How do you manage hot/cold lunches?

[gatorsmom]

Curious what you pack for hot

My kids love mini raviolis, chicken nuggets, mini corndogs, their favorite
casseroles, enchiladas, leftovers, etc.

[kali]

Does the cold really need to be cold or can it be room temperature? I don't worry about keeping yogurt or cheese cold for a few hours (they were invented to preserve dairy, after all). Fruit, veggies, hummos are also safe at room temp the same day, as long as your kids don't mind that it's not refrigerator-cold.

We use the Zojirushi Ms. Bento. If you prime it with hot water, the bottom container stays warm (my son takes in mini ravioli and meatballs and he's never complained) and the top gets no warmer than room temp. I usually put fruit in the top container and my kids report that it actually stays pretty cool.

[vonfirmath]

DDs have been interested in bringing hot lunches in their thermoses and I've just been jamming them into their planetbox lunch bags (not ideal) along with an ice pack for their yogurt, cheese, fruit, etc. But I don't think it's working - the ice pack cools the thermos down so that the food is only lukewarm by lunchtime. How do you pack lunches where you have both a hot a cold component? Or do you just not? I almost feel like I need to get different lunch bags for hot lunches vs. planetbox lunches...

I'd do a hot lunch or a cold lunch -- as you stated, you are working against yourself here. (OTOH I don't see the need to keep cheese and fruit cold.)