My son has a field trip tomorrow...and I am worried about his lunch staying cold.
He does not eat much...like he will not eat PB&J if I put it in there.
So I just pack his usual, Turkey or Bologna Lunchable. But I am so worried about it staying cold. I will put a couple juice boxes in there that I will put in the freezer in the morning, but is that enough?
Today was the Field Trip. I took the advice of one of our moms here on mamasource and froze the lunchable and two juice boxes. When I asked my son if his lunch was cold on his field trip, he said yes mom, it was very very cold.
Thanks again for all the wonderful helpful responses.
Dear A.,
I know you can't use ice packs because everything needs to be disposable. How about freezing water in a sandwich baggie. Fill with just enough water, lay horizontal, freeze. Put one or two in the bag and that should do it.
L.
Put the whole thing in the freezer now...it will thaw out by the time they eat lunch...I keep go-gurts and string cheese in the freezer for my kids...they just pull it out and put it in their lunch boxes and by lunch they are still cold but not frozen.
We use a little insulated lunch bag (ours is from LL Bean but they sell them everywhere Target,walmart, walgreens, etc). It has a spot for a reusable ice block that we freeze every night and then its ready in the morning. It keeps our 5 yr olds milk, yogurt, apple sauce, veggie sticks, etc nice and cold all through the day. In fact when she comes home its still cold in there!!
I usually freeze the drink. This way it will stay cold and keep everything to the temperature that it is supposed to be.
Hi A.
They sell these things you can put in his lunch box to keep the food cold all day. Wal-mart sells them, not sure of the name but you put it in the freezer then when you pack his lunch put it in the lunch box. They even come in different shapes like footballs, baseballs, smiley faces and so on.
Freezing a juice box should work just fine. You might want to put his lunch in a ziploc bag, not a paper bag. Once the juice box starts to defrost, it will get things wet, and the paper bag will rip.
You might want to call the teacher and ask if they put the lunches in a cooler. I usually pack a normal lunch for my daughter's trips--sandwich,snack and something to drink, and i might not use mayonnaise on the sandwich; but thats about it. I dont think anything will go bad. Its got to be really hot out for that to happen, and usually the field trips for 2nd graders arent that long. I wouldnt worry at all.
Just remember to put his name on his lunch bag so the teachers know that its his.
Any concerns though, I'd definately call and ask the teacher.
A.,
Wal-Mart carries small ice packs for lunch boxes, you can get the plain blue ice ones or they also have decorative ones, balls, cars, floers, etc. They are not expensive, I think $1 and change. They are in the houseware section. I use these for the girls luch boxes at school and the sons lunch box at preschool and they seem to work well.
That should be fine or freeze a water bottle wrap in paper towel then aluminum foil to keep it from sweating and avoid every thing getting wet.
I would put ice packs in there. There are also special insulated bags that you can use to keep food cold. I have purchased several at Whole Foods. Good Luck.
