Packing Lunch

If you’re shopping for a back-to-school lunchbox – find one with plenty of room for ice...

 Texas researchers put some packed lunches to the test and a whopping 98% were not cold or hot enough – even if they were packed in an insulated box or thermos. Chilled perishable food needs to stay at 40 degrees or below and hot stuff like soup should be around 140 degrees or above. Most of those packed lunches sit around for a couple of hours and temperatures wind up in the danger zone before they’re even opened.

Here are some tricks to protect that packed lunch. If you make lunch the night before – freeze it. Freeze drinks like milk water or juice – they act as little ice packs. The same goes for yogurt. Keep fruit like oranges or apples in the fridge – they’ll help keep the other stuff colder too. If you’re packing something hot – pour boiling water into the thermos first and let it sit for a few minutes to pre-heat it.