5 Insulated Food Jar Ideas for the Slopes

The next time you go skiing or snowboarding, avoid the overpriced food at the lodge and bring along one of these tasty meals in an insulated food jar instead!

 When winter hits, there’s nothing more exciting than getting outside and spending a day on the mountain – except for when it comes time for lunch. True, some lodges have it better than others, but more often than not we find ourselves wading through crowded cafeteria style lines, paying through-the-nose for a soggy foil-wrapped hamburger, and jockeying for a table like it was middle school all over again. 

Packing your own lunch has always been an option, but let’s be honest, after spending the day in the cold it’s hard to get excited about a cold cut sandwich. We want something warm, hearty, and reviving!

Thankfully, there are now a handful of exceptional vacuum sealed insulated food jars on the market.  Shorter, squatter, and with a wider opening than their liquid holding cousins, these jars are a great way to enjoy a hot meal out on the slopes. While there are a bunch of different brands to choose from, we’ve recently been using HydroFlask’s Food Flask and have been pretty impressed. We currently own both their 12 oz version (for Megan) and 18oz version (for me). However, any properly sealed vacuum insulated food jar will do!

Check out our favorite insulated food jars ⟶

Just prepare a quick hot meal in the morning and seal it up inside the container, and it will still be piping hot by midday. There are even some meals that can cook inside the jar – saving you even more time in the morning.

So whether you’re skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, or enjoying any other outdoor winter activity, we’ve got some super delicious and super simple meal ideas that you can take with you.

Coconut Chia Oatmeal

If you wake up late and are thinking about skipping breakfast before hitting the mountain, we have some advice for you: Don’t do it! Instead, try this Coconut Chia Oatmeal. It’s a super easy breakfast that can be quickly thrown together on your way out the door.

Just bring a can of coconut milk to a boil on the stovetop, put uncooked rolled oats and chia seeds into your food jar, pour the boiling milk in, add some maple syrup, seal up, and go. The oatmeal will cook inside the insulated food jar and be ready to eat in about 20 minutes.

Perfect to enjoy on your first lift ride!

Get the full recipe here

Thai Spiced Chicken Curry

This rich, creamy curry is a major upgrade from the generic can of chili from the lodge. Combining brown minute rice, dehydrated veggies, Thai red curry spice, peanut butter, and chunks of chicken, this meal is guaranteed to stick to your ribs.

Inside of the insulated food container, add the dry ingredients with boiling water in the morning. The sealed heat will cook the rice over the course of the morning and by lunchtime you’ve got a hot, ready-to-eat meal.

Get the full recipe here

Dan Dan Style Noodles

A simplified take on Taiwanese comfort food, our Dan Dan noodle recipe combines high-protein buckwheat pasta with a spicy peanut butter sauce. The noodles are wonderfully filling and the creamy spicy sauce is just the kick we need to jump start our afternoon.

This meal is best prepared on the stove-top in the morning and then transferred to the insulated food jar. Thankfully, the whole process only takes about 10 minutes, so you’ll be out the door in the no time.

Get the full recipe here

Spicy Tuna Mac & Cheese

What can we say, we love spicy noodles! This Sriracha tuna mac & cheese is great way power up with some protein while also filling up on some hearty carbs. After a few runs in the morning, it’s a lunch we find ourselves eagerly looking forward to.

This meal is so simple and intuitive that is takes almost no effort to make in the morning. Prepare to your liking on the stove-top, transfer into your food jar, and then get out there.

Get the full recipe here