Nathan
I have an insulated lunch tote that has a mesh screen on the top where a freezer gel pack can slip inside. I also have containers with freezable gel containers for a sandwich and about 3/4 of a cup. This is cool enough to keep lunch meat cool enough to eat, but lunch meat can be kept at room temperature for the purposes of a lunch.
I haven't used mayonnaise, but I would like to. I'd also like to use the cup to keep yogurt or cottage cheese but I'm afraid the yogurt will spoil before I can get to it.
I leave for work about 7:45 and I have lunch at 11:15. There is a refrigerator, but it's iffy that there will be any space for my bag, so I keep my bag at my desk until lunch.
By 11:15 the gel has thawed is is sloshing around, but the sandwich is cool. But I'm not sure if it's cool enough to safely eat mayo or cottage cheese or yogurt.
Answer
There should be no problem keeping your food safe for that amount of time, but if you are worried why not get one more freezer pack and put it on the bottom of your bag for security? That would be more than enough even if they both thawed out. Another thing you can do for safety is to freeze your sandwich. It would be thawed out by lunch and you would also have the added security of knowing it would not be getting too warm where there is mayo in it, and it would also help keep your food cold. Just a small word of advice tho, lunch meat should never be kept at room temperature with the assumption that it will be safe for that little bit of time. We just got over a nasty case of salmonella in my family by assuming that. Always keep your sandwiches as cold as you can for as long as you can.
There should be no problem keeping your food safe for that amount of time, but if you are worried why not get one more freezer pack and put it on the bottom of your bag for security? That would be more than enough even if they both thawed out. Another thing you can do for safety is to freeze your sandwich. It would be thawed out by lunch and you would also have the added security of knowing it would not be getting too warm where there is mayo in it, and it would also help keep your food cold. Just a small word of advice tho, lunch meat should never be kept at room temperature with the assumption that it will be safe for that little bit of time. We just got over a nasty case of salmonella in my family by assuming that. Always keep your sandwiches as cold as you can for as long as you can.
Good lunch ideas that don't need to be kept cool or heated?
Snarly
I need to start packing a lunch when I go back to work in January because buying lunch each day is costing me too much and is not good for my waistline.... my only problem is I am really fussy with packed lunch. For example, whenever I put an ice pack in to keep it cool, it makes my sandwiches soggy so they don't get eaten. So now I can't put an ice pack in. I also can't heat anything at work.
So far I have got popcorn and juice packs to take, but I am looking for something more substantial to put with it!
Answer
We have a microwave & a fridge, but I keep some things at room temperature to eat them lukewarm after cooking them in the morning & eating half of it for breakfast. For instance,
curried rice & veggies & cooked apples with raisins or chopped dates & spices
Trader Joe's frozen entrees in bags, stir fried in the morning with extra steamed veggies added
warm or cold mac 'n cheese with steamed veggies added
oatmeal with apples & raisins (still good, milk or not)
all or half of a sweet potato baked that morning
Any of those can be dished up into plastic lidded containers placed in bread wrappers if needed.
Another possibility is a small wide-mouth thermos to keep them warm. If you have any doubts about the safety of what I'm doing, then by all means be safe & put cooked food in a wide-mouth thermos. In fact, that's what you'll often see the outdoors workers eating from so they'll have hot soup with their sandwiches.
Others can be taken out of the fridge in the morning & kept for several hours without much danger. Blue ice could be taken with them if you feel the need. Sandwiches can be in plastic sandwich boxes or in bread wrappers.
cheese sandwiches
cucumber & cheese sandwich--cut into fourths & put a slice of cucumber & a sprig of cilantro onto each fourth.
hummus sandwich--vinegar in hummus works well as a preservative.
almond butter & low sugar fruit preserves
cheese sandwich on pita bread with ruffly lettuce
crackers & cheese
bagel & cream cheese
homemade oatmeal muffins or cookies
I always use soy mayo (Nayonnaise) because I figure that it's less likely to spoil than a standard egg mayonnaise. Other possibilities are oil and herbs on the bread and/or a sprinkle of vinegar
Other items from the fridge can be in serving size containers or in plastic bags with twist ties. For example,
baby carrots or carrot sticks
olives
cashews, blanched almonds, or mixed nuts
plain yogurt with cardamom, cinnamon, or garam masala stirred into it
pasta salad made on the weekend
bean salad made on the weekend
a whole avocado--peel & slice at lunch & hope that it's good.
the usual apple, banana, or other fruit
I also take frozen things for the microwave & confess that even after eating breakfast, I still want to eat some of these quick lunch items at morning break & will still be ready for lunch by the time noon rolls around. It saves time & money not to rush off to the coffee shop for a chocolate muffin or a bagel.
Plain yogurt can be made overnight in a wide-mouth thermos. Heat the milk to 180 degrees then cool it down to around 95-110. (I've seen some disagreement about the 2nd temp.) Pour into a hot thermos & add a big spoonful of plain yogurt as a starter. Use a good brand from the health food store as the starter. Stir on the lid, wrap in a dish towel, & place in an insulated nylon container to keep it warm overnight. The next morning, with a little bit of luck, you'll have fresh yogurt in your thermos. It's a variation on an ancient miracle. Carry it in the thermos or put it into a little lighter weight plastic container. Over time, even plain yogurt starts to taste sweet.
Also note that the Japanese people use divided containers called Bento Boxes & have made quite an art out of packing these with a variety of dishes. After hearing about these, now the makers of plastic carriers in America have followed suit, so now you can find similar divided dishes in our big box stores, some with spaces for blue ice beneath the food. If you want to buy any sort of lunch bag or container, you'll find the best selection in the late summer when parents are buying school supplies for their kids. Other times of the year, it may be a little hard to find the insulated bags that you want.
Aside from all that fancy stuff, some of us just toss our food into some sort of cloth tote bag & head off to work. For more food, I may use a tote bag with a small cardboard box I've set inside, a good idea, too, if some things are best kept upright to avoid leakage. It's best if these bags get washed every weekend. Have an extra bag in case one is still drip drying. Forget any ironing. No one cares. Commercial cloth lunch bags may have cute sayings like, "Brown Bag," but I usually want something a little bigger than that with handles on it. I get really hungry when I'm at work. Don't forget your toothbrush btw.
We have a microwave & a fridge, but I keep some things at room temperature to eat them lukewarm after cooking them in the morning & eating half of it for breakfast. For instance,
curried rice & veggies & cooked apples with raisins or chopped dates & spices
Trader Joe's frozen entrees in bags, stir fried in the morning with extra steamed veggies added
warm or cold mac 'n cheese with steamed veggies added
oatmeal with apples & raisins (still good, milk or not)
all or half of a sweet potato baked that morning
Any of those can be dished up into plastic lidded containers placed in bread wrappers if needed.
Another possibility is a small wide-mouth thermos to keep them warm. If you have any doubts about the safety of what I'm doing, then by all means be safe & put cooked food in a wide-mouth thermos. In fact, that's what you'll often see the outdoors workers eating from so they'll have hot soup with their sandwiches.
Others can be taken out of the fridge in the morning & kept for several hours without much danger. Blue ice could be taken with them if you feel the need. Sandwiches can be in plastic sandwich boxes or in bread wrappers.
cheese sandwiches
cucumber & cheese sandwich--cut into fourths & put a slice of cucumber & a sprig of cilantro onto each fourth.
hummus sandwich--vinegar in hummus works well as a preservative.
almond butter & low sugar fruit preserves
cheese sandwich on pita bread with ruffly lettuce
crackers & cheese
bagel & cream cheese
homemade oatmeal muffins or cookies
I always use soy mayo (Nayonnaise) because I figure that it's less likely to spoil than a standard egg mayonnaise. Other possibilities are oil and herbs on the bread and/or a sprinkle of vinegar
Other items from the fridge can be in serving size containers or in plastic bags with twist ties. For example,
baby carrots or carrot sticks
olives
cashews, blanched almonds, or mixed nuts
plain yogurt with cardamom, cinnamon, or garam masala stirred into it
pasta salad made on the weekend
bean salad made on the weekend
a whole avocado--peel & slice at lunch & hope that it's good.
the usual apple, banana, or other fruit
I also take frozen things for the microwave & confess that even after eating breakfast, I still want to eat some of these quick lunch items at morning break & will still be ready for lunch by the time noon rolls around. It saves time & money not to rush off to the coffee shop for a chocolate muffin or a bagel.
Plain yogurt can be made overnight in a wide-mouth thermos. Heat the milk to 180 degrees then cool it down to around 95-110. (I've seen some disagreement about the 2nd temp.) Pour into a hot thermos & add a big spoonful of plain yogurt as a starter. Use a good brand from the health food store as the starter. Stir on the lid, wrap in a dish towel, & place in an insulated nylon container to keep it warm overnight. The next morning, with a little bit of luck, you'll have fresh yogurt in your thermos. It's a variation on an ancient miracle. Carry it in the thermos or put it into a little lighter weight plastic container. Over time, even plain yogurt starts to taste sweet.
Also note that the Japanese people use divided containers called Bento Boxes & have made quite an art out of packing these with a variety of dishes. After hearing about these, now the makers of plastic carriers in America have followed suit, so now you can find similar divided dishes in our big box stores, some with spaces for blue ice beneath the food. If you want to buy any sort of lunch bag or container, you'll find the best selection in the late summer when parents are buying school supplies for their kids. Other times of the year, it may be a little hard to find the insulated bags that you want.
Aside from all that fancy stuff, some of us just toss our food into some sort of cloth tote bag & head off to work. For more food, I may use a tote bag with a small cardboard box I've set inside, a good idea, too, if some things are best kept upright to avoid leakage. It's best if these bags get washed every weekend. Have an extra bag in case one is still drip drying. Forget any ironing. No one cares. Commercial cloth lunch bags may have cute sayings like, "Brown Bag," but I usually want something a little bigger than that with handles on it. I get really hungry when I'm at work. Don't forget your toothbrush btw.
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Title Post: Will freezer pack keep dairy products cool enough to be safe to eat in a lunch bag?
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