HI Gang,

I got a GOOD problem. I need lunch and dinner ideas /mechanisms to withstand 100 + degree heat. 

I got a trainer skater position for an qualifying synchro team!  The problems are: I will be skating at my "home rink"  from 11-1 during the day. The home rink does not allow us to bring outside food in. Their food is icky fried fast food. So I will be leaving lunch in my car.

Then I hop in the car and drive to richmond to be there for skating practice.

I DONT want to fall into a "protein bar" habit just because it is hot out.  I dont want to get into a fast food habit either.  

Ideally, do you think an icechest/cheapy thermo lunch bag if loaded with ice/freezer packs can keep protein shakes, hard boiled eggs, chicken breast, tuna salad, veggies and hummus reasonably cold for 6-7 hours?  

I dont want to food poison myself.  

Can those premade shakes (e.g. EAS/atkins) withstand the heat of a hot car? Not day after day, just for 7 hours or so.

Thanks for helping me out with this weird problem.

I have a little cooler and it works well - I recommend getting an actual cooler though, not just an insulated lunch bag.  I fill it with those blue plastic freezer packs and my stuff keeps cold for about the time you need.  

I also find that the tuna pouches are great for food on the go, since they don't need refrigeration at all.  Although they can get boring eventually!

Tuna pouches!  Ok. This sounds feasilble!!! :)  Is it just the meat or is there some kind of sauce or dressing?

If no sauce or dressing, what do you pair the tuna with?

Could you carry your lunch bag inside with you and just not eat it there at the rink?  

I am tempted to try to "sneak" it in, in a duffle bag.

I can understand us not wanting to eat our food there (and wanting the profit from selling their food), but LORDY!  It is unfortunately that we cant even bring it in.

A quality insulated cooler (NOT just a soft sided bag) with ice in it will easily keep the food cold/cool all day long.  We have two old Coleman "Oscar" coolers in two sizes that we take for car trips and by the time we arrive on the afternoon of the second day, the ice is just cold water, but everything in it is still quite cool. Ice (even if it is a couple of freezer bags filled with water and then frozen) generally works much better than the plastic blocks filled with that blue gel.

For extra insulation, put the cooler in the trunk so it is not subjected to the heat of sun in the cabin.

Lora

Blue gel packs are just ok, but ice is better. But what I prefer is to freeze a big bag of snicker's bars. The extra mass retains more cold.

I normally freeze water bottles and pack them into my cooler instead of ice. The frozen bottles keep the cooler nice and cold and you have water when you need it, just take a bottle out and let it thaw.

Yes, excellent suggestion!

This is what we do when we go to disney, and the water bottles are so helpful later in the day.  Solid ice takes much longer to melt than multiple cubes, so try to get a large mass of ice frozen.  Also, ziplock bags can leak.  Bottle water does not leak.  And a cooler with 6 or 8 bottles of water frozen will stay cool for 12 hours.