working. Have they gone out of business? Does anyone know?
Posted by Mo - 03/23/2009
I got Laptop Lunches e-newsletter last week, so I’m guessing they are still around.
I agree with the general consensus that these branded things are silly, but… for things that you keep on hand for “emergencies” – like power bars in purse or car, a small, light dedicated container would be a good thing. My husband had a power bar in one of these in the pocket of his car door. If he ate it, he put the empty in his briefcase, so he’d know to restock. An ordinary tupperware wouldn’t really have fit.
But I really can’t see spending money on these – I think we got ours for boxtops.
Posted by ziggee - 03/23/2009
my dh loves his Poptart container even though he uses the store brand poptarts to put them in.
Zig
Posted by Almost American - 03/23/2009
I like to keep a couple of Nutrigrain bars in my bag for emergency snacks for my kids – saves me buying much more expensive spur-of-the-moment snacks. They do get crumbly eventually though, which means the kids spill most of them on the floor. I recently discovered that a glasses case, recycled from one of my old pairs of glasses, works perfectly to keep them intact!
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