Cooking while driving

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Location of meal:  So, traditionally, during inclement weather (i.e., February through early April games and stormy days later in the Spring) the home team provides a conference room in the Field House/gym for the visiting team to eat in before boarding the bus back to campus.  Otherwise, the team has one of those larger pop-up canopies under which the buffet is arranged.  

Post Game Meal Necessity
The post game meal thing is a hallowed lacrosse tradition.  It is what it is, we have years of experience from ODS' years in youth lacrosse, club lacrosse, and high school lacrosse.  At this point, my only complaint is that I figured the colleges would be picking up the cost and the logistics, but I now know that most colleges do not do so.  I'm not going to buck the system.  The dining hall is definitely closed when the guys get back from the away games and also after night-time home games.  They need to eat.  I'm paying big money for tuition and I want my kid to focus on schoolwork and lacrosse.  If I have to feed him after a game to make sure I am getting my money's worth out of the tuition, it's a small price to pay as far as I'm concerned.  

As for hauling food all over creation, I'm the only one who does so.  ODS is one of just two players who do not hail from the mid-Atlantic (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia).  All of the other parents live within an hour or 2 of the college and then take turns hosting the away games closest to their individual homes.  I am the lone parent who must travel 6-8 hours to the games.  I knew it going in and took the travel on willingly because, if you're going to play competitive Division III college lacrosse, you want to play in the mid-Atlantic.  

Usually, the post-game meal includes an entree or two obtained from a restaurant local to the game location (and often a local delicacy -- broasted chicken, pork roll, pitted beef, anyone?). In addition, other contributions to the post-game meal (sides, desserts, snacks, etc.) are largely contributed by the parents who live an hour or so from the game site. 

Along with the transportation issue, I have the added challenge that ODS has a life-threatening, anaphylactic, food allergy so is limited as to what he can safely eat.  I knew this going in, too, LOL, so I own it and deal with it as is the YM way.   

So, at this point, I'm not looking to debate the necessity or the reasonableness of providing post-game meals to competitive college athletes, just exploring ways I can do it efficiently both in terms of logistics and cost.  I figured driving to the game while cooking could solve all of my problems in one fell swoop.  

    

[Lizard Queen]

I agree with Milee somewhat. You are babying a college sophomore more than I was as a high school sophomore. How are these college men not embarassed by this? I guess free and food are the overarching factors. 😉

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Jan 26, 2017 14:16:32 GMT -5 milee said:

Jan 26, 2017 14:08:52 GMT -5 Tiny said:

 but maybe it's a 'fun' tradition or maybe going the extra mile results in some sort of other 'touchy feely' of value experience.  Those are sometimes the most memorable/laughable things in life.    If this was a "chore" and 'unpleasant' or 'value-less' I'm sure GRG wouldn't be here light heartedly "brainstorming" alternative ways of cooking...      

Oh, I know.  The moms who did it and organized it truly did it because they wanted to do something nice for their kids and the team.  But as with so many of these other things, it tends to morph into something else.  Once the "standard" Medieval Meal is established, then there's pressure to do that for every game.  And even if other parents don't want to serve or their kids to eat those types of foods they are pressured into contributing or they're viewed as deadbeats.  And think how hard this is for families who have financial struggles?  They're already pinching every penny so their kid can be on the team and now they have to come up with this huge extra expense and hassle?  This all starts out as a nice thing that morphs into a huge burden - sometimes for people who don't want and can't afford it.

And it also feeds into the problems colleges are already seeing with kids who need courses in "adulting."  It's not the end of the world if a kid is not mature enough to go to college - my oldest son struggles with some things and may bump up against this.  But bottom line - if you have a kid who doesn't have the basic skill of figuring out how to feed him/herself, then keep the kid at home another year and spend the time teaching him/her these important basics instead of spending crazy time and effort on how to prop them up long distance.

Sorry, I figure everyone is tired of hearing how my kids have life-threatening, anaphylactic, food allergies so I don't always include that fact in my posts.  Go into your kitchen and throw out ALL of the foods that include soy in them, then come back and tell me how easy it will be for a busy college athlete to grab enough portable snacks to feed himself for a 10 hour trip to an away game.  

ODS "adults", and adults well.  He cooks 3 of his 4 meals for himself, from scratch from whole foods, grocery shops for himself sticking to a budget, cleans up after himself...  He's got the "feeding himself" thing down just fine.

So, I'm not looking to feed him every meal every day.  Good God, no.  I'm looking to bring some yummy, homemade, SAFE food that he can eat after a game that I am already going to be attending.  Otherwise, he gets to stand around eating another apple while everyone else is digging in to a hot meal.  Frankly, that sucks and sucks big time if you do it too often.  If I'm going to the game anyway, why can't I bring food for my son without it becoming an attack on his lack of maturity or basic self-care skills??!!

Please don't add facts or impose assumptions where they don't belong.   

As my dear sainted mother always said, if you don't have anything to contribute directly to the conversation, then don't contribute at all.  Please and thank you.  

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Jan 26, 2017 14:37:48 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I agree with Milee somewhat. You are babying a college sophomore more than I was as a high school sophomore. How are these college men not embarassed by this? I guess free and food are the overarching factors. 😉

Again, said college sophomore has a life-threatening, anaphylactic, food allergy.  He can't just eat anything that is offered.  He can't eat fast food if the bus stops at Burger King or Chipotle on the way home.  If I'm going to be at the game anyway, why can't I provide safe, hot, food for him without being guilty of babying him?

And, please, what young male adult ever turned down free food??!!  

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

@sroo4 :  It started out as a way to feed myself on the road.  Then, when I came upon the Wonderbag (which apparently fits an entire Dutch Oven in it), my thinking sort of expanded into "wow, I can feed not only myself, but maybe even supply my contribution to the team meal with a device like this".   So, it became a sort of moving target, LOL. 

I'm open to suggestions for either/or/all.  It's been an interesting exercise -- I never know some of these devices/appliance even existed before today!

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Jan 26, 2017 14:49:55 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

Ok... I don't think I'm confused anymore.  You're looking to feed just him when he can't eat the team dinner. 

If so then I would try out some of the freeze dried food or regular food that you pre cook,  and keep in a cooler/travel fridge to microwave onsite.    

Expand that to include food I pre-cook but for which I may not have a microwave for upon arrival (for example, if I didn't check into the hotel before the game or if, even after microwaving it in the hotel room, wanted to keep it hot for 3 hours or so until after the game).  

[Tiny]

In case it got overlooked:  google Thermal cooker - amazon has a handful of different ones/brands and lots of reviews.    (and for the nerd-ier readers go back to the original and google haybox cooker...  it's like what came before solar cooking... )

[milee]

Trust me, nobody who ever reads this board could forget or not know that your son had life threatening, impending death, going to certainly die allergies.  We know.

Don't use it as an excuse to keep babying him.  It might suck to be the one eating an apple, but that might be his reality and if you didn't make it into such a big, hairy deal it might not even be that bad for him.  If he feeds himself the rest of the time, he probably already has all sorts of good strategies for feeding himself when away from home.  

Threads often start as a poster asking one question but as information develops, it becomes obvious what is really going on is something else entirely.  It's reasonable for others to comment on what's really going on - even if it's not obvious to the OP and the OP even gets her panties in a wad about it.  So if you are not prepared for that type of comment, it would be better to not post than to expect others to buy into whatever denial you may have going on...  

If you want suggestions for inexpensive, portable travel meals for you surely people will give them.  If you want advice on how to transport chili long distance, expect comment on what a dumb idea that is in the first place.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Jan 26, 2017 14:56:49 GMT -5 milee said:

Trust me, nobody who ever reads this board could forget or not know that your son had life threatening, impending death, going to certainly die allergies.  We know.

Don't use it as an excuse to keep babying him.  It might suck to be the one eating an apple, but that might be his reality and if you didn't make it into such a big, hairy deal it might not even be that bad for him.  If he feeds himself the rest of the time, he probably already has all sorts of good strategies for feeding himself when away from home.  

Threads often start as a poster asking one question but as information develops, it becomes obvious what is really going on is something else entirely.  It's reasonable for others to comment on what's really going on - even if it's not obvious to the OP and the OP even gets her panties in a wad about it.  So if you are not prepared for that type of comment, it would be better to not post than to expect others to buy into whatever denial you may have going on...  

If you want suggestions for inexpensive, portable travel meals for you surely people will give them.  If you want advice on how to transport chili long distance, expect comment on what a dumb idea that is in the first place.

Wow, I've never put you down for the challenges you've posted about.  Not sure where the need to attack me is coming from.  It's rather uncharacteristic of you, so I'm putting it down to some other stress in your life.  If it helps, then put me on ignore and don't read my threads.  Maybe take the afternoon off and go for a sail to recharge and decompress?  Take care, Milee, take care.  

[milee]

Jan 26, 2017 15:12:02 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Jan 26, 2017 14:56:49 GMT -5 milee said:

Trust me, nobody who ever reads this board could forget or not know that your son had life threatening, impending death, going to certainly die allergies.  We know.

Don't use it as an excuse to keep babying him.  It might suck to be the one eating an apple, but that might be his reality and if you didn't make it into such a big, hairy deal it might not even be that bad for him.  If he feeds himself the rest of the time, he probably already has all sorts of good strategies for feeding himself when away from home.  

Threads often start as a poster asking one question but as information develops, it becomes obvious what is really going on is something else entirely.  It's reasonable for others to comment on what's really going on - even if it's not obvious to the OP and the OP even gets her panties in a wad about it.  So if you are not prepared for that type of comment, it would be better to not post than to expect others to buy into whatever denial you may have going on...  

If you want suggestions for inexpensive, portable travel meals for you surely people will give them.  If you want advice on how to transport chili long distance, expect comment on what a dumb idea that is in the first place.

Wow, I've never put you down for the challenges you've posted about.  Not sure where the need to attack me is coming from.  It's rather uncharacteristic of you, so I'm putting it down to some other stress in your life.  If it helps, then put me on ignore and don't read my threads.  Maybe take the afternoon off and go for a sail to recharge and decompress?  Take care, Milee, take care.  

When I start to post about how to endanger myself, anybody in my car and the other drivers on the road because I want to transport piping hot food over long distances, you're welcome to point out that this is a bad idea and ask me why I'd even think about doing such a thing.

It wasn't intended as an attack and I'm sorry for choosing my words in a way that made it sound like one.  It's not a particularly great day but I'll consider the idea that I'm crankier than usual when I post today.

Would you please just consider the possibility that this might be one tiny way that you can step forward in your own journey of transitioning from full time mom desperately trying to keep her babies alive into person with her own life and interests?  You've posted about wanting your own career and some other interests.  This could be a time you use to devote towards that instead of prolonging the current situation.  If your son is cooking his own meals from scratch 3 of 4 meals a day, he's ready and able to handle this challenge.  Give him the gift of your trust and give yourself the gift of freedom from this large burden.  (And give the rest of us who might be on the road with you at some point the freedom of not being afraid that your hot chili explosion causes an accident.)  Peace.

[MJ2.0]

Jan 26, 2017 14:56:49 GMT -5 milee said:

Trust me, nobody who ever reads this board could forget or not know that your son had life threatening, impending death, going to certainly die allergies.  We know.

Don't use it as an excuse to keep babying him.  It might suck to be the one eating an apple, but that might be his reality and if you didn't make it into such a big, hairy deal it might not even be that bad for him.  If he feeds himself the rest of the time, he probably already has all sorts of good strategies for feeding himself when away from home.  

Threads often start as a poster asking one question but as information develops, it becomes obvious what is really going on is something else entirely.  It's reasonable for others to comment on what's really going on - even if it's not obvious to the OP and the OP even gets her panties in a wad about it.  So if you are not prepared for that type of comment, it would be better to not post than to expect others to buy into whatever denial you may have going on...  

If you want suggestions for inexpensive, portable travel meals for you surely people will give them.  If you want advice on how to transport chili long distance, expect comment on what a dumb idea that is in the first place.

Sorry, who died and put you in charge of pointing out people's flaws/neuroses/parenting choices? Is it because you have no personality issues and are a perfect parent?

I mean I agree somewhat with what you're saying, but GRG basically put her life on standstill to make sure her kids were healthy and safe... For 18+ years, that's all she did. She's not just gonna brush her hands on her legs and go "whew, glad that's done. Next!" She's gonna need some letting go time too. And yes I know, "be an adult". But adults can have feelings and act on them too. It doesn't make them less of an adult. It makes them a human being.

[milee]

Jan 26, 2017 18:51:35 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

Jan 26, 2017 14:56:49 GMT -5 milee said:

Trust me, nobody who ever reads this board could forget or not know that your son had life threatening, impending death, going to certainly die allergies.  We know.

Don't use it as an excuse to keep babying him.  It might suck to be the one eating an apple, but that might be his reality and if you didn't make it into such a big, hairy deal it might not even be that bad for him.  If he feeds himself the rest of the time, he probably already has all sorts of good strategies for feeding himself when away from home.  

Threads often start as a poster asking one question but as information develops, it becomes obvious what is really going on is something else entirely.  It's reasonable for others to comment on what's really going on - even if it's not obvious to the OP and the OP even gets her panties in a wad about it.  So if you are not prepared for that type of comment, it would be better to not post than to expect others to buy into whatever denial you may have going on...  

If you want suggestions for inexpensive, portable travel meals for you surely people will give them.  If you want advice on how to transport chili long distance, expect comment on what a dumb idea that is in the first place.

Sorry, who died and put you in charge of pointing out people's flaws/neuroses/parenting choices? Is it because you have no personality issues and are a perfect parent?

I mean I agree somewhat with what you're saying, but GRG basically put her life on standstill to make sure her kids were healthy and safe... For 18+ years, that's all she did. She's not just gonna brush her hands on her legs and go "whew, glad that's done. Next!" She's gonna need some letting go time too. And yes I know, "be an adult". But adults can have feelings and act on them too. It doesn't make them less of an adult. It makes them a human being.

So on the thread about another poster's daughter being in an accident, when you commented that the other driver should have her license revoked for being careless with her baby, was that because you have no personality issues and are a perfect parent?  Or was it because this is a message board where people regularly comment on people's flaws/neurosis/parenting choices?

Maybe part of the problem GRG is having in letting her newly grown oldest son do adult things for himself is precisely because she devoted so much time and effort into the idea that only she could make her kids healthy and safe.  Might not be good for her or the kids.  I'm surrounded by 50 something year old friends who did exactly that - devoted their lives to their kids and/or husbands and now not only do they not have a satisfying life for themselves but they've raised kids and husbands who don't especially appreciate their sacrifice, many of whom are struggling to launch.  At this point in life, most people who are developing into caring adults would also be able to think about their mom and what might be nice for her.  IOW, wouldn't a caring kid start to think - wow, my mom's already spending all this time and money to come to all my games, it really is a bit much for her to endanger herself and the other people on the road by having her drive 6 hours with a dutch oven full of hot food.  It's not that big a deal for me to bring a few ____ and eat them so my mom doesn't go through all that...  But if all your mom is and does is act as your servant or personal protector, then those thoughts would never occur to you.  It's all about you and whether you get a nice, hot meal.  

It's not being mean to bring up these issues to moms who are sacrificing themselves - or even going to the length of endangering themselves and others to provide trivial things to their kids; it's mean of us not to point this stuff out and encourage each other to value ourselves as people and not just as "moms."

[cronewitch]

I suggest finding a way to reheat at the location. A hot meal doesn't all need to be hot. You can serve side dishes that are cold. A instant pot will cook a meal in minutes so find a plug in like in a motel room then freeze meals to thaw on the way and put in the instant pot or microwave. Instant pot is a pressure cooker like a rice cooker. I have seen people in campgrounds use rice cookers. You can freeze meals in ziptop bags or you can do home canning of soups. They even have little pots to boil water so you can make rice or noodles or something in your motel room or reheat home canned soup. Imagine a pressure cooker filled with pot roast, potatoes and carrots with a side of salad and rolls. You might buy the pot roast at the location or freeze one to thaw on the way.
I haven't tried so many hours but have take baked potatoes about an hour away and still hot. I cooked 50# individual wrapped in foil then placed in a ice chest. I wrapped a cooked ham wrapped in foil in dish towels and blankets to take an hour or so away for a meal so about two hours to serving time.
Maybe you could use the car cooking to keep a ham or roast hot after cooking at home but without liquids to mess up your car in an accident.

[swamp]

Why can't you make a pan of chili/stew/Mac and cheese/whatever at home. Transport it in a cooler, and then warm it up,with one of those Bunsen burner things caterers use?  Sounds like you have a place to heat it, especially if the dinner is a tent outside? 

Or forget about the hot food and do substantial cold hors doeuvres things kept in a cooler?   

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

[Tiny]

I don't think GRG is actually thinking of doing a Homer Simpson:
Homer's Car Appliances episode
 www.simpsonsworld.com/video/285398595584

 
I must be living dangerously because I've transported plenty of hot food in my vehicles over the last 30 plus years and other than some early lessons in how NOT to secure a lid on a pot (and thus having to clean up a mess in my trunk...) I've been quite successful. 

In fact on Sunday I will transporting a full pan of lasagna a 1/2 pan of sausage, peppers and potatoes (picked up hot and ready to go from a local restaurant) to a friend's home to celebrate an occasion.   I'm not expecting to die doing this even if I get in a fender bender on the way.

I don't see how securing something like a Thermal Cooker or even a well sealed Crockpot in one's trunk or cargo area is dangerous WHILE driving.   It's not anymore dangerous than transporting a cooler or a bag of groceries.   (I will fess up to having transported a "hot" crock pot (vegetarian chickpea stew - we made the rice to go with it on location) - I ducted taped the lid, wrapped it in an old blanket for insulation and strategically wedged it in my car's 'cargo area' for a 2.5hour drive... no problems what so ever.  And it was plenty hot when I arrived.

I can see the concern for keeping hot things or cold things at appropriate temps for hours and hours and hours.... but there are reasonable solutions for those problems.
 

[tskeeter]

Jan 26, 2017 20:15:38 GMT -5 swamp said:

Why can't you make a pan of chili/stew/Mac and cheese/whatever at home. Transport it in a cooler, and then warm it up,with one of those Bunsen burner things caterers use?  Sounds like you have a place to heat it, especially if the dinner is a tent outside? 

Or forget about the hot food and do substantial cold hors doeuvres things kept in a cooler?   

The gel fuel chafing dishes used by caterers really aren't adequate for reheating food.  They are intended to reduce the rate at which food in them cools down, but trying to reheat cold food with them would be a bit like grilling a steak over a candle.

A consideration to keep in mind is the rule of thumb for keeping food safe to consume.  Food should spend no more than four hours between 40 degrees and 140 degrees.  Time spent in this temperature range is cumulative.  So, a dish left to cool on the counter for an hour, is refrigerated, then spends an hour being reheated to 140 degrees, the time in the danger temperature range is two hours. (Note that this is a crude example, meant only to illustrate the concept.  In the real world, you'd have additional time in the fridge to bring the temp down from room temp to 40 degrees, as well as other transition periods.)

[Bonny]

Jan 26, 2017 14:49:55 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

Ok... I don't think I'm confused anymore.  You're looking to feed just him when he can't eat the team dinner. 

If so then I would try out some of the freeze dried food or regular food that you pre cook,  and keep in a cooler/travel fridge to microwave onsite.    

I like the idea of showing GRG's son how to make up his allergen free freeze-dried meals. He can rehydrate and cook the meal with a Jet boil which really does boil very quickly. Boil the water in about a minute, wait 8 minutes while it cooks in the bag and voila, a decent meal. As long as he isn't traveling by air, the gas canister shouldn't be a problem. The larger canister would have lasted me my entire 25 days on the trail heating water at least 2x per day.

[Lizard Queen]

Jan 26, 2017 21:47:37 GMT -5 Tiny said:

I don't think GRG is actually thinking of doing a Homer Simpson:
Homer's Car Appliances episode
 www.simpsonsworld.com/video/285398595584

 
I must be living dangerously because I've transported plenty of hot food in my vehicles over the last 30 plus years and other than some early lessons in how NOT to secure a lid on a pot (and thus having to clean up a mess in my trunk...) I've been quite successful. 

In fact on Sunday I will transporting a full pan of lasagna a 1/2 pan of sausage, peppers and potatoes (picked up hot and ready to go from a local restaurant) to a friend's home to celebrate an occasion.   I'm not expecting to die doing this even if I get in a fender bender on the way.

I don't see how securing something like a Thermal Cooker or even a well sealed Crockpot in one's trunk or cargo area is dangerous WHILE driving.   It's not anymore dangerous than transporting a cooler or a bag of groceries.   (I will fess up to having transported a "hot" crock pot (vegetarian chickpea stew - we made the rice to go with it on location) - I ducted taped the lid, wrapped it in an old blanket for insulation and strategically wedged it in my car's 'cargo area' for a 2.5hour drive... no problems what so ever.  And it was plenty hot when I arrived.

I can see the concern for keeping hot things or cold things at appropriate temps for hours and hours and hours.... but there are reasonable solutions for those problems.
 

I've got a crockpot designed to travel warm (but not to plug into the car). Came with special bungie cords and and insulated case.

[Opti]

Jan 26, 2017 13:34:08 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

milee :  it's real.  It comes with mixed reviews, but in reading enough of them, it appears to be user error rather than an issue with the concept.  I personally would not cook things from raw using the Wonderbag (as instructed), but I could certainly see re-heating a batch of chili at home and then transporting it 6-8 hours in one and having it still be safely hot upon arrival.  

Or am I being naive?

I'd give it a try. It is safer than the crockpot IMO.

[mamasita99]

If they were kids and I had to drive 6+ hours to attend the game, I'd be the "slacker" parent bringing the paper plates and napkins and pitch in to have it catered. Really, you are driving 6+ hours to attend the game, I don't see how they can expect you to show up with food. Especially if your son can't eat any of it.  But these are young men, they don't need moms tripping over themselves to get them a grandiose hot meal after every game.  With a little planning on the part of the players, and moms if they want to give guidance, they can figure out how to refuel themselves after the games. 

If it's just how to make a decent meal for yourself, you have way more options. I vote for the easiest options, which is to come up with a bunch of "meals" that can be prepped without anything more than a microwave and an electric tea kettle. I wouldn't want to mess with carrying around various contraptions, too much work. When we moved to different duty stations, and had to live out of hotels for up to 3 weeks at a time while waiting for housing, we got very resourceful. To keep the food cold between stops, you should treat yourself to a Yeti cooler bag- I've been wanting one for a while! But they are like $200+ dollars, so, not getting one.

[swamp]

Jan 26, 2017 22:35:49 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Jan 26, 2017 20:15:38 GMT -5 swamp said:

Why can't you make a pan of chili/stew/Mac and cheese/whatever at home. Transport it in a cooler, and then warm it up,with one of those Bunsen burner things caterers use?  Sounds like you have a place to heat it, especially if the dinner is a tent outside? 

Or forget about the hot food and do substantial cold hors doeuvres things kept in a cooler?   

The gel fuel chafing dishes used by caterers really aren't adequate for reheating food.  They are intended to reduce the rate at which food in them cools down, but trying to reheat cold food with them would be a bit like grilling a steak over a candle.

A consideration to keep in mind is the rule of thumb for keeping food safe to consume.  Food should spend no more than four hours between 40 degrees and 140 degrees.  Time spent in this temperature range is cumulative.  So, a dish left to cool on the counter for an hour, is refrigerated, then spends an hour being reheated to 140 degrees, the time in the danger temperature range is two hours. (Note that this is a crude example, meant only to illustrate the concept.  In the real world, you'd have additional time in the fridge to bring the temp down from room temp to 40 degrees, as well as other transition periods.)

Use the cooler to transport it warm. 

[alabamagal]

Jan 27, 2017 9:36:23 GMT -5 swamp said:

Jan 26, 2017 22:35:49 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

The gel fuel chafing dishes used by caterers really aren't adequate for reheating food.  They are intended to reduce the rate at which food in them cools down, but trying to reheat cold food with them would be a bit like grilling a steak over a candle.

A consideration to keep in mind is the rule of thumb for keeping food safe to consume.  Food should spend no more than four hours between 40 degrees and 140 degrees.  Time spent in this temperature range is cumulative.  So, a dish left to cool on the counter for an hour, is refrigerated, then spends an hour being reheated to 140 degrees, the time in the danger temperature range is two hours. (Note that this is a crude example, meant only to illustrate the concept.  In the real world, you'd have additional time in the fridge to bring the temp down from room temp to 40 degrees, as well as other transition periods.)

Use the cooler to transport it warm. 

I have done this a lot when traveling with warm food.  I had 2 bricks that I would put in the oven to heat them up.  Them put them in the bottom of a cooler on a pot holder (to not burn bottom of cooler).  Then put in hot food.  Stayed warm for several hours.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

What happened to nuking ramen?   That was pretty much the staple of every person I knew in college.  You can do that in an electric kettle in about five minutes.

My go to was Easy mac.   To this day I cannot look at the display in the grocery store without gagging.

It's a lovely gesture but I do not get the expectation that not only do moms attend a 6+ hour away game but also provide them a fresh piping hot meal after the game.   That's freaking nuts.

[tskeeter]

Jan 27, 2017 10:57:02 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

Jan 27, 2017 9:36:23 GMT -5 swamp said:

Use the cooler to transport it warm. 

I have done this a lot when traveling with warm food.  I had 2 bricks that I would put in the oven to heat them up.  Them put them in the bottom of a cooler on a pot holder (to not burn bottom of cooler).  Then put in hot food.  Stayed warm for several hours.

Great technique, Alabama Gal!

[Deleted]

Jan 27, 2017 11:59:38 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

What happened to nuking ramen?   That was pretty much the staple of every person I knew in college.  You can do that in an electric kettle in about five minutes.

My go to was Easy mac.   To this day I cannot look at the display in the grocery store without gagging.

It's a lovely gesture but I do not get the expectation that not only do moms attend a 6+ hour away game but also provide them a fresh piping hot meal after the game.   That's freaking nuts.

The OP's son has life-threatening allergies, including soy products.  Ramen noodles don't darken the door of my pantry but I'll bet there's soy in them somewhere.

She's also made it clear that her son is perfectly capable of buying groceries, preparing food and feeding himself.  Haven't you ever done something for someone that they could do for themselves as a caring act?  When DS was in boarding school an hour away, I'd drive there, take him to Chili's (half an hour in the direction back home), take him back to school and then drive home.  That was my Friday night.  He could have eaten in the school mess hall but sometimes you just wanna be Mom.  And maybe that's the reason that now DS, at age 32, is willing to make the 3 hour drive with his wife and 2 little girls and occasionally take an extra day off work to visit me. 

OP, the only thing I can think of is the opposite tactic-prepare something and freeze it solid (this would work with most soups and pasta dishes unless they contain potatoes or other foods that don't freeze well).  It will mostly thaw out on that long drive and then be ready for re-heating.   I know the experts say you should thaw things out in the refrigerator but I haven't had any adverse effects from ignoring that advice, and you're not driving in 80-degree temps this time of year.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Jan 27, 2017 13:25:51 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Jan 27, 2017 11:59:38 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

What happened to nuking ramen?   That was pretty much the staple of every person I knew in college.  You can do that in an electric kettle in about five minutes.

My go to was Easy mac.   To this day I cannot look at the display in the grocery store without gagging.

It's a lovely gesture but I do not get the expectation that not only do moms attend a 6+ hour away game but also provide them a fresh piping hot meal after the game.   That's freaking nuts.

The OP's son has life-threatening allergies, including soy products.  Ramen noodles don't darken the door of my pantry but I'll bet there's soy in them somewhere.

She's also made it clear that her son is perfectly capable of buying groceries, preparing food and feeding himself.  Haven't you ever done something for someone that they could do for themselves as a caring act?  When DS was in boarding school an hour away, I'd drive there, take him to Chili's (half an hour in the direction back home), take him back to school and then drive home.  That was my Friday night.  He could have eaten in the school mess hall but sometimes you just wanna be Mom.

OP, the only thing I can think of is the opposite tactic-prepare something and freeze it solid (this would work with most soups and pasta dishes unless they contain potatoes or other foods that don't freeze well).  It will mostly thaw out on that long drive and then be ready for re-heating.  

I know her son has allergies.  I was referring to the rest of the lacrosse team.

Yeah I've done things because I care about people, but it sounds like this is a regular occurrence.   The other guys have moms bringing hot meals every game.   OP's son currently does not.

This may make me a mean person but I would not be putting pressure on myself to keep up with the other moms.   It is not to say I would never do it but my priority would be helping my kid figure out how to get hot food after every game, not doing it myself.

[raeoflyte]

This is more like a stream of consciousness rather than an organized thought out post...

It bugs me a lot more that a post game feast is "normal" and expected than it does that a mom wants to bring a nice meal to her kid sometimes.  With the travel time they're already putting in, I'd be begging to just get back on the bus and drive home and eat the lunch I packed.  But I also get that once you have a food issue (not a preference) that it makes all interactions involving food so much more difficult.  Do you want to just provide food for yourself (or in this case kids) since you can't actually participate in the group food this should be all that is expected, but it isn't.  Then you're trying to contribute to the group something that you can eat, oh and still provide you're own meal since you still can't eat what anyone else brings.  I can totally see what Milee is saying about this just growing to ridiculous proportions that desperately needs to stop, but to actually do it, knowing that the "tradition" is still going on and worrying that your kid is taking some kind of flack because of your decisions is tough.  

We're years away from it, but I don't know how my dh will ever let go and let ds take charge of his dx.  I think I'll struggle to some point with it.  I certainly worry.  But dh is the one who is devoting every waking hour to monitoring it, and I just don't know how he'll ever adjust to not doing that, or how he will not smother ds in his teen years trying to keep him safe but potentially driving him away because of it.  

I've never traveled as far as OP is needing to, but have driven across town with a hot crockpot of food and/or soup dozens of times to and from my grandparents assisted living.  I never thought or worried about what would happen if we were in an accident, although it wasn't like anything was actually boiling so I don't think we would have had serious issues, but will consider myself lucky.  We just last year got the crockpot with the latching lid so it can ride in the trunk instead of between the passengers feet -- heaven!!!

[naughtybear]

I don't expect college sophomore men to be giving flack about a serious issue like that, if they are then maybe they are being coddled too much because that would be ridiculous behavior from men that age.

[MJ2.0]

Jan 27, 2017 14:20:19 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

This is more like a stream of consciousness rather than an organized thought out post...

It bugs me a lot more that a post game feast is "normal" and expected than it does that a mom wants to bring a nice meal to her kid sometimes.  With the travel time they're already putting in, I'd be begging to just get back on the bus and drive home and eat the lunch I packed.  But I also get that once you have a food issue (not a preference) that it makes all interactions involving food so much more difficult.  Do you want to just provide food for yourself (or in this case kids) since you can't actually participate in the group food this should be all that is expected, but it isn't.  Then you're trying to contribute to the group something that you can eat, oh and still provide you're own meal since you still can't eat what anyone else brings.  I can totally see what Milee is saying about this just growing to ridiculous proportions that desperately needs to stop, but to actually do it, knowing that the "tradition" is still going on and worrying that your kid is taking some kind of flack because of your decisions is tough.  

We're years away from it, but I don't know how my dh will ever let go and let ds take charge of his dx.  I think I'll struggle to some point with it.  I certainly worry.  But dh is the one who is devoting every waking hour to monitoring it, and I just don't know how he'll ever adjust to not doing that, or how he will not smother ds in his teen years trying to keep him safe but potentially driving him away because of it.  

I've never traveled as far as OP is needing to, but have driven across town with a hot crockpot of food and/or soup dozens of times to and from my grandparents assisted living.  I never thought or worried about what would happen if we were in an accident, although it wasn't like anything was actually boiling so I don't think we would have had serious issues, but will consider myself lucky.  We just last year got the crockpot with the latching lid so it can ride in the trunk instead of between the passengers feet -- heaven!!!

I think that's the thing. It's hard when it seems like the reason for one's entire existence (or a huge part of it) has gone away. It seems very prevalent with SAHPs and intensive care providers.