Get the lunch box with the fork in the lid

A lunch box with a built-in cutlery compartment is worth it if you pack lunch more than twice a week, and the good ones run about $25 to $35.

The best designs are the bento-style containers where the fork and spoon snap into the lid or the body. Bentgo’s Classic ships with its own small fork and spoon, and Senbei does it more elegantly with cutlery that clicks into the top. Either works. The whole point is that you never sit down at noon and realize your only fork is still in last night’s Tupperware at home.

The ones to skip are the cheap $12 versions with a rattly flimsy fork and compartments too small to hold a real meal. That’s where the category gets a bad name.

The caveat: if your office has a stocked cutlery drawer or you only pack lunch once in a while, this is a solution in search of a problem. Buy it when you’re actually committed to the habit, not to kick one off.

Future You won’t be eating salad with a coffee stirrer.