Nourishing, yummy meals that kids will love from the dinner table to their school lunch thermos the next day!
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From the dinner table to school lunch the next day!
Just because I wrote a lunchbox cookbook and write recipes for a living, doesn’t mean that I want to think about lunchbox ideas 5 days a week for an entire school year! Creating new lunchboxes everyday isn’t sustainable, and it is a one way ticket to lunchbox burn-out. It is one of the reasons I wrote The Little Lunchbox Cookbook! Giving parents options to find a rotation of lunchbox ideas that their kids love was the goal. One way to find a lunchbox rhythm is to find a few dinner meals that can do double time for you. In other words, have some yummy dinner options that make enough so that it can be packed up for school the next day!
How to balance these thermos meals:
The purpose of this post is showing you how to do that “two birds, one stone” thing, dear momma! If you make enough for dinner, you can truly have an easy to pack lunchbox for the next day. These are not just veggie soups (although those make a great lunch too!). These are FULL meal thermoses that you will have very minimal packing to do on the side. This is how we make this “real food in the real world” thing do-able! Utilize your time wisely!
Selecting the right thermos for your kids
11 years. I’ve had kids in school for over a decade! That is crazy to say. I’ve used thermoses since that very first year of kindergarten with my oldest who is now a sophomore. Selecting the right thermos SIZE is important. If you have little ones, they aren’t going to be eating anymore than a cup of thermos food at a time. Getting a huge thermos is not necessary for them, because you may have food waste! Filling a thermos up halfway also makes the food cool down faster. And your teens are going to need way more than a cup of food! Here are some of our favorite thermoses for each age group!
- Preschool Through Lower Elementary School :: Your little ones that only need about a cup of food will love an 8 ounce thermos. We used the Lunchbots 8oz thermoses. If your kids love soup, I really love this wider mouth 8 ounce thermos which makes spooning a soup a little easier, and more like using a bowl. If your kids are more motivated to eat from something with a “fun” design, these are super cute, and have a nice wide mouth for easy spooning. (Quick note! I still use 8 ounce thermoses for veggie soups like tomato soup, broccoli soup, butternut squash soup, etc that are packed alongside a sandwich and other sides for my teenagers. They will last you long!)
- Middle Elementary School Through Upper Elementary School :: There is a “middle of the road” group of thermoses that are great for older elementary school kids that need more than a cup of food. Perfect for kids that maybe don’t eat as much as a teenager. Anything from 12 to 16 ounces is great for this age group. We love this wide mouth 12 ounce Lunchbots thermos and the wide mouth 16 ounce Lunchbots thermos, and still use them a lot. The Thermos brand also has a nice 16 ounce thermos. If your kids are more motivated to eat from something with a “fun” design, these are SO cute, and have a nice wide mouth for easy spooning too!
- Middle School Through High School and Beyond :: Those bottomless pit teens! These 20 ounce Thermoflask thermoses have been a game changer for my teenagers. Even my 11 year old uses it for certain meals. We found ours at Costco this fall. Bentgo also has a nice 20 ounce thermos. My next thermos plan is for these 24 ounce thermoses, because there have been days where my 13 or 15 year old’s say they could have eaten more!
Tips for using a thermos
- Temper the Thermos: This just means warm the thermos up before adding the food. This will ensure that a cold thermos doesn’t pull the temperature of the food down. Simply fill the thermos with hot water from your tap and add the lid. It only needs a few minutes to sit in the hot water to warm up, which is the perfect amount of time to warm up your food on the stovetop! Once the food is warmed, up dump the water out of the thermos and fill it up.
- Add Moisture When Re-Heating Non-Soup Meals: Meals with pasta or rice that aren’t soup will warm up easiest with splash of water or broth. It will make it stick less in the pan, and keep it from drying out. Just a splash is all it needs.
- Re-Heat To Your Kids’ Heat Preference: One of the biggest things I learned as a mom of littles is that an adult preference for temperature of food is vastly different from kids! Don’t make their food scorching hot. These thermoses do keep the heat quite well, and if the food is too hot, the kids might not eat it (yes, I know this from experience!).
- Don’t Overfill The Thermos: The lids on these thermoses need some space to screw in place properly. There is usually a fill line, or you can see on the thermos lid how far it goes down into the thermos. Leave some space so the lid fits properly the avoid spilling.
- Don’t Forget the Spoon/Fork!: Of course this one is from experience too! That food might not get eaten if the utensil is forgotten. Some schools don’t have extra utensils, or they may not feel comfortable asking for one if they forget. Practice with the kids what is needed in a lunchbox when the thermos is packed – including a spoon or fork, and a napkin!
From Dinner to Thermos Meal #1 :: Spaghetti Night!
Most kids love a good spaghetti night! A huge batch of sauce freezes up great. You can also make the whole batch with enough pasta for dinner, *and* to fill up thermoses for one or two school days. If you have little guys at home, I would suggest packing the thermos spaghetti with easier to eat pasta than the long noodles. Something like fusilli, elbow pasta, or penne is easier (and less messy!) to eat at school with a spoon. My Nutrient Dense Spaghetti Sauce has a super kid friendly, traditional spaghetti flavor with a nutrient dense twist that will nourish your growing kids. This recipe cooks organ meat or organ meat powder right into the meat, and they’ll never know its there!
- HOW TO BALANCE THE SPAGHETTI THERMOS FOR SCHOOL: This spaghetti meal is super filling, with both lots of protein, as well as veggie fiber. Little ones might find this is all they need! I like to add a piece of fruit to the side. My teens will take a large thermos with a banana or apple and a peanut butter pouch a lot of times!
From Dinner to Thermos Meal #2 :: Chicken Noodle Soup!
The ultimate comforting cold weather lunch, and probably the most requested in my house! Just like the spaghetti recipe above, making your chicken noodle soup with easy to eat pasta like the Stelline star shaped pasta or elbow pasta that fits on a spoon easily. This will make this meal easier and less messy to eat at school. In this Chicken & Stars Soup recipe, you’ll find my streamlined, and super budget friendly method for using a whole chicken to make a big pot of soup. There are freezing instructions included as well. This way, you can have an on the go, pull out freezer meal ready to go on a busy week.
- HOW TO BALANCE THE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP THERMOS FOR SCHOOL: I tend to really pack out our chicken noodle soup with a lot of chicken, so my kids find the soup quite filling. Classic crackers on the side are always a fun idea, and I like to pack a little piece of fruit on the side for more fiber.
From Dinner to Thermos Meal #3 :: One Pan Wonders!
Not only is a one pot meal fast for a weeknight dinner, it also makes a great thermos the next day. Everything from the carb, fat, and protein, all made into one skillet or pot is a dream for clean up and a busy schedule. I have a rotation of one pot dinners that I use on our busiest after-school activity nights. This way, the kids can scoop dinner out when they are home and available for dinner. All you need for balancing these macro-packed thermoses is maybe a little piece of fruit on the side! Here are a list of our favorites!
- Skillet Stuffed Peppers
- Skillet Hamburger Helper Copycat
- One Pan Creamy Broccoli Chicken & Rice
- Skillet Creamy Sausage & Pepper Pasta
- One Pan Baked Ziti
From Dinner to Thermos Meal #4 :: Copycat Zuppa Toscana!
This yummy sausage and potato soup is another meal that we have to draw straws for the leftovers in my house! I actually double the sausage my Copycat Zuppa Toscana now. It makes enough of a meal for dinner, as well as thermoses for the next day at school.
- HOW TO BALANCE THE ZUPPA TOSCANA THERMOS FOR SCHOOL: Because I double the sausage in this soup now, it really is quite filling. Some little ones might like a little clementine on the side. I usually make my Skillet Drop Biscuits for this dinner, with enough leftover to pack for the lunchbox too! You can find that recipe in my newest cookbook, Nourished Mornings!
From Dinner to Thermos Meal #5 :: Stir Fry Night!
Get a yummy stir fry sauce whisked up, and turn any pan of veggies and chicken into a delicious dinner. And it only gets more flavorful the next day for a thermos! I like to cook the rice in meat stock or bone broth for added gut nourishing properties. This is a great way to get broth into soup-hesitant kids. I have lots of stir fry flavors on the blog and in my cookbooks. You can try this Sheet Pan Cashew Chicken, or Sheet Pan Honey Garlic Chicken Bowls. In my cookbook, The Little Lunchbox Cookbook, you’ll find my easy No-Cook Stir Fry Sauce and Yummiest Stir Fry Bowls, as well as my No-Cook Date-Sweetened Sweet & Sour Sauce & Stir Fry!
- HOW TO BALANCE THE STIR FRY THERMOS FOR SCHOOL: This is a super full meal, with all of the components any kid will need to go all afternoon long. Add some sliced oranges for a sweet treat and some extra fiber, and this will fill up even the hungriest teenager!
