I stopped preheating the thermos after reading this:

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/11/26/how-to-use-thermos-food-jars/

My DD hasn't noticed a difference.

Very helpful tips on this thread.

I made rice and chicken today- the chicken doesn't have much sauce. how would you recommend heating this for tomorrow for the thermos. Someone mentioned that food that do not have much liquid don't generally hold well in a thermos?

My kids having been using these thermos since Kindergarten they are now in 4th grade. I heat up the thermos with very hot water while I warm up the food on the stove top. No microwave heating. It may work, but I don't do it.

I then pack a fruit, cereal bar, some nuts, and at times a special treat.

Anonymous wrote:

My son likes pasta in his. I fill it with boiling water and slap the lid on while his pasta is heating. I overheat that, dump out the water and put the pasta in. He says its the perfect temp when he eats it

+1 - I also find that stovetop works better than microwave. Also, with pasta, make it fresh in the morning that you're sending it, otherwise it gets gummy.

+2 - I send my DD's with leftover Chinese from this weekend.... aside from the fact that they are absolutely thrilled to have something other than the normal sandwich, fruit, and yogurt lunch, also find that the stove top or oven, for some reason, keeps the food at a better temperature and quality. I wrapped the food in foil, heated it up in the oven, then transferred it into the thermos' before we left.

My son likes pasta in his. I fill it with boiling water and slap the lid on while his pasta is heating. I overheat that, dump out the water and put the pasta in. He says its the perfect temp when he eats it

+1 - I also find that stovetop works better than microwave. Also, with pasta, make it fresh in the morning that you're sending it, otherwise it gets gummy.

+1 for heating on stovetop... DD always knows and complains when I preheat in microwave (even if I don't tell her).

I have found I have to heat the food on the stovetop, not in the microwave; I don't know why but heating it in a saucepan on the stove seems to result in food that stays hotter longer in a thermos.

Food needs to have some kind of liquidy sauce to stay hot. Plain noodles won't stay hot. And there needs to be a high proportion of sauce to chunky food.

Preheating the thermos with hot water sounds like it should help keep food warm, but in my experience it had little effect.

Somewhere online I once saw some heating rocks, basically, like marbles only larger, that you could heat up and put in the food to keep it warm! That would work as long as you were sure your kid wouldn't accidentally eat them!

They were something like this:

http://www.joulies.com/collections/retail-products

Warm it up with hot water before you out the food in it and superheat the food in the microwave.

He's a creature of habit--rarely changes his menu! Yes, his pasta has sauce on it---I'll make a batch of pasta like penne or rigatoni with sauce on Sunday and then reheat batches for his lunches during the week. Then I'll pack some baby carrots, apple slices, hard boiled egg, grapes, a banana or something like that and a "treat": a couple of cookies, a rice krispie bar, pudding cup, etc.

MommaRN wrote:My son likes pasta in his. I fill it with boiling water and slap the lid on while his pasta is heating. I overheat that, dump out the water and put the pasta in. He says its the perfect temp when he eats it

Do you put pasta sauce? DC has requested plain pasta with butter and cheese but I'm worried it won't be enough. I also pack snacks (apples, cheese sticks, etc.).

My son likes pasta in his. I fill it with boiling water and slap the lid on while his pasta is heating. I overheat that, dump out the water and put the pasta in. He says its the perfect temp when he eats it

I do the water preheat and pack my daughter's lunch before you do your kid's lunch and my kid eats later than yours. I think the food stays warmish but not too hot.

That should work, but if you wanted to be really sure you could also fill the thermos with hot water while you prep the food to heat the thermos too. Then when the food's ready, pour out the water & dry it and it will help the food stay warm longer.

DC complains that the FCPS cafeteria food is awful although she buys lunch on days when they serve pasta or cheese pizza. I would like to pack leftovers for her for a break from the sandwiches. I bought one of those stainless thermos food containers from Target. Do I heat up the very hot and then place it into the thermos since I pack her lunch around 7 am and they eat at 11 am? Stupid question but she liked the daycare food so packing lunch is new for me.