topic Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work in Kitchen

Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

lolakimono — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 16:15:45 GMT

I thought I would share my find.

I am supposed to be eating more "warm" foods to help digestion, which is a problem for me to heat up at school. My "lunch" time is very early, and then I have to go the rest of the day without eating. Transporting soup is a pain, then I have to wait in line to use the community microwaves (not my preferred reheating method, but oh well). There is a balance between getting it hot enough to eat and not too hot that I can't take it out of the microwave and carry it to where I eat.

I was researching Thermos type possibilities, but the idea of having soup every day, and having to heat it before work seemed like it would not be very practical, as I leave before 7 each day. There is also the clean up factor- having to hand wash a Thermos and have it smell like whatever was in there before.

I found this, from Crock Pot, and it has wonderful reviews.

It comes with an insert (dishwasher safe) but on their website you can also order more inserts. I am going to leave the crock at school, and pack an insert (which I can do the night before). It takes a few hours to heat up, so that will work for me. I don't own it yet, and school is not in session, so I can't comment personally but the reviews are very good.

On their site, the crock is about $20 and the refill inserts are $10.

If you like a hot lunch, this might be for you!

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

Nightowlz — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 16:30:25 GMT

Thx for sharing. That looks pretty neat. I will have to check it out. You could also check out Wolfgang Puck's Little Rice Cooker that you could carry to work with your lunch ready & plug in before you eat.

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

momtochloe — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 16:39:47 GMT

@lolakimono that Crock Pot appliance looks terrific especially if you are like me and would like to avoid the microwave. Here is another gadget that I always found interesting especially if you have prepared a meal that is a bit more vertical:

HotLogic Mini Personal Portable Oven, Black

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

SharkE — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 16:40:31 GMT

Do you work outside the home Ms. Loki ?

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

lolakimono — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 16:44:45 GMT

@SharkE wrote:
Do you work outside the home Ms. Loki ?

@SharkE

Yes- I'm a teacher, but this summer I am not doing summer school or other "projects" because I am going to help my mom after her surgery.

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

SharkE — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 16:48:31 GMT

WOW ! you do so much around here I had it in my head that you were a retired lady just doing all this work for leisure and enjoyment.

I have another pal in here who is a teacher. She's going to retire in few yrs.

Don't know how you do it all ! Your a marvel !

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

lolakimono — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 17:03:56 GMT

@SharkE

I have about 30 years before I can retire, per S.S.

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

SharkE — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 17:07:29 GMT

Wonder woman !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

faeriemoon — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 17:08:44 GMT

I bought a Crock Pot (original brand name) from Costco and it came with one of those small, lunch-size Crock Pots.

I use it for keeping hot dips warm, melted butter, that kind of thing.

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

SharkE — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 17:09:46 GMT

My teacher pal will be young when she retires . Early 50's , I think.

She's already tenured, just waiting for those yrs. to be up.

Not a job I'd want for myself. So much has changed since my day out of the loop. LOL

I was in school when dinosaurs walked the earth. LOL

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

LTT1 — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 18:27:02 GMT

@lolakimono

Perfect solution!

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

PINKdogWOOD — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 18:38:05 GMT

@lolakimono Hi Ms Lola! Mmmm Good soup for lunch is a great idea, DH has been taking a small thrmos with him for lunch every day for years.

We have a very old thermos brand RED thermos with an ivory liner, all plastic works great. Holds about 1/2 15oz (I think) can of soup. He also makes himself a wrap of something (on a 8" burrito), a banana and a kid cup of applesauce, jello, fruit something, 2 H2Os and he's out the door.

I do like the crock pot here, you can easily wash the cup. BTW we use (blue) Dawn and it cleans the inside of his nicely, no lingering odors and if he has a tomato based I'll let Dawn soak in HOT water for a while. That works good enough.

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

redwrite — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 22:44:08 GMT

@lolakimono-Are you able to/allowed to have a microwave oven in your class room? If so, this may be a possible solution!

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

santorini — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 22:48:46 GMT

I've used one of those for a couple of years at work. I love it. It's perfect for soup and "wet" things, but also acts like an oven for other things. I've heated cheese & chicken quesadillas and they came out crispy on the outside. I just leave the whole thing at work and wash the inner container in the sink at work. I think you'll enjoy using this.

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

lolakimono — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 00:25:09 GMT

@redwrite wrote:
@lolakimono-Are you able to/allowed to have a microwave oven in your class room? If so, this may be a possible solution!

@redwrite

No- absolutely not. The problem is that we report by 7:30 and lunch is around 10 (some days it is 9:30), so I can't really heat it up any earlier than first lunch and then I teach all of my classes back to back until about 3.

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

SharkE — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 00:31:30 GMT

What grade do you teach ? Guess I can't call you Ms. Loki any more. LOL

I give everybody a nickname.

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

lolakimono — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 01:07:46 GMT

@SharkE

Middle school- normally I have the same number of classes of 6th and 8th graders. This year I am supposed to have all three grades.

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

SharkE — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 01:25:31 GMT

Yikes!

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

house_cat — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 15:58:20 GMT

Thanks for posting, @lolakimono

I'm a sucker for those things. I get to work at 6:30 am, so when brunch rolls along it's 10 am and I eat my lunch - usually something simple that I can gobble, since brunch is only 20 minutes start to finish and I spend at least half that time dealing with students - make up work, etc... you know how that is. For some reason, I always have a roomful of students at lunch time, so I just have a cup of tea. When the bell rings at 2 o'clock and the kids leave, if there is no meeting immediately following, I heat up one of those lite soups. That little snack keeps me until dinner. i have a microwave in my classroom, as well as a sink, but I prefer not to use a microwave if possible.

I think I may have to purchase this little pot :-)

Re: Eating a HOT Lunch at Work

islandergirl — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 21:00:13 GMT

@lolakimono wrote:
I thought I would share my find.
I am supposed to be eating more "warm" foods to help digestion, which is a problem for me to heat up at school. My "lunch" time is very early, and then I have to go the rest of the day without eating. Transporting soup is a pain, then I have to wait in line to use the community microwaves (not my preferred reheating method, but oh well). There is a balance between getting it hot enough to eat and not too hot that I can't take it out of the microwave and carry it to where I eat.

I was researching Thermos type possibilities, but the idea of having soup every day, and having to heat it before work seemed like it would not be very practical, as I leave before 7 each day. There is also the clean up factor- having to hand wash a Thermos and have it smell like whatever was in there before.

I found this, from Crock Pot, and it has wonderful reviews.
It comes with an insert (dishwasher safe) but on their website you can also order more inserts. I am going to leave the crock at school, and pack an insert (which I can do the night before). It takes a few hours to heat up, so that will work for me. I don't own it yet, and school is not in session, so I can't comment personally but the reviews are very good.

On their site, the crock is about $20 and the refill inserts are $10.

If you like a hot lunch, this might be for you!

I received this as a gift in December, and absolutely love it! I keep it at work, I just bring the insert home for refilling. I plug it in about 2 hours before I want to eat my lunch, and have a wonderful hot meal. Much better than using the microwave at work - this product gently warms the food without overcooking (like the microwave can), and keeps it hot much longer than a meal reheated in the microwave. I highly recommend!