Revamp your lunchbox routine with these Thermos Tips and Tricks. A simple thermos gives a lot of meal options for you to enjoy while away from a refrigerator. Use these tips and tricks for safely using your thermos to enjoy all kinds of food and drinks away from home.
Packing lunches for Jude becomes a chore for me. Jude is not my picky eater but like any normal person, Jude gets tired of the same thing over and over so that means we have the challenge of trying to find easy, wholesome meals to pack for him. His school does not offer a hot lunch program so it is an EVERYDAY thing for us. Something changed this year for our lunchbox options – I finally learned how to properly use that adorable little Thermos that Jude told us he HAD to have at back to school time.
Yes, you read that right – I finally learned how to use it! Now, that might seem funny but the truth is, I honestly had no idea how amazing a Thermos can be for your lunchbox needs!
Thermos Tips & Tricks
I will be sharing tips and tricks for using your Thermos for Hot and Cold items.
Packing HOT Food In Thermos
To prepare your thermos for hot food or drinks you must first boil some water that will fill up your thermos. Once the water is boiling, pour that water into your thermos and put the lid on and let it sit for 5-7 minutes. This heats up the thermos which will keep your hot food at a safe temperature until you eat it.
While your thermos is heating up, prepare your hot food and make sure it is at a HOT temperature. After the thermos sits with boiling water in it simply pour out the boiling water and put the HOT heated up food or drink into your thermos and quickly put the lid on.
For a non-liquid or single serving like items you will want to add one extra step (example: pizza rolls or chicken). After I dump the boiling water out of the thermos I lay a napkin or piece of folded paper towel in the bottom of the thermos to absorb any moisture while keeping the food hot.
Hot Food Examples:
- Mac n’ Cheese
- Ramen Noodles
- Pizza Rolls
- Chicken Strips
- Oatmeal
- Meatballs
- Soup
- Leftover casseroles
- Taquitos
- Spaghetti
Packing COLD Foods in Thermos
The routine for using a thermos for cold foods and drinks is pretty much the same routine but with cold water/ice or using your refrigerator. You can add ice water to your thermos and let it chill with the lid shut until you are ready to add your prepared food or drink OR you can keep your thermos in the refrigerator overnight.
Personally we keep ours in the refrigerator overnight and then add the cold items before heading to school. EASY!
Cold Food Examples:
- Fruit salad
- Smoothies
- Yogurt
- Salad
- Milk
- Juice
- Pasta salad
- Tuna salad
After learning how to properly use our thermos we have been able to provide Jude with some better lunch options so he doesn’t get bored with the traditional sandwiches and lunchables. Thankfully he is a leftover eater too which means he enjoys leftovers from our dinners at school the next day and he loves it.
Now that I have this information I am not as stressed about what to pack for lunches and I am excited to hear if you have any other yummy lunch ideas that keep well in a Thermos.
Share your Thermos food ideas in the comments below!
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Great tips for kids as well as adults. I am going to use mine this summer for chicken salad and pasta salad when I want to sit outside during lunch at work.
My son has Autism and is very picky. I do not know what I would do without his thermos. He throws a fit if it is not in his lunch box. We put nuggets, pizza rolls, and even spaghetti. It makes packing so much easier and he never has a complaint.
I also have to admit – I didint know how to properly use a Thermos! My kids are definitely tired of the same old of lunch and I’ve been debating on trying hot food. They would love mac and cheese or spaghetti! Now the hard part, trying to find the perfect thermos for them!
The mighty thermos came in handy many times when I would pack a nice hot lunch for school or for work. I love hot lunches more so than cold and I have always relied on thermos to provide me with a lunch I look forward to eating.
Great tips. I need to start using my thermo more. I think is just seating on the bottom of my drawers when I could be using it for soups and more to take to work. I do need a bag to carry it because I normally put in on my purse and get everything messy.
I never knew the right way to do this! My son is always asking to take things like left over pasta to school for lunch, but I hate the idea of him eating it cold… he’s going to be so excited next week when I pack him some hot pasta in his Thermos!
I’ve never thought of putting food in a thermos! I have only put drinks inside. This is a great idea.