Ideas for thermos food flask lunches?

[goldpendant]

Hello,

Kids have recently hustled me into packed lunches… I finally caved as I’m wfh and have dropped my hours since Christmas so I have a bit more time.

They really enjoy hot packed lunch - eg pasta and sauce, soup etc. Can I ask for your go to, easy, hot flask suggestions please so that they don’t turn into giant fusilli?

TIA

Would they eat chicken and noodles, Like a chow mien or similar?
do they eat chilli & rice or a curry?
Beef or chicken casserole with boiled potatoes.
You could even do mince (as in cottage pie) and boiled pots.

I have got SHO and stays hot for 10 hours. I used mine today for 1st time and after 5.5 hours was still boiling hot.

Sorry just realised you meant food ideas! Homemade soup, mild curry and rice, lasagne

Sausages and bean casserole.

Chicken and mushroom risotto.

Chicken chow mien.

Winter vegetable and bean stew.

Cous-cous and meatballs or falafel.

sausage casserole - they would love! Guess I could batch cook and then warm up in the morning- can’t be actually cooking first thing in the morning…

noodles could be a good idea, the instant kind with added chicken/veg??

Mince with boiled pots is a really good idea.

I tend to do just the protein in the flask and send bread and maybe cheese alongside. Stuff like baked beans, home made soup, chilli. They tell me chilli is fine with bread, anyway!

If you have leftovers of any taco type of filling, you can send that. If wraps have got a bit stale, tear up and bake them for 5 mins into tortilla chips. Kids think they have won the lottery getting a pile of giant crisps for lunch.

yes, 2 min noodles work with quick veg like sweetcorn and spring onions, and maybe some chilli flakes and soy sauce. They go a bit claggy but my DC don't mind.

Slow cooker brisket fajitas , brisket with a sachet of old El Paso, beans , peppers bit of bisto, cooked at leisure and reheated .
give a couple of wraps with.

Could you do casserole in slow cooker over night so Ready in the morning to dish up?

Fab thanks - quick noodles could be a winner, likewise the taco/nachos, they love fajita and wrap stuff. Thanks!

I just got rid of the slow cooker because we hadn’t used it in years 😫😫

We just have whatever is leftover from the dinner the day before. Usually curry, soup, stew, shepherd's pie, Bolognase, chilli. I dont send in rice or pasta. So soups/stew they will have a slice of bread and butter, curry a naan or poppadoms, chilli tortilla chips, Bolognase some grated cheese.

Another easy alternative is couscous, crumble up a stock cube over couscous, mix up and pour over the hot water, cover the bowl with a plate. Then chop up some veg eg spring onions, pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, sweetcorn. Could add some meat like ham or chicken too. Mix it up and tastes great warm or cold. Takes less than 10 mins to cook and prep.

Cooked frankfurters or sausage in the thermos. Then give them a finger roll to make a hot dog.

A mini cooked breakfast, beans, sausage, hash brown, mushrooms. Then maybe a boiled egg. I keep meaning to do this, it's my ideal meal!! Love a fry up!!

DS used to like beans and sausages in his thermos when he was at primary, camping style

any soup

paella

different flavour microwave rices with some cooked chicken mixed in

cous cous made with stock, diced pepper, chickpeas, coriander, lemon juice, sultanas and some salt

Yep there are noodles that don't take long then just stir fry some veges and add that in.

Think also about making dinners that can double up as lunch such as Italian meatballs etc (heat the meatballs in morning and boil the pasta in the morning).

You can even heat pizza and put the slices into the thermos

Go on ninjatestkitchen.eu. There's some amazing recipes on there! Just adapt to your means of cooking

instant noodles go very claggy and soggy but egg noodles, if cooked then stir fried in with veg and chicken, seem to last really well - as a PP said, like a chow mein

Amazing ideas, thanks so much everyone! Cous cous fab too - they love it!

Stir fry

Meatballs in tomato sauce. Pack a sliced roll and some cheese separately. They can turn it into a meatball sub.

We do 'jacket' potatoes. The jacket bit makes it a bit tricky. One won't eat the skin anyway so I just remove it and put potato in. The other will so I chop it before putting in. Just because the flasks lend them selves best to fork foods. Cook the potatoes in the oven in the evening when cooking dinner then reheat in the microwave in the morning. Can then top with beans, curry, chilli, bolognaise or take a separate pot of cheese, coleslaw, tuna etc to add at lunchtime.

Curry.
Baked beans with mini sausages in.
Stew.
Home made soup.
Pasta bake.
Chilli.
Macaroni cheese

@BadgerLovesMash daft question but do you put hot water in the flask with the hot dog or just heat it first and put in dry flask?

Tge flat round type of garlic bread, cut into strips in the flask. Take salad, bits and pieces such as baby bell/ little pot of hummus, ham etc
Chicken korma with rice (from tea tge night before). Risotto

I use our thermos for keeping hot dogs hot then just have a bread roll in a separate container.

@Theoldwoman my kids used to love that at camping or a football match!