how to keep lunch warm?

[Anonymous]

I do the preheating the thermos with boiling water which seems to help. However, I have realized that not all hot foot containers keep the heat in very well. I have bought 2 different brands and as a test I filled them both with hot water in the morning and only one of them kept the water hot by lunchtime, the other was lukewarm (which I returned). We currently use the Thermos brand as they seem to be the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do the preheating the thermos with boiling water which seems to help. However, I have realized that not all hot foot containers keep the heat in very well. I have bought 2 different brands and as a test I filled them both with hot water in the morning and only one of them kept the water hot by lunchtime, the other was lukewarm (which I returned). We currently use the Thermos brand as they seem to be the best.

*food not foot!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why?? Just pack a sandwich.

Our dinner leftovers are healthier than a sandwich and it’s easier to put a Pyrex container in the microwave and then put the food in a thermos than to make a sandwich.

Exactly, my kids love leftovers of our healthy dinners (stews, pasta/rice dishes, etc.) and it's no more trouble for me to heat up leftovers than to pull out all the sandwich components. We use Thermos brand, too. I usually skip the hot water trick and just heat up extra hot. They tell me the food is still warm at lunchtime, but not hot.

[Anonymous]

Your child's meals get cold within minutes even at home. (Unless your child is one of the rare ones that eats everything promptly without dawdling). Send whatever they normally eat and don't sweat it.

[Anonymous]

I do a hot lunch once a week. We switch between chicken noodle soup and chicken nuggets. I use the Thermos fundraiser too. I fill it at 8 and DD eats lunch at 12. She tells me the food is still hot/warm. I do preheat the container too like other PPs suggested. I’m not sure this would work as well for leftovers though tbh. With the soup I make it in the morning so it’s literally boiling water when I put it in the thermos. I don’t think I could get soup that hot if I was just reheating it.

[Anonymous]

Above PP again. If your school is nut free and your kid likes PB try switching to sunflower butter. It looks the same and has same texture. Just a different flavor.

[Anonymous]

My kids eat leftovers cold.

[Anonymous]

Thermos has a bowl type thing that keeps food warm for 8 hours. We do pasta and casseroles mostly.

[Anonymous]

we bought thermos brand at target, I preheat with boiling water and extra heat the food, and it is cold by lunch. Try it out sometimes yourself, you will be surprised.

I'm going to spend a little more and perhaps get a better one because my kids love to eat leftovers for lunch and I worry about food safety.

If it is cold, you can keep it cold, but re-heating and then it getting out of the "safe zone" is not good- esp if for hours. (i have worked in the food industry)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just use a regular Thermos (maybe the Funtainer?). I fill it with hot water and let it sit while I heat up the food. It stays warm enough for lunch.

Not OP, but my kid swears everything is still cold/room temperature by lunchtime even though I use this process (and I pack it at 8 for lunch at 1230). Does yours really stay hot for several hours?

Np and yes it stays hot.

We do this, and it works, BUT, the thermos have to be stuffed totally full in my experience. So works best with pastas, rice and beans, etc. stuffed totally full.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do the preheating the thermos with boiling water which seems to help. However, I have realized that not all hot foot containers keep the heat in very well. I have bought 2 different brands and as a test I filled them both with hot water in the morning and only one of them kept the water hot by lunchtime, the other was lukewarm (which I returned). We currently use the Thermos brand as they seem to be the best.

Well, right. When a brand name stars to be used as a generic, you can assume that it is, in fact, the best of its kind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Above PP again. If your school is nut free and your kid likes PB try switching to sunflower butter. It looks the same and has same texture. Just a different flavor.

Unfortunately both my kids hate the taste of sun butter. We had a little more luck with “wowbutter” which is soy, but they’re not that crazy about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why?? Just pack a sandwich.

Our dinner leftovers are healthier than a sandwich and it’s easier to put a Pyrex container in the microwave and then put the food in a thermos than to make a sandwich.

Exactly, my kids love leftovers of our healthy dinners (stews, pasta/rice dishes, etc.) and it's no more trouble for me to heat up leftovers than to pull out all the sandwich components. We use Thermos brand, too. I usually skip the hot water trick and just heat up extra hot. They tell me the food is still warm at lunchtime, but not hot.

I dont know, sounds like a big pain to be boiling soup and boiling water to then thermos at 6am. Im glad my kids will eat room temp food without complaint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We use a standard Thermos brand thermos for warm lunches. The key is to fill it with boiling water, seal the lid, and let it sit for 5 minutes while you heat the food in the morning. Then empty it, dry it out, and fill with your hot food. Pre-heating the container helps keep the food hot a lot longer than it would if you put the food directly into a cold container.

+1

[Anonymous]

I also had better luck with the Stainless King, https://thermos.com/collections/food-jars/products/stainless-king-food-jar-16oz, which keeps food hot for 9 hours, vs the funtainers, https://thermos.com/products/funtainer-r-stainless-steel-food-jar-10oz, which only keep food warm for 5 hours.

I found that the kids line didn't keep food as warm.