Teacher lunch from home doesn’t need to be complicated. Who isn’t always looking for teacher lunch ideas? I know I am! But after you have those ideas, what do you bring them in? Do you want to use the staff lounge microwave – especially with COVID? There are only two items you need for your teacher lunch from home.
Typically at this time of year teacher boards are lighting up with what to wear, comfy shoes, what bags to wear and what do you eat for lunch and breakfast. I would say a MAJORITY of teachers wake up VERY early in the morning – 6:30 and earlier. I myself am a 5 a.m.-er. When it comes to eating, it is not something I give myself a ton of time for. My breakfast and lunch NEED to be pre-made and ready to go or I am not going to bring it.
When I don’t bring it, I end up spending $20-$35 on lunch and breakfast, plus I waste my time by going out and making extra trips. Now in the time of COVID I have less time for lunch and we are trying to minimize in and out of the room and sharing of anything (microwave anyone?). I am sure many of you are in similar situations. I am lucky enough to have a refrigerator in my room, but no microwave. I know many do not even have a fridge, so I have 2 perfect solutions for you so you can continue to bring your home teacher lunch.
#1 the Crock-Pot Lunch Crock Food Warmer
This little machine has been amazing! I am in no way affiliated with this product, I truly think it is the solution to eating a hot teacher lunch during a pandemic or any day really. It fits just over 1.5 cups or so of food depending on what it is and works just like a crock pot. The only difference between this and your kitchen Crock-Pot is:
1. It is individually sized.
2. It only gets as hot as warming – about 250°.
You plug it in, leave it, and you have a hot lunch about 1-1.5 hours later. So that is the tiny caveat. You have to give it a little time to warm your food. I always had a transition around 10:30 so I always plugged my food in then and by the time I sat down at 12noon, I had a PIPING hot lunch.
The inside container is removable and has a lid. The lid is solid and doesn’t leak, but for safety purposes I still put it in a plastic bag and rubberband because I do a lot of jostling when riding public transportation. If you are going from home to car to school, you will be fine. Safest solution is if your food is frozen to warming, if you do not have a fridge. Warming will just take a little longer. There were a few times I had only refrigerated food and left it out and it was still fairly cold before warming. But you will have to find what works for you in your situation here. This is seriously a game changer when it comes to teacher lunch from home. Oh yeah – and they come in fun colors too!
#2 Packit Freezable Lunch Bag
Now for the second item you need for a teacher lunch is this freezable lunch bag that is also an ice pack at the same time. No need for additional ice! This thing stays frozen for a long time! It is perfect for those who do not have a fridge. Keep it frozen until you pack it then carry and enjoy cold items at lunch time. I bring mine on the airplane to keep things cold like bottles, sandwiches, and fruit etc… It seals well and comes in different sizes to meet all your needs. AND they fold up when not being used!
I have a medium sized one and a large one. The medium is good for a regular lunch packed in a small container and a few plastic baggies. The large fits a small bento, small container, and a can easily. Again not affiliated with this product in any way – simply want to share how I make my life easier during the crazy school, especially during a pandemic. I also want to add, you may wan to have 2 so that you have one in the freezer at all times, because if you are like me, sometimes I leave my stuff in the car and I have forgotten my lunch bag and been VERY disappointed in the morning when I go to pack my lunch. I keep in the freezer at all times by having two. I’ve also started packing at night to avoid this as well. Message here: don’t be like me, haha!
BONUS – Other Teacher Lunch Essentials
A few additional items I love that I keep at school for my teacher lunch use are the following:
- reusable straw
- Yeti tumbler
- Swell water bottle
- Salad dressing cups
- Bento boxes
- To go utensils
I eat a lot of salads for lunch and these salad dressing cups are perfection…not leaking! We all know we need insulated cups to keep that coffee hot or cold and I LOVE Yeti and Swell bottles and tumblers. I also love reusable straws to use i said tumblers. I am also a meal prepper so bento boxes are perfect for keeping meals all week long and just tossing in my freezable lunch bag. We usually have plastic utensils at school, but sometimes you need a good strong fork and knife so I keep to go utensils in my desk.
I’ve dropped link to all these, but you can also grab all mentioned items in one list on my Amazon Storefront – the one stop shop for all your teacher lunch essentials.
I’ve started pinning great teacher lunch ideas – head over to Pinterest for ideas on what to put inside these 2 handy lunch solutions.
This post contains affiliate links. For information see my disclosures here.
