Q: Can you or your readers recommend a good insulated, leakproof lunchbox for taking hot leftovers to work that will remain hot for many hours? Would love to send my husband to work with hot lunch this winter (we are in the southern hemisphere) but since he is on the road all day, there is nowhere for him to heat his lunch up.
Also, maybe suggestions on hot lunches that will keep well in a thermos? Soup etc... Thanks in advance!
Sent by Genie
Editor: Genie, here's one that we've reviewed and really like:
• Good Product: Zojirushi Mr. Bento Stainless Lunch Jar
Readers, any suggestions for Genie? And do you have any recipe ideas too?
Related: Three Styles Of Bento Lunchboxes
(Image: Zojirushi)

Comments (7)
I don't have any good lunchboxes, but I've got a few good recipes! I usually make things in big batches so I can take leftovers for lunch - makes things so much easier in the mornings. Try these:
Fresh tomato basil soup (http://sprng.me/130ae)
Rigatoni with eggplant puree (http://sprng.me/1a1pv)
Smokey butternut squash soup (http://sprng.me/6a2t)
My coworker has this and loves it:
http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/lunch-cooler/19846?productid=1318697
I have some of their other bags and I absolutely love them. When they say lifetime warranty -- "whatever it takes" they truly mean it.
I have the Zojirushi lunch jar pictured above. The portion sizes are generous (for a woman) and the food is usually warm enough to eat at lunch without having to reheat it (5-6 hours later). As for the food itself, I put in the containers whatever I have leftover from dinner the night before: roast dinner - meat in one, vegetables in another container; stews; casseroles; curries, etc. So don't feel restricted to soup.
I have a lunch jar from Thermos that's just like the pictured Zo, but cheaper.
Like Deborah above, I use the bottom jar for all sorts of liquid/saucy dishes: stews, pasta sauces, etc. There is plenty of food even for a person with a larger than average appetite. I usually pack lunch in the bottom two containers, and yogurt, fruits, fresh veggies, or nuts for snacks in the top two. My job is very physical and being able to eat hot food in the middle of the field is a wonderful treat.
My husband has the above Zojirushi Mr. Bento and I have the corresponding Ms. Bento (which is a little smaller) and they're probably the best investment we could have made in terms of a lunchbox. We're able to take any number of different foods and are able to keep them warm or cool for quite a few hours. Other bonuses to the Mr./Ms. Bentos are the multiple containers, the stainless steel spork, and the carrying cases that make it even more convenient to tote your lunch around.
I love my Mr. Bento, like the one shown. I fill the outer container with hot water in the morning to warm it up, then heat up leftovers, rice, curry, pot stickers, veggies - drain the now warm outer container jar and in goes lunch in the inside containers. I pack the wettest item in the bottom container with the screw top, then the rest in the others. I also take along a tiny bottle with soy sauce or other toppings. I toss it in my locker and it's all still warm at lunch. Other ideas, spaghetti, meatballs, and sauce. Polenta with sauteed mushrooms, cheese, and a bit of roast chicken...
I'm another big Mr. Bento fan -- it lets you do a hot lunch so easily, and it really keeps everything hot. The top layers stay at room temperature which is good for sturdy salads and fruit.
I find that as long as you pack something liquid in the soup container you can pack almost anything in the other hot container and have it stay warm. The soup container acts as a little heater. If that's too much food you can always put tea or coffee or even just plain hot water into it. But if you want to pack something that isn't liquid in there, like rice, then you probably want something like a stew or something else fairly dense and wet in the other hot container.
If you are eating a stew with rice and don't want the rice to get too soggy, you can put the rice on one side rather than at the bottom, or even make a rice "cap" on top of the stew that you can mix in when you eat it.
We do batch cooking and then I re-heat leftovers and pack them into the bento. Yesterday he got frisee and white bean soup, a piece of broccoli and cheddar cheese frittata with butternut and summer squash to fill in the gaps, cut vegetables with tzatziki dip, and fresh blueberries. I use silicone muffin liners to hold dips or to otherwise separate portions inside one of the containers.
For food ideas, master basic soups: you can combine almost any vegetable with a starchy vegetable (potato, sweet potato, winter squash, rutabega, etc.) or beans and some kind of onion (or garlic, leeks, or green garlic) to get a tasty soup. An immersion blender is invaluable for soups.
I also favor braises and casseroles, which reheat easily, for the main dish. But we've put things like roast chicken and short ribs into our bentos; I just debone it first to make it easier to eat.