Anonymous wrote:My son is taking pasta in his thermos for about a month now. That’s what he wants every day. Might try taco meat in thermos plus taco shell on the side next.

+1 they sell “steet” (super small) size soft tortillas now too — roll up and fit great in thermos!

Meatballs and twisty pasta, pre-cut up lasagna, any stir fry, chicken and rice, turkey and mashed potatoes, meatloaf and potatoes or rice, rice and beans... we also do foil wrapped quesadillas, in slices so fits in thermos and last day of quarter pizza

My son is taking pasta in his thermos for about a month now. That’s what he wants every day. Might try taco meat in thermos plus taco shell on the side next.

In addition to pasta, my son loves rice in his thermos. Usually we do rice with chicken teriyaki, or bulgogi, or any other dinner leftovers. Same thing PP recommended: warm up the thermos, put 1 cup rice in microwave with 1 tbsp water sprinkled over it for 1 min, then transfer to thermos.

You can put anything in a thermos - soup, pasta, even nuggets!

My kid primarily eats hot lunches. Get a Thermos Funtainer and do the water thing first. In addition to all the above suggestions my kid likes leftovers layered in the thermos like diced chicken peas and mashed potatoes.

pasta with bolognese
tuna mac and cheese
chili
beef stew

Anonymous wrote:Here is a tip. Put hot water in the thermos for about 5-10 mins, then empty it real quick before you put the food in. Keeps it warn longer. My 7yo liked chicken nuggets and chicken noodle soup. Alternate cold lunch udea if you have the Bentgo box is cold leftover chicken. I do this about ince a week and put ketchup in one of the compartments.

That's a really good idea to alternate hot and cold. Maybe that's where we had the fail. I kept sending in sandwiches and they kept coming back uneaten. So we switched to bento boxes, but he eventually stopped eating that stuff too.

OP here. THANK YOU for the ideas!! I don't know why I didn't think of pasta. That would travel really well in a mug, I would think. Any short pasta in sauce would not get too messy to eat, either. Love the idea of a bean and/or cheese quesadilla wrapped in foil, and never thought to do chicken nuggets in a thermos before. Sounds like something to try. That gets me thinking that any warm, hearty food will travel in a thermos... like warmed up leftovers if it was something DS really liked.

I wasn't sure what would keep well for circa four hours, without getting condensation and soggy, or dip into the "danger zone" temperature.

Here is a tip. Put hot water in the thermos for about 5-10 mins, then empty it real quick before you put the food in. Keeps it warn longer. My 7yo liked chicken nuggets and chicken noodle soup. Alternate cold lunch udea if you have the Bentgo box is cold leftover chicken. I do this about ince a week and put ketchup in one of the compartments.

Anonymous wrote:Chili, stew, soup, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese in thermos
Sloppy joe mix in thermos with bun on the side
Quesadillas wrapped in foil (refried beans, cheese) or grilled cheese (tomato soup on the side in thermos)

Grilled cheese isn’t gross hours later?

Tortellini in a thermos

Neither of my kids is typically a sandwich eater and there are tons of ideas for non-sandwich lunches out there: pita and hummus with veggies, cheese and crackers with fruit/veggies, hard boiled eggs, etc.

I have also had great results by having them pack their lunches with me. We look through all the options together and come up with something they know they'll eat.

Any sort of pasta

Chili, stew, soup, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese in thermos
Sloppy joe mix in thermos with bun on the side
Quesadillas wrapped in foil (refried beans, cheese) or grilled cheese (tomato soup on the side in thermos)

Hi. Does anyone have ideas for warm meals that travel well to school? DS has taken an interest in bringing in his lunch, but won't eat cold sandwiches. We had given up on packing lunches because he wouldn't eat it, but he likes the warm options at school. We tried bento boxes to no avail. Would be especially interested in hearing ideas for high-protein, high-calorie food. Many thanks!