Will the microbiologist who sometimes posts please weigh in on some school lunch items?

[Anonymous]

I worked in a microbiology lab for 3 years and currently pack my lunch for work at an R&D lab.

Today I took cooked chicken out of the fridge and put it directly in a container. It will stay at room temperature next to my desk until lunch time. Bcterial growth will be minimal. I prefer to microwave my food, but your child can eat it at room temperature.

Now, if she's going to an outdoor camp where the lunch box will be sitting in the sun, I would recommend putting two ice packs on either side of the container.

[Anonymous]

OP, is your question whether it’s ok to send these warm, in a thermos or if these are foods you can send cold with an ice pack? If the latter, then YES. My kids have eaten all of those proteins cold, happily, for many years. Just use an ice pack. I sometimes sneak a few cold chicken nuggets into my own lunchbox.

If the former, then I’m with you. Even in a first-heated thermos, it doesn’t seem like the food with stay hot long enough to stay safe. That said, I know lots of people who do this and their kids seem fine! Maybe I’m just squeamish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I put leftovers from the frig in our plantbox all the time. No ice pack or reheating. Just send it as is. Three kids, oldest is 12. You are overthinking this by a lot.

I sent all kinds of sandwiches and leftovers with no ice pack just an insulated bag. No issues. Kids are in college now.

[Anonymous]

The omie lunchbox has a handle that makes it openable for small hands including my son with DCD.

[Anonymous]

+1 for the Bentgo boxes, which fit nicely inside insulated lunch pack with an ice pack. Also, not all "deli meats' are the same--there are decent nitrate/nitrite free hams and turkeys one can buy without super sodium levels. (just a foodie dad)

[Anonymous]

I pack grilled chicken or lunch meat for lunch for myself pretty much every single day. It sits at room temperature and I eat it at room temperature. No issues.

[Anonymous]

If you look in cookbooks for bento recipes (usually Japanese ones), most of them have meat and rice and are unrefrigerated until lunch time. Like others have said, you just need to make sure they are cooked fully and cooled (but not sitting out too long!) before packing. It's time consuming and requires a lot of overhead, and I'm sad to say I never managed to work it into my schedule. If we had dietary needs like your family, though, I might have dug deeper to make it happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you look in cookbooks for bento recipes (usually Japanese ones), most of them have meat and rice and are unrefrigerated until lunch time. Like others have said, you just need to make sure they are cooked fully and cooled (but not sitting out too long!) before packing. It's time consuming and requires a lot of overhead, and I'm sad to say I never managed to work it into my schedule. If we had dietary needs like your family, though, I might have dug deeper to make it happen.

Just use last night’s dinner leftovers.

[Anonymous]

Don’t send an ice pack if her lunch box will be in a locker. I was packing my kids lunch in a Yumbox, in an insulated Pottery Barn lunchbox, with an ice pack. And the food was basically too cold to eat by the time lunch time came around.

Try a Yumbox - it seals nicely, but is easy to open.

[Anonymous]

Ice packs in an insulated lunch box should be sufficient. No need to send a thermos. DS had significant hand weakness and could not open most containers. We tried a variety of styles and materials until we found good ones and then he practiced at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked in a microbiology lab for 3 years and currently pack my lunch for work at an R&D lab.

Today I took cooked chicken out of the fridge and put it directly in a container. It will stay at room temperature next to my desk until lunch time. Bcterial growth will be minimal. I prefer to microwave my food, but your child can eat it at room temperature.

Now, if she's going to an outdoor camp where the lunch box will be sitting in the sun, I would recommend putting two ice packs on either side of the container.

Glad to see I'm not the only one on this wavelength.

[Anonymous]

I really like the PackIt freezable lunch bags. You put the whole lunch bag in the freezer, the ice packs are built in. We use a Yumbox inside. My kid’s leftovers are still cold after school. Not a microbiologist, but cold food that stays cold seems safe to me!

[Anonymous]

I freeze water bottles and use them as ice-packs.