Funtainer Food Jar Ideas

[100AcreWood]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for what to send in a Funtainer Food Jar. So far I've sent mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, baked beans, and I'm planning to try spaghetti this week. I was wondering what other moms use the Funtainer food jars for and has anyone seen a great deal on these? I keep stalking Target hoping for a sale!

 

[squirrel]

I'm not sure what Funtainers are but how about soup, scrambled eggs/omlet and hotdogs.

 

[momof3ds]

Soup, chilli, vienna sausages (my kids love em, ick to me though), left overs like baked ziti, lasagna, taco meat.

 

[chekhovgirl]

Basically anything left over from dinner! You can also use it to keep stuff cold, like yogurt. Make a yogurt parfait with some fresh fruit.

 

[100AcreWood]

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[PrincessSteph]

OP -
Thanks for starting this topic, I bought one for my first grader and the only thing I could think of was soup.

Can you tell me how the chicken nuggets were - I was afraid they would get soggy...

 

[rapunzelmom]

meat balls, fish sticks (right out of the oven)and ditto any and all leftovers

 

[annacali]

I do spaghetti for my DD at least once a week. I saw the tip somewhere that if you fill the funtainer with boiling water and let it sit for a minute or two, then dump the water and fill with the hot food, the food stays hotter longer. It must work because I am generally filling it at 6:30am and she eats at noon and says it is still hot!

 

[staceycanada]

Shepard's pie

 

[staceycanada]

yogurt
nacho's and cheese
boiled eggs
stir fry
chicken fried rice
dumplings
spare ribs
pizza cut into bite sized pieces
A half cob of corn
fish sticks (the trick to fish sticks and chicken fingers not getting soggy is letting them cool to room temperature then packaging them)
salad with dressing separately
any kind of fruit
chicken wings
pudding

 

[100AcreWood]

OP -
Thanks for starting this topic, I bought one for my first grader and the only thing I could think of was soup.

Can you tell me how the chicken nuggets were - I was afraid they would get soggy...

I thought they would be soggy too but my dd said they were fine. These were terriyaki chicken nuggets though so not as much breading.

We did spaghetti yesterday but it returned home. She said it tasted funny. I thought it would be the biggest hit! Today I sent her with leftover pulled pork.

 

[loveysbydesign]

where is the cheapest place to buy Funtainers??

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

they are pretty much the same price everywhere you go but when I was in TRU the other day they still had them buy one get one half price.

 

[loveysbydesign]

they are pretty much the same price everywhere you go but when I was in TRU the other day they still had them buy one get one half price.

Thanks for the tip. Do they average $15 a pop?

 

[EKW]

First, my son has a large insulated lunchbox and access to a microwave at school. Just saying, as I am well aware of food safety issues. I used double-walled metal thermoses as the plastic ones do not keep food at the correct temps. With two or three ice packs and an insulated lunchbox, the metal ones do.

Here's what my son takes:

(Note: for all sandwiches, he takes the bread in a separate container.)

sloppy joes
pulled pork
ravioli
chicken salad
tuna salad
cheese sticks
hummus
meatloaf
a variety of soups
mac and cheese
lunchmeat and cheese
egg salad
hot dogs
bratwurst
dry cereal (rarely...he used to ask occasionally when he was little...not so much anymore)
baked spaghetti
lasagna
taco filling
dip for fresh veggies
baked chicken

 

[4littleones]

No idea but I am going to look these up right now, I have never heard of them. It sounds awesome though! I have a 4 yr old with autism and his diet is pretty limited and he eats lunch at preschool so hot dogs will be his everyday meal.

Going to look these up right now. Do you think grilled cheese would work? My kids love grilled cheese sandwiches.

 

[100AcreWood]

http://www.thermos.com/products/mickey-mouse-clubhouse-blue-funtainer-food-jar.aspx

Here is an example of what I'm talking about. They generally run around $14-15. You can find some on amazon. They are double-walled as one poster mentioned it is important to get the double-wall metal thermos as opposed to a cheap plastic thermos like I grew up with .

Thanks for all the suggestions so far! We're getting really creative this year with lunches. Yesterday's pulled pork was a big hit.

Also - not sure if you could do grilled cheese because of the steam/soggy factor on the bread. We're still experimenting to figure out what works and what doesn't.

 

[jacksmomma]

DS loves what we call Kai-lan noodles. Cook some whole wheat angel hair pasta and mix with any veggies you like. We ususally do peas and matchstick carrots. Then mix a little soy sauce with peanut or almond butter and thin it out with some of the cooking water from the pasta. Add this sauce to the pasta and veggies. Serve hot or cold.

Check out the book vegan lunchbox. Though the reciepes are veggie or vegan they can be adapted for carnivores and the ideas are great!

 

[momof3ds]

My kiddos also love ramen noodles.

 

[2binak]

I keep stalking Target hoping for a sale!

It's not an immediate find, but keep an eye on deal-a-day sites like ecobabybuys, kidsteals, zulily & totsy. They sometimes have them on sale for at least 40% off. Be aware that delivery of zulily & totsy items can take up to 4 weeks to arrive.