Hot packed lunch ideas for autumn...

With the indian summer we enjoyed through September now a distant memory our thoughts at lunchboxesetc are turning to some exciting ideas for hot food packed lunches that are perfect for autumnal lunchtimes.

The first thing is to make sure that you have the right equipment to keep your food hot safely - Thermos make several vacuum food flasks that are designed specially to keep food hot for up to 7 hours making them perfect for taking hot food out with you.

For grown-ups or kids with adult sized appetites you can try one of the 500ml sized flasks. For kids choose either the Thermos Funtainer or the Thermos Foogo Food Flask and if your all going out together then why not take the bigger 800ml food flask which would hold enough for a couple of adults and kids.

All of these flasks feature a wide mouth so that you can eat directly from the flask, so you don't have to take bowls.

The flasks all work most successfully with stews, casseroles and similar types of meals. So next time you are going out for the day or taking the kids to school why not try taking a chilli, or bolognese or a warming stew in a food flask and treat yourself to lovely hot homemade food at lunchtime.

Don't forget that the smaller food flasks are great for taking baby food out with you as well! Alternatively take a pouch of organic baby food out with you and get the cafe to heat it up for you. Check out the huge range of organic baby food available at the Kiddies Kitchen Baby Food Delivery Service!

its official - soup makes you thin....hot soup packed lunches make you lose weight

So, I was watching BBC the other night, "ten things you need to know about losing weight" I think it was called, when I heard this little nugget:

Soup, especially thick, homemade soup, can help you lose weight compared to eating the same amount of solid food plus a separate drink of water. Apparently combining the food and waer into a thick soup slows the transit of the food through the digestive system, making you feel fuller for longer and hence less likely to snack later.

Which set me to thinking about the best way to take soup to work for lunch. The answer, especially for those who work outdoors or in an office without a microwave, would be a wide mouth thermos food flask. At Lunchboxesetc.co.uk we have a variety of hot food flasks available from 290ml size (about two thirds of a tin of soup) to a whopping 800ml family sized flask. All our flasks will keep soup hot for at least 5 hours and have a wide-mouth neck which allows you to eat directly from the flask so you don't have to bother lugging a soup bowl with you to work.