Thermal Bowl or Thermal cooker

[Deeau]

I spend one night a week away from home from 5pm till 11 pm with one of my childs committments, that means for the last 12 weeks we are having takeaway one night a week, or we go out for dinner. I am so over it  ( and the cost of it ) and want to start taking our evening meal with me, I only get about 30 minutes at home before we leave. Salad is OK now but it will be winter soon.
I have two ideas, a thermal pot ( like a dream pot ) so I could prep the meal the night before quickly cook it when I get home and put it in the thermal pot to cook and eat  a few hours later OR I could try and get a locking lid thermoserver type bowl ( which I havn't been able to find ) and cook the meal the night before and reheat, pop in the thermoserver and then eat later. We have to travel for and hour each way to get there so the TM thermoserver won't work well.
Does anyone have any experience with coping with this, we eat mainly primal so I am not a rice or pasta person but soup or casserole and veg would be fine. I also will have to deal with taking utensils etc ( which I thought I could put in a themal pot after eating for clean up at home.
Any Ideas?
PS I also thought that I could maybe use a dream pot type cooker to rise dough in the colder months by putting hot water in the bottom pot and bread dough in the top saucepan? Anyone tried this.

[goldfish]

Hi Deeau . . if soups and stews,etc, are the go, why not try those wide mouthed vacuum flasks?  Along with some pullapart bread - or even some plain bread would be lovely on a winter's night.  Have a small picnic type basket all packed and ready to go.  Some healthy nibblies for the journey and for the waiting time in between. And don't forget a flask of either tea or coffee or plenty of water.  For keeping food warm, other than the above mentioned flasks, I've found various insulated containers that are great - either at Indian or Korean grocery shops - or you could maybe order them online.  Good luck! Once you get into the swing of it, it'll be easy . . . and just think of the money you'll be saving on the takeaways!

[faffa_70]

I haven't tried this but I did read a tip that you can use the base of the Thermoserver as a lid that seal ... maybe worth a try before you spend more money. I usually transport my Thermoserver in one of the casserole carries that you often see on the craft stalls. Helps to keep it warm but pulled tight helps keep the lid on too.

I would also have a permanent picnic basket that you have ready to go - putting the dishes and cups back into it during the week as you clean up. (Perhaps even a list of things to remember to pack like milk and sugar if you have it in our drinks). We pack thermal mugs in our picnic basket for travelling as they are easier to manage in the car.

Totally understand being over the takeaway food and the cost of it 

[courton]

Not to mention the amount of fat and oil you find in takeaways.

[Shazzy]

Deeau in 2010 we travelled with our 2 boys around Australia in a caravan for 9 months.  We brought an EcoPot (similar to a Dreampot) which we used to make curries and stews ect.  It worked really well. I remember in Sydney we would have it all done in the morning before we left for the day and when we got home late and exhausted we were able to sit down to a hot yummy meal straight away. We have also used it since we have been back and it has been a big help on the days that I work. I would recommend though making sure you get a good one - one that seals properly particularly as you will be travelling with it. Ours was fine and didnt leak.

[jeninwa]

I have a Thermal cooker (shuttle chef) and love it, we use it when we go away sailing, prepare in the morning and meal is  ready in the evening, keeps  food hot of hours, mine has two pots, have done a meal in one and dessert in the other, great for bread rising in cold weather, you can cook bread in it as well. Mine came with a padded carry bag, in the top there is extra storage that could be use for utensils etc.

[Merlin]

What about a tiffin tin? They are usually available in Indian grocers and have snap closures for different sections so they won't leak. Also, they are usually made of stainless steel so should retain heat, especially if you put it in an insulated bag.

[andiesenji]

Several caterers I know are using thermal pots of various sizes from 1.5 liter to 6 or 8 liter for cooking, transporting and maintaining foods at serving temps for hours.
I phoned one friend and asked what she has.  One Zojirushi (expensive) three Tiger (moderate price) and 2 of the newest made by Tayama, distributed by Huarun Appliance a company based in California, both 6.5 liter.  

She says that while thermal containers, such as the widely used commercial Volrath bowls and "Thermos" type containers keep foods hot for a while, they will not keep food hot enough to comply with health department regulations for more than 3-4 hours.  They simply do not have enough insulation to maintain the foods above 140 degrees F., the edge of the "danger zone."

The Thermal "cookers" will keep foods hot for at least 8 hours, especially if the foods are cooked in the internal pans to 190 to 200° F., and put immediately into the outer container and sealed.  Foods that are partially cooked, such as stews and etc., will continue to cook because they are held at higher temps.  
She says she boils whole potatoes for 3-5 minutes, depending on size, puts them into the thermal cooker and 3-4 hours later drains and mashes them and they turn out nicely.

I do wish they had been available when I was catering, it would have made life so much easier.  

Here's a site with good information and some recipes.

[faffa_70]

Something else I thought of ... we have a cheap two way fridge that plugs into the lighter - we bought from Dick Smiths (cost us about $40) It is only small but we fit enough food in there for all of us for a meal when we travel.

It can be used either hot or cold (just make sure you check the setting before you leave - speaking from experience much??!! nothing like a cold dinner that should have been hot!)

[Deeau]

Thanks Girls for the great ideas, I am still temped by the Thermal cooker but thanks to Kathryn I realised that I have two of those 2 way fridges down in the garage that I have never used ( got them thru a promotion at work ) I will drag one out today and work out something to cook for tomorrow night, I could reheat put it in something ( not sure what yet ) then pop it in there till we are ready to eat. I will also look into getting one of those backpack picnic sets. I will try the fridge thing for a few weeks to see how it goes.
Thanks Again as usual ....ask and you will be answered ... your joint knowledge and williness to help never ceases to amaze me, it like have a big bunch of spare "mums" out there to help me out 

Opps.....maybe I should say sisters I am more than likely older than alot of you 

[Deeau]

I am still temped by these thermal cookers, I just noticed that the Thermos brand one ( shuttle chef ) has a sale on for mothers day where you get the accessories pack for free ( about $70 worth ) still struggling with keeping the food hot for the one night a week we are away from home I got a good sealing thermal bowl from an indian food supplies shop and although its great at home the food is too cold to eat after one and a half hours. Now that the weather is cooling off we really need hot meals, I was looking at the 4.5L that has a 1.5L inner bowl, the saucepan size is quite smallish but I ditched my 6L crock pot for a 3L one as the 6 was too big I could never fill it up for the 4 of us and there are now  usually only 2 or 3 of us.
I think that there would be quite a few uses for this around the home too, proofing dough etc?

[fundj&e]

i just bought a thermal cooker the 3.5 liter one, yesterday i made minestrone soup in it ,and it was still piping hot after 4
 hours
 so far i have made
pasta
rice
hard boiled eggs
potatoes

i think i am going to use it often

[Deeau]

Thanks for answering Fundj, I noticed on the shopping thread that you had purchased one and hoped that you would answer, I have decided to buy one  and am having problems deciding between the 4.5 L and the 6L my head is telling me to get the 4.5L as my 6L crockpot was too big as I said before BUT the size of the 4.5L saucepan 16 cm high and 19.5 cm wide I am a bit concerned that maybe a chicken won't fit in? ( If I would use it to Cook a chicken in... who knows )
On the Pro side I can see that the smaller size would be much better as an extra "thermoserver" type bowl to have at home. I  would never need the 6L for that.
What do you think of the size of the 3.5L do you think that's a practical size? I feed 4 at the moment but kids will be leaving home in the next few years for uni etc. Also the small one would be great for dinner at the beach or lake.
PS. I agonize all the time over making the right choice with purchases, drive my husband nuts have to overthink every purchase! Should have seen me before I got my TM!

[nazar]

 when l have a problem and think that something eg chicken wont fit in what l want to buy  eg thermo cooker
  l take some item( which is clean) which is the same size as the chicken go to the shop and try it in there to see if it fits
 the shop is only to happy to help as they want your sale and quite often have one on display
 l have done this on many of occasions and it help me out to try and decide which size to buy
 l hope this helps

[Wonder]

If your main use is to use the thermal cooker on the commitment night and assuming it is just you and one of the children on this night I would definitely go with the smaller one. In fact I would go for the smaller one anyway. For our family of 4 relatively small eaters I've found with cooking appliances going smaller is the way to go.