[Leah'sMom]

Hi -
My daughter brings her lunch to school every day -- Tinkyada pasta with sauce in a 10 oz. Aladdin thermos. The thermos is wearing out and I can't find a similar thermos in local stores or on the internet. I originally bought 2 of these thermos' (sp??) about 2 years ago at Target, but I haven't been able to find the same sized ones (some are too big to fit in a lunchbox and some are too small and won't fit enough pasta). Also, some are cheaply made and her pasta is cold at lunchtime.

Thanks for any ideas!

[tarnalberry]

expensive, and no cool graphics, but I hear *fabulous* things about this thermos. (I got a cheaper, REI brand one, and it works fine for tea for a few hours outside in 30-40F weather.)

[Juliebove]

We just got two at Target. They are wide but short. They have a handle. The only problem was that I was afraid to heat the food in them as it said you could do. When I have done this in the past with other models, there was like...a vapor lock and she couldn't get the lid off. So no lunch for her! I heated the food in a separate container but perhaps not long enough. 3 hours later, the food was just warm. Not hot.

[Leah'sMom]

I've looked at the REI thermos and the Target thermos (with the handle) that you're talking about. I think I'm being too picky.

We had the opposite effect of the vapor lock -- Annie's macaroni and cheese, freshly made for lunch, exploded in her lunchbox sometime before lunch --- I thought it was because it was too hot??

Thanks for the ideas!

[Juliebove]

Leah'sMom, on Oct 19 2009, 07:00 AM, said:

I've looked at the REI thermos and the Target thermos (with the handle) that you're talking about. I think I'm being too picky.

We had the opposite effect of the vapor lock -- Annie's macaroni and cheese, freshly made for lunch, exploded in her lunchbox sometime before lunch --- I thought it was because it was too hot??

Thanks for the ideas!

Wow. I've never had that happen but I have had tomato soup leak. I was afraid to put the lid on the thermos really tightly.

[Darissa]

Thermos Brand is the best that we have found. We have used them for school lunches for the past 5 years. I have tried other brands, but they do not keep the food hot enough. We buy ours at Target in the camping section. THey have them with the lunchboxes when the school supplies are out in August, but this time of year we get them in the camping part. I just bought 2. (I have seem them also at Walmart where they sell the rubbermaid and ziplock containers also). They keep the food really hot. My daughter likes to take home made chicken soup in hers. I make a big pot and freeze the soup in individual containers and warm them up in the mornings. Works great. Good luck.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I have a Ms. Bento, which I love. http://www.zojirushi...jars/sl_mb.html
It doesn't leak, keeps hot food hot, is easy to clean, has different compartments (you can separate pasta and sauce til serving time, or even put cold foods like shredded cheese or carrot sticks in one of the compartments), and comes with its own carry bag!

There is also a larger, more masculine-looking Mr. Bento: http://www.zojirushi...jars/sl_ja.html