Parents Feeding kids on the way to practice?

[Really]

I work all day. When school starts, I will be picking her and a teammate up at 3:35 and taking them to practice by 4:15. They don't end until 7:15. She will already be packing lunch on those days, and I will be jetting right over from work so won't have time to do meal prep. Everything will have to be done the morning of, along with her lunches. My plan was to keep a small cooler with food for perishables, and maybe some protein bars handy. Does anyone have any ideas of snacks/light meals to feed the kids to and from the gym? DD's teammate/carpool-mate also has a nut allergy, so trailmix and PB&J are out. Bonus points for difficulty will be awarded to parents presenting a meal plan that involves preparing hot meals in a moving vehicle.

 

[bookworm]

Could you bring the food/meals(like a grilled cheese or hot dog cut up) into work with you and zap them in a microwave there before picking the girls up? Leaving them in a cooler all day might not keep the food as you like. And for after the practice, I would have something I could zap in the gym microwave (pastas, meatballs, chicken, steak tips, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, rice, quesadillas) or salads, veggies and dip/ hummus also travel well in a car....tacos are NOT a meal that travels well or is any thing like it that requires assembly (I tried it when my kids were teens figuring they were older and they were laughing saying "mum, this is a meal we have to eat at a table") ...believe me, I did it for 15 years..

There is a crock pot that you can plug into your cigarette lighter port for your car but I don't think your ride is long enough to heat up the food.

 

[z2akids]

This is pretty much my go to list for DD. I usually pack a couple of these in her lunchbox for after school. She has a good lunchbox with built in ice packs and a good thermos. I dont always drive her, so she has to take all her food for before/during practice with hee in the morning.

cheese sticks
granola bars
PB and J sandwiches
banana and nutella sushi
mac n cheese in a thermos
turkey/cheese crescent roll sandwiches
mini quiches
apples and pb
yogurt with granola
cold chicken and tortallini salad
pasta salad with ham
choc milk
breakfast drink
cheese ans crackers
veggies and dip

 

[duyetanh]

We have both the crockpot that plugs in and the thermos that plugs in. Thermos does hot soup. Soup takes 10 min tops. We have to have this so she gets hot food on the way home. If you heat it up on way there you should be good. They kick arse, and have saved mine...
Edited to add, the 15 hour thermoses also are the bomb. I mean awesomeawesome.

 

[Really]

Could you bring the food/meals(like a grilled cheese or hot dog cut up) into work with you and zap them in a microwave there before picking the girls up? Leaving them in a cooler all day might not keep the food as you like. And for after the practice, I would have something I could zap in the gym microwave (pastas, meatballs, chicken, steak tips, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, rice, quesadillas) or salads, veggies and dip/ hummus also travel well in a car....tacos are NOT a meal that travels well or is any thing like it that requires assembly (I tried it when my kids were teens figuring they were older and they were laughing saying "mum, this is a meal we have to eat at a table") ...believe me, I did it for 15 years..

There is a crock pot that you can plug into your cigarette lighter port for your car but I don't think your ride is long enough to heat up the food.

That's a good point about not leaving things in the cooler. :-/ I just have so much stuff I schlep into the the building daily that I'd hate to bring in more food. But I could do some quick prep before leaving school to pick up the girls. Funny story about the tacos!

Has anyone tried the Hot Logic mini personal oven? It plugs into the cigarette lighter port or outlet of your car. It takes 60-120 minutes to warm up a meal, which is more time than the length of my drive, but might come in handy for meets and ski trips! https://www.amazon.com/HotLogic-Min...&qid=1471495240&sr=8-2&keywords=car+microwave

 

[Ali'sMom]

We have both the crockpot that plugs in and the thermos that plugs in. Thermos does hot soup. Soup takes 10 min tops. We have to have this so she gets hot food on the way home. If you heat it up on way there you should be good. They kick arse, and have saved mine...
Edited to add, the 15 hour thermoses also are the bomb. I mean awesomeawesome.

Please tell me about the plug in crockpot and thermos!!

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Our situation doesn't apply because although I do feed the kids a meal in the car on the way to practice, I have time to go home and get it prepared beforehand. We do a lot of wraps and sandwiches along with finger foods.
I'm totally intrigued by the idea of a plug-in crockpot BUT I can't think of any crockpot meals I want them to try to assemble and eat in my brand new car..!

Our gym has a microwave that DD could use if she wanted to. She likely won't have time between school and practice, but a lot of evenings she has to stay after her practice as I am still working (at the gym) and she needs food then too.

 

[mommyof1]

This:

Link Removed

filled with pretzel sticks and sunflower seed butter. Sunflower seed butter is allergy-safe and is relatively affordable at Trader Joe's.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

So I looked up the car crockpot (great idea!) and remembered that my car now has an actual outlet in the back..! Opens up more possibilities for sure, something to think about for winter..!

 

[GymDad9.9]

So I looked up the car crockpot (great idea!) and remembered that my car now has an actual outlet in the back..! Opens up more possibilities for sure, something to think about for winter..!

Avoid potholes...

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Thermos.

Mac and Cheese
Dumplings
Ravioli
Tortellini with pesto
Soup
Beans and Franks
Meatballs
Quiche
Fried Rice
Stews
Homemade hamburger helper with noodles
Rice-a-roni
Potatoe, cheese and brocolli
Corned beef hash
Left overs from previous nights dinner
Veggie pancakes


Non thermos
Turkey or ham or roast beef and cheese rolls, with or without wraps
Hard Boiled eggs whites, stuffed with hummus or guac
Fruit
Shrimp
Veggies
Cheese sticks
Yogurt
Oatmeal
Italian Hero or drive through, when we have the occasional junk food binge

 

[sce]

Do you have a fridge and microwave at work?

If so, pack something to heat up just before you leave work.

Things that just need to be kept cold: sandwiches, meat/cheese/crackers, pasta salad, bean salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, quesadillas can be made ahead and eaten cold, sandwiches, fruit,granola,yogurt parfait (keep the pieces separate until she eats it) etc.

 

[Really]

Do you have a fridge and microwave at work?

If so, pack something to heat up just before you leave work.

Things that just need to be kept cold: sandwiches, meat/cheese/crackers, pasta salad, bean salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, quesadillas can be made ahead and eaten cold, sandwiches, fruit,granola,yogurt parfait (keep the pieces separate until she eats it) etc.

Yes, I do have access to a fridge and microwave at work! I also saw a pinterest hack about assembly line producing and freezing sunbutter and jelly sandwiches, then just taking them out to thaw so they'll be ready to eat by the time I pick the kids up. I'm going to try at to see how it goes over the first week of school!

Thanks so much for the ideas, peeps! Please post any more that occur to you!

 

[GymCMLA]

Overnight yogurt/oatmeal parfait
That white chocolate cheerio pretzel raisin/craisin mix
Energy bites with sunbutter
Fruit salad
Guacamole
Quesadillas

 

[Tlynn]

I used to try to figure out a hot meal on the way to practice, but now I pack a hot meal for their school lunch in a thermos (spaghetti, chicken soup, chili, etc) and then they get what I normally would give for lunch as a pre-gym snack (bun, waffle, wrap, etc with fruit and veggies). That way the kids get one hot meal that day but I don't need to worry about figuring out how to warm it up before gym. Hauling their pre-gym food in to the work fridge is a pain, but not a huge deal.