I try to pack a Hot Lunch for my son at least once a week. Just because you are packing doesn’t mean it has be to cold. When packing hot lunches including foods like soups, pasta, corn dogs, chicken nuggets or even a pizza pocket you should always pre-heat a thermos. To pre-heat simply fill it with boiling water. Use a hot pot, microwave or stove-top to boil your water then pour inside the container. Pour the water out and dry. Then fill it up with your hot food. To keep it hot don’t open again until lunch time.
We have done this with spagettiO’s, ramen noodles, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, corn, soup, corn dogs and more!
You may want to check out this step by step video on how to pre-heat your thermos too. It is shot by my 6 year old
Be sure to check out our weekly Sunday Spotlight feature Sack Lunch Sunday.
You may also want to check out:
Lunch Notes :: Sending Your Children Off With Love
Quick Tips for Better Sack Lunches
We also do a Meal Plan Monday feature every week – it is posted at 9:00 am EST. We believe in Menu Planning Monthly to help us stay on budget and cook from our Stockpile.









As stay-at-home moms for eight years, Melissa and Shelley know what it takes to live a savvy lifestyle within a budget. Their passion for helping people has expanded their reach from Stockpiling Moms.com to also including speaking engagements, book authors (Savvy Saving Couponing Secrets from the Stockpiling Moms) and conference co-hosts. Melissa and Shelley are best friends who met through 










I wish my kids would eat hot food. Seems like the only hot thing they like is pancakes. What’s wrong with my kids? Or is it me? Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s me.
Your kid is pretty steady. Better than many adults I have seen.
How long does it stay warm after you close the lid?
3 hours. My son eats at 11:00 am. I did it at 8:00 am.
What were you putting in there?
Pizza Pockets
I went to lunch that day with my son and they were still warm and not soggy.
I love the idea of Pre-heating the thermos! Where did you get such a cute thermos? I’m having such a hard time finding one that isn’t way over priced.
Awesome idea and thanks for sharing
I’ve never done a hot lunch for my kids, not sure they would like it. maybe I should try!
you can put hotdogs in the hot water and they are perfect at lunch time!!
Great ideas, I will have to remember them for my sons lunches next year
Good to know!
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Great idea~thank you!
I use this method all the time for soup, but never tried corn dogs!
My son says that the fishsticks or corndogs are soggy? WHat am I doing wrong?