If you pack hot food, what's your system?

[mommylove]

Park days, field trips . . . that sort of thing.

Gimme your system, your tools, your containers, paper plates or washable, etc.

[2sunshines]

Well, not sure if this is what you're asking, but I pack hot food in my children's school lunches sometimes.

We just use a thermos. Heat up the thermos by filling it with hot water (and of course then emptying and drying it), put the hot food in and bam, hot lunch.

They just eat out of the thermos, so it's just a matter of packing utensils.

[Blue-EyedLady]

Ditto on the hot lunch at school. For the park or something, I heat up the food in a tupperware-style box and put it in an insulated lunch bag. We also have an oven for the car we've used exactly once. Still trying to get the hang of that one.

[mommylove]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Oven for the car? I *must* know more about this.

I'm debating between buying each person a Thermos or buying 2 large ones & sharing. The 10-oz kid ones that are readily available locally seem so small.

Eating straight out of the Thermos is a huge plus.

[Blue-EyedLady]

The smallish Thermos is plenty for my 6 yo. I also pack side dishes for him, so it's not like it's the only thing he has to eat.

Oven for the car - it's the sort of thing you'd buy at a truck stop. It plugs into the cigarette lighter. Small capacity, though. It works like a crock pot would - low heat over several hours. It's a pain to clean - I recommend using crock pot liners or oven bags like for cooking a turkey. Also, it takes 30 min just to warm up.

[2sunshines]

We have several of the 10 oz thermos' and use them regularly for my younger three. My 13 year old boy uses a bigger one.

My biggest recommendation re: thermos is to go with the actual Thermos brand. And go with stainless steel. I've tried other brands in an attempt to save money and they didn't work nearly as well.

[gerberadaisy]

I too would use a thermos for wet foods. However, we've used a cooler with a microwaveable hot/cold pack when I've made hand pockets or other non wet foods I wanted warm. I'd wrap them in foil or parchment (or however you'd wrap them) then pop them in the cooler with the heated bag, using the wrap as the plate at lunch time. They've kept food warm for at least 4 hours for us. They may longer we've just never needed it for longer. You can buy the hot packs on amazon. I just looked & saw some cherry pit hot packs. I'm always a wee bit concerned about the gel leaking (ours are ancient) but so far they haven't. I personally would replace with the cherry pit ones if/when these guys go.

I also second going with the thermos brand. My mom bought my little guy a crayola thermos & thermal food container While I think they are cute & adorable & he likes them, I think they're utterly useless in keeping foods cold OR hot. I put them in that cooler system when we use them. This is the thermos container I have. It comes with a spoon which is what I use. I plan on buying a few more Thermos Funtainers so we each have one. I usually pack other things alongside the hot foods like cheese or fruit or even crackers if it's soup in the thermos so don't worry about it being enough. I just make sure when we're out & about that we either have plenty of healthy snacks or mad money to get some if we didn't prepare properly.

[ThreeKids]

For lunches I send with the kids, Thermos for wet foods. I use the Campbell's insulated travel bowl sometimes, but only for more solid food like pulled pork or mac & cheese and with a bit of foil for a liner.

There are multiple pockets to some of the lunch bags that allow me to keep the hot food separate from the rest.

[Mother of Sons]

My dh uses the car oven every day. It takes awhile though. They also make crock pots for cars and a little personal crock pot that I've pondered before.

[gerberadaisy]

Originally Posted by Mother of Sons

My dh uses the car oven every day. It takes awhile though. They also make crock pots for cars and a little personal crock pot that I've pondered before.

I wish I had known about these car ovens last year. It would have saved a ton of money on our trip half way cross country. I think I'm gonna talk to hubs about getting this system or one similar.

[mommylove]

To save on the cost of a new appliance, could you just get an adapter?

There's also a thermal cooker.

[Soliloquy]

I pack hot food quite often during winter when we ski. It's kind of a pain (cold foods are just easier) but it's worth it.

I bought some $20 Thermos brand wide-mouth thermoses at Wal-Mart a few years ago. They work almost too well. After 8 hours soups and stews are still piping hot. We have to let them cool before we can heat them. I have some cheaper thermoses that I use, too. They'll keep food hot until lunch but not all day.

Coolers work for hot foods, too. The only use I have for my built-in microwave is that I have a Pyrex casserole dish that came with a cooler bag and both a hot and cold pack. You freeze the cold pack or microwave the hot pack and it keeps food hot quite a while. Non-liquid meals can be warmed in the oven, in the pyrex dish, then put into the cooler back with the hot pack and they'll stay hot quite awhile.

[mommylove]

Originally Posted by gerberadaisy

I also second going with the thermos brand. My mom bought my little guy a crayola thermos & thermal food container While I think they are cute & adorable & he likes them, I think they're utterly useless in keeping foods cold OR hot. I put them in that cooler system when we use them. This is the thermos container I have. It comes with a spoon which is what I use. I plan on buying a few more Thermos Funtainers so we each have one. I usually pack other things alongside the hot foods like cheese or fruit or even crackers if it's soup in the thermos so don't worry about it being enough. I just make sure when we're out & about that we either have plenty of healthy snacks or mad money to get some if we didn't prepare properly.

Thanks for linking the Thermos you use -- that's the one I was looking at for myself.

*****

I don't know why it didn't really cross my mind to get the kids individual lunchbags/boxes with their own Thermos. Since we're always together, I've always used my big cooler bag with large containers which we portion out when it's time to eat. But the idea of doing it individually is really growing on me. I can see the benefits of them taking personal responsibility for their food.

For anyone who's still reading, what sort of carrier is most manageable for kids? Hard or soft sided? Size? BTDT advice?

As for how we'd use it, for now, just field trips, park days, beach days, etc.

If I went with a cooler bag, there's no reason why I couldn't put an ice pack with cold food next to the Thermos full of hot stuff (since the Thermos is double walled & insulated,) right?

[Mother of Sons]

If you don't mind plastic I really love our lock n lock cooler bags. I'll come back with a link.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0054P...110_SY165_QL70
Buy on eBay though. Waaaaay cheaper.

[gerberadaisy]

Originally Posted by mommylove

Thanks for linking the Thermos you use -- that's the one I was looking at for myself.

*****

I don't know why it didn't really cross my mind to get the kids individual lunchbags/boxes with their own Thermos. Since we're always together, I've always used my big cooler bag with large containers which we portion out when it's time to eat. But the idea of doing it individually is really growing on me. I can see the benefits of them taking personal responsibility for their food.

For anyone who's still reading, what sort of carrier is most manageable for kids? Hard or soft sided? Size? BTDT advice?

As for how we'd use it, for now, just field trips, park days, beach days, etc.

If I went with a cooler bag, there's no reason why I couldn't put an ice pack with cold food next to the Thermos full of hot stuff (since the Thermos is double walled & insulated,) right?

No advice on which cooler/lunch bag but I would make sure that the thermos is not next to the ice pack. I'd separate with with a banana or something else at the very least.