Lunch Box Ideas: Things to put in a thermos

Hey! I’m back to share with you what I packed for my son’s school lunch the past week. This week I focused on things to pack in a thermos. At first I was a little nervous to send a thermos in the lunch box because I wasn’t sure if the food would stay hot and I wasn’t sure if my son would think it was cool (he’s a little sensitive to that right now). Well, we had great experiences with the thermos and my son loved each lunch I packed. WIN! There are a few tricks for making the thermos work and I’ll share those at the bottom of the post, but first I’ll share what we packed.

You can check out other ideas for packing a lunch box in the links below.

Lunch Box Ideas week one

Lunch Box Ideas week two

 

 

Day one:

Thermos idea: Leftovers

We packed leftover Hawaiian haystacks (recipe here), I put the rice and chicken in the thermos and added the rest of the toppings in a small tupperware on the side. He also had a banana and strawberries.

 

 

Day Two:

Thermos Idea: Soup

I packed him creamy chicken noodle soup that we had dinner the night before, pieces of rosemary bread, strawberries, and carrots.

 

 

Day 3:

Thermos Idea: Smoothie

Don’t forget that a thermos isn’t just for hot food! We packed a berry/peach/spinach smoothie (don’t forget a straw), a sandwich, grapes, and carrots. (Here are some tips for making smoothies)

 

 

Day 4:

Thermos Idea: Corn on the cob

My son was most excited about this day. He loved having corn with his lunch! This would work with any steamed vegetable, I think we’re going to try broccoli next. He also had a pita sandwich, watermelon and yogurt.

 

 

Day 5:

Thermos Idea: Chicken Nuggets

You can pack any hot lunch favorites in the thermos. I added a little ranch to a small tupperware to dip the nuggets (not pictured), cucumbers and bell peppers, raspberries, pear, and a string cheese.

 

Adding food to a thermos is fun and adds a whole bunch of new options you can add to a school lunch (or your lunch!). The first step is to choose a good thermos. I’ve read a bunch of reviews of thermoses and not all are created equal. Here is a great article on some of the best thermoses out there. Also, it’s probably best to do a test run of the thermos on the weekend to see if it keeps food warm and to make sure your kid can open the thermos when lunch time comes around.

Before adding food to the thermos add boiling hot water to the thermos and close the lid. Let it heat up the thermos for 5 minutes, dump the water, give it a quick wipe with a paper towel and then add the food and close the lid. Make sure the food you are adding is also piping hot. You want the lid to be tight, but not so tight your child can’t open it so loosen the lid a tiny bit and tip it to make sure nothing spills out. Pack it in the lunch box and you’re good to go.

Linked up with Posed Perfection and Saving 4 Six.