Q. I'm going to be at college for 12hrs, plus another 2hrs driving time.
If I were to keep some food in an insulated bag, APPROXIMATELY (to your best knowledge) how many hours max would it stay fresh for if:
-the food was reallly hot or frozen?
-it was just sorta cold?
Thanks.
If I were to keep some food in an insulated bag, APPROXIMATELY (to your best knowledge) how many hours max would it stay fresh for if:
-the food was reallly hot or frozen?
-it was just sorta cold?
Thanks.
Answer
I found this for you. Hope it helps!
Lunch Bags & Boxes
The first thing you will need is a container in which to pack the lunch. It doesn't need to cost a lot of money. For adults a small cooler makes a great lunch box. Fred uses a medium sized cooler. He is usually gone for 24 to 48 hours, so he needs alot of food to keep him going. For children and teenagers, you can usually find inexpensive lunch boxes and insulated lunch bags at yard sales and thrift stores.
Small children often prefer a plastic lunch box with cartoon characters on the side. I suggest you buy these as cheaply as possible. They only last for a year or two before the children drop them or the latch breaks. At $6 to $10 a piece, buying brand new boxes has never been a good investment for me. I have purchased them new when I desperately needed the thermoses that came with them. After the plastic lunch box broke, I purchased replacements from my local Goodwill. I continue to use the same thermos year after year.
If the art work on an older lunch box is shabby, you can easily replace it. Use rubber cement to glue down a new picture (cut to size) and then cover the picture with clear contact paper. I've done this, and it lasted almost 2 years, until the lunch box cracked and became unusable. Amy D. describes the process in detail in the first book of The Tightwad Gazette.
For older children insulated lunch bags work best. They don't have the juvenile connotations of plastic boxes with matching thermoses, so older kids usually don't object to carrying them. I like them because they don't break when they get drop-kicked across the livingroom by a budding football player. Since they have soft sides, it is easier to fit more food and odd-shaped containers in them too. They usually have zipper closing and shoulder straps for carrying them. I buy the largest ones I can find because I find them easier to fill. Many modern insulated bags have several extra zipper pockets and sections on the outside to carry little extras like napkins, spoons and salt or pepper packets. My boys like these but they aren't really necessary. Purchased brand-new, insulated lunch bags cost between $5 and $15. If you wait until back-to-school-sales you may find them cheaper. Over the summer they can often be found at yard sales. Insulated lunch bags usually do not come with their own thermos, so you will have to use some you already have or buy them separately.
I found this for you. Hope it helps!
Lunch Bags & Boxes
The first thing you will need is a container in which to pack the lunch. It doesn't need to cost a lot of money. For adults a small cooler makes a great lunch box. Fred uses a medium sized cooler. He is usually gone for 24 to 48 hours, so he needs alot of food to keep him going. For children and teenagers, you can usually find inexpensive lunch boxes and insulated lunch bags at yard sales and thrift stores.
Small children often prefer a plastic lunch box with cartoon characters on the side. I suggest you buy these as cheaply as possible. They only last for a year or two before the children drop them or the latch breaks. At $6 to $10 a piece, buying brand new boxes has never been a good investment for me. I have purchased them new when I desperately needed the thermoses that came with them. After the plastic lunch box broke, I purchased replacements from my local Goodwill. I continue to use the same thermos year after year.
If the art work on an older lunch box is shabby, you can easily replace it. Use rubber cement to glue down a new picture (cut to size) and then cover the picture with clear contact paper. I've done this, and it lasted almost 2 years, until the lunch box cracked and became unusable. Amy D. describes the process in detail in the first book of The Tightwad Gazette.
For older children insulated lunch bags work best. They don't have the juvenile connotations of plastic boxes with matching thermoses, so older kids usually don't object to carrying them. I like them because they don't break when they get drop-kicked across the livingroom by a budding football player. Since they have soft sides, it is easier to fit more food and odd-shaped containers in them too. They usually have zipper closing and shoulder straps for carrying them. I buy the largest ones I can find because I find them easier to fill. Many modern insulated bags have several extra zipper pockets and sections on the outside to carry little extras like napkins, spoons and salt or pepper packets. My boys like these but they aren't really necessary. Purchased brand-new, insulated lunch bags cost between $5 and $15. If you wait until back-to-school-sales you may find them cheaper. Over the summer they can often be found at yard sales. Insulated lunch bags usually do not come with their own thermos, so you will have to use some you already have or buy them separately.
lunch ideas for college?
Q. at college i get so bored, i bring the sam old lunches: sandwiches, crisps, a drink, and a chocolate bar. Anyone got any ideas of stuff i could bring to eat at college?
Answer
I would carefully consider your containers and get some insulated pieces. They will help you expand your food choices to keep hot and cold foods safe and yummy. Get double the amount you would carry so that you can have one set in use, and keep one set at home getting cleaned and chilled. Make sure everything is easy to clean and get a baby bottle brush and some white vinegar to help you keep everything fresh. To keep things clean run a sink of hot soapy water, add 2 cups of white vinegar and let your items soak. Then scrub them clean, rinse, and let them air dry.
You can start with 4-6 reusable drink bottles. 2-3 drinks packed per day will keep you away from the vending machines and coffee shops, saving money and allow you to choose healthier options. Add to that 2 insulated soup thermos, and some reusable disposable plastic containers with lids, some zipper bags, and 2 flexible, reusable ice packs...and 2 insulated lunch totes that fit half your gear in each. You can also get a stash of handi-wipes. These are a washable/reusable very sturdy paper towels, meant for household cleaning, but they work great for this, pack damp in a zipper bag to wipe your face. They can be discarded after a few uses. And tuck in a small bottle of hand sanitizer, and some washable plastic silverware.
With better containers you can make use of leftovers, take hot soup or pasta, etc, even a slice of meatloaf or a hunk of roast and mashed potatoes.
As for typical lunch food choices, you can pack fresh veggies...if you like to dip, slice your peppers, scallions, celery, carrots, in sticks and stick them straight up in a container (cut your food to fit that container) that has dip or hummus in the bottom...pull each piece out to find it pre dipped.
If you prefer a salad you eat with a fork, pack some chunked up salad veggies, some chilled pasta, some bottled salad dressing (or herbs and olive oil). Then when you sit down to eat, add a packet of tuna, chicken, a string cheese, or pepperoni, and toss it all together...packing your salad in an oversized container will allow you to add and stir easily.
You could swap out the pasta in the above recipe for chilled barley, rice, lentils, potatoes...or swap out the dressing for chilled marinara sauce.
Instead of chips/crisps you can try pita chips, crackers. They also make veggie poofs that are similar to cheetos. I wonder if you are from UK do you have these or know what I mean. You can also pack plain tortilla chips (instead of the spray painted flavored kind) and carry your own fresh bean dip or salsa. These are healthier and you get better flavor and variety.
For different sandwich options, switch our your bread for bagel, pita, tortilla, flatbread, or skip the bread altogether and pack all your sandwich fillings as a salad.
For drink options, you can buy juice box type containers of lots of things: milk, yoo-hoo chocolate drink, or buy drinkable yogurt or smoothies. You can also use your reusable containers to prepare yourself an iced tea or coffee, a lemonade, or powdered drink.
For dessert...fresh fruits! Grapes, apples, oranges, bananas, pear, peach can all be packed whole...or you can cut and bowl up some berries, melon, kiwi, papaya, mango, pineapple, mandarin oranges.
Other dessert...you can use purchased snack cakes, homemade cookies, make cheesecake cups, make caramel popcorn, make marshmallow treats with cereal, make a chocolate ganache and stuff to dip in it.
You can also freeze certain things. You can freeze pudding cups, yogurt cups, jello cups, and applesauce cups. Pack them frozen, they are cold and refreshing when you sit down to eat. They will help keep everything else cold. You can freeze drink bottles if they aren't all the way full.
I would carefully consider your containers and get some insulated pieces. They will help you expand your food choices to keep hot and cold foods safe and yummy. Get double the amount you would carry so that you can have one set in use, and keep one set at home getting cleaned and chilled. Make sure everything is easy to clean and get a baby bottle brush and some white vinegar to help you keep everything fresh. To keep things clean run a sink of hot soapy water, add 2 cups of white vinegar and let your items soak. Then scrub them clean, rinse, and let them air dry.
You can start with 4-6 reusable drink bottles. 2-3 drinks packed per day will keep you away from the vending machines and coffee shops, saving money and allow you to choose healthier options. Add to that 2 insulated soup thermos, and some reusable disposable plastic containers with lids, some zipper bags, and 2 flexible, reusable ice packs...and 2 insulated lunch totes that fit half your gear in each. You can also get a stash of handi-wipes. These are a washable/reusable very sturdy paper towels, meant for household cleaning, but they work great for this, pack damp in a zipper bag to wipe your face. They can be discarded after a few uses. And tuck in a small bottle of hand sanitizer, and some washable plastic silverware.
With better containers you can make use of leftovers, take hot soup or pasta, etc, even a slice of meatloaf or a hunk of roast and mashed potatoes.
As for typical lunch food choices, you can pack fresh veggies...if you like to dip, slice your peppers, scallions, celery, carrots, in sticks and stick them straight up in a container (cut your food to fit that container) that has dip or hummus in the bottom...pull each piece out to find it pre dipped.
If you prefer a salad you eat with a fork, pack some chunked up salad veggies, some chilled pasta, some bottled salad dressing (or herbs and olive oil). Then when you sit down to eat, add a packet of tuna, chicken, a string cheese, or pepperoni, and toss it all together...packing your salad in an oversized container will allow you to add and stir easily.
You could swap out the pasta in the above recipe for chilled barley, rice, lentils, potatoes...or swap out the dressing for chilled marinara sauce.
Instead of chips/crisps you can try pita chips, crackers. They also make veggie poofs that are similar to cheetos. I wonder if you are from UK do you have these or know what I mean. You can also pack plain tortilla chips (instead of the spray painted flavored kind) and carry your own fresh bean dip or salsa. These are healthier and you get better flavor and variety.
For different sandwich options, switch our your bread for bagel, pita, tortilla, flatbread, or skip the bread altogether and pack all your sandwich fillings as a salad.
For drink options, you can buy juice box type containers of lots of things: milk, yoo-hoo chocolate drink, or buy drinkable yogurt or smoothies. You can also use your reusable containers to prepare yourself an iced tea or coffee, a lemonade, or powdered drink.
For dessert...fresh fruits! Grapes, apples, oranges, bananas, pear, peach can all be packed whole...or you can cut and bowl up some berries, melon, kiwi, papaya, mango, pineapple, mandarin oranges.
Other dessert...you can use purchased snack cakes, homemade cookies, make cheesecake cups, make caramel popcorn, make marshmallow treats with cereal, make a chocolate ganache and stuff to dip in it.
You can also freeze certain things. You can freeze pudding cups, yogurt cups, jello cups, and applesauce cups. Pack them frozen, they are cold and refreshing when you sit down to eat. They will help keep everything else cold. You can freeze drink bottles if they aren't all the way full.
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Title Post: How long does an insulated bag work for?
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