It's nearly August -- time to start thinking back-to-school. Why not do the green thing this year and send Junior and Missy to class in style with their own Laptop Lunch boxes, fashionable, reusable kits that help save the environment -- and look a whole lot better than that old "Scooby-Doo" lunch pail.

What makes the Laptop Lunch kit different from a standard-issue lunch box? The kit includes a traylike set of five dishwasher-safe food containers, a stylish fork and spoon and a book of creative lunch-making ideas, and it all sits inside an insulated carrying case with a water bottle.

Amy Hemmert, co-founder with Tammy Pelstring of Obentec, manufacturer of the Laptop Lunch kit, says she had the idea for the handy lunch box after living in Japan, where everyone brings bento boxes to class or the office, in the late '80s. "When I returned to the U.S., I continued taking my bento box to work, and, when my kids started school, I began packing bento boxes for them as well," she adds. "But, as my kids grew, I realized that the Japanese boxes didn't accommodate American foods very well." Hemmert noticed that the food most children were bringing from home was prepackaged, processed and nutrient poor and created a lot of unnecessary trash. The Laptop Lunch box makes it easier for parents to send their kids off to school with healthier, homemade meals and to minimize waste by utilizing the sealable, reusable containers.

But how about that company name? "Bento is a Japanese word used to describe a portable meal carrier," she says. "We added the Japanese honorific O to the beginning and ec to the end because our products are both ecological and economical. Laptop Lunches help families waste less, spend less and eat well."

For a wealth of additional information about the Laptop Lunch box, visit the Obentec Web site (see the link above), or call (877) 623-6832. In addition to the lunch kit and the book, Hemmert and Pelstring send out an informative monthly e-newsletter, "The Laptop Lunch Times," that includes product updates, success stories and recipe ideas.