Mini Heated Lunch Box- Portable Electric Food Warmer for Men and Women - Great for Work, Office, and Construction - Cook, Reheat, and Eat on the Go - 12V - Red

First, I want to mention that it was YEARS ago when I bought my first Hot Logic Mini, and over a half decade later, it's still going strong! Since then, I've bought the "Family" size, the expandable bag style, and now this 12VDC version (and a couple backup ones for my camping gear kits). So, on to the details... WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: - This is both a cooking "bag" oven and/or a warming plate, depending on how you use it. Yes, it will COOK food (even frozen food), unlike many of the generic "warming bags" out there. - Do NOT use meltable cheap plastics (eg: very cheap plastic bento boxes or "ziplock" style freezer/fridge bags). It does get hot enough to melt them. If you use plastic bento boxes, use high quality ones that aren't warping or bubbling in your microwave or dishwasher. - I suggest any of the high quality glass bento boxes available on Amazon for the best and widest range of cooking and heating. MY REVIEW: I bought one of these over half a decade ago, when I started my first foray into ketogenic dieting. This was back when it was really tough to find low carb meals anywhere. So, I'd prep my meals for a week or two, put them in glass bento boxes, and stick a bunch in the fridge and in the freezer. By "prep", I mean, most of the time, the stuff would be raw. I'd take them to work, stick them in the Hot Logic Mini, and plug it in 2-3 hours before lunchtime (depends on what I was eating that day - more on that later). By lunch, I'd have a hot, fully cooked meal! So far, I've found it does a really good job at cooking things like boneless chicken (chicken breasts, chicken thighs, chicken strips, etc), heating or even cooking lasagna (really nice when I make keto lasagna - the only thing I pre-cook is the ground beef so I can drain it), fish (apologies to my coworkers) and even veggies (use the 2 or 3 section glass bento boxes and put the veggies in their own section with a little bit of water for fresh, or as is for frozen, with maybe a little butter and some seasonings). I even found it can cook steak! Yes. You can actually cook totally raw (or even frozen raw) steak in it! The caveats for cooking steak are: (a) it cooks fattier steaks better (more tender) (b) it cooks it to something between a juicy tender stew meat consistency or pressure cooked and braised consistency (c) it leaves lotsa steak juices in the bento box (which helps keep the steak tender till you pull it out. So, while you're not getting a grilled steak out of it (and the steak takes a while to look the right color), what comes out is delicious. As a matter of fact, a bunch of cut up ribeye or chuck/stew meat in it, with some cut up raw carrots and potatoes, and maybe the tiniest bit of beef broth - plus a few hours to slow cook - and you're going to have a nice beef stew. I've also cooked eggs (scrambled with cheese) in them - that works out ok; something between pan fried and microwaved. It's a great time saver for weekly work food prep. It's hard to burn anything in them, which is nice. The Hot Logics just keep slowly heating the stuff, so, it is a little easier than stove cooking in that respect, that an extra hour won't destroy your food. WHAT I'VE COOKED: I've cooked bag rice (yes, the microwavable bags will survive in them, break up any rice clumps, stick them on their side, and cook for a couple hours), steak, fish, chicken, lasagna, scrambled eggs, veggies (spinach, broccoli, carrots), frozen microwavable dinners of ALL sorts, and much more. IMPROVEMENTS? Not many suggestions for this already near perfect product. - I wish they had a combo unit that was AC and DC selectable, but at the price point and small size, I'm ok if they don't. - They should integrate a velcro tie onto the cable - They should make a double height one (would be nice to put my meats on the bottom and my veggies in a glass bento box on top). I do understand why they probably won't though, because sadly I think it would confuse people who tried cooking a steak or chicken on top of something else. All in all, I now own 4 of these (was five, gave one away): - my original one, which I still use to this day - one spare for when I go on camping adventures (it only draws 40w, so, I plug it into my car's 100w inverter) - one family - one DC version (I have a Renogy battery bank that I can use to cook in tent) - one expandable one (has an expandable storage bag built onto it). I gave away the spare and moved the original into my car where it almost permanently stays, and use the expandable for work, so I can put silverware and such in the top. The DC version just came in a week ago, and will be migrating into my camping pack. NOTES: When you buy one, you will get a link to info on recipes - or you can visit their site yourself and find tons of recipes of food you can actually *COOK* in these.

My husband got this for me as a gift - LOVE this & works great! I am a courier so I'm in the car all day... this is great for having a hot meal during the work day!

My husband farms and during planting and harvest has to be in the combines or tractors all day and night and gets so tired of cold sandwiches or cold food. I saw this one day and thought about giving it a try - and my husband has never been so happy! Now all the guys he works with are buying them. LOL. He has warmed up pizza, cooked hotdogs, warmed up pre-cooked bacon, hamburgers....he said he just puts the food in there, plugs it in and about 45 minutes to an hour later and tada - warm food. He said it makes the cab of the combine smell so good! He said it is a savior to him because he doesn't have to keep eating the same deli sandwiches over and over. Best thing ever. Will probably buy a few more to keep on hand! Perfect for traveling. Working in jobs like his. Working on jobs you are on the road a lot and want to avoid fast food or spending money eating out. You must have the correct plug in for this - it is NOT a wall outlet type! But I have seen they make those too!

Wow really like this product, I have in the past used a oven that cooked to 350 which would burn out every year then I would have to buy another at the cost of 80.00 uggh what a pain,then this higher priced unit would do nothing but blowout fuses in the newer trucks because they use lower output power ports in the newer trucks,the plug would get hot on my old style stove and if it didnt burnout the fuse in ruined the plug!! So with that being said, I love this warmer I have tested it for a week the plug does not get hot, it does not blowout the fuses in the newer trucks and o my it cooks my food as if it just got cooked at home. I have glass Pyrex pans I use and it works great. I like it so much I got there deal for 2 and it will be nice to have one I can use in the hotel when I have lay overs on the road, so wished I would have found this product years ago, its a must have for the truck driver that loves a good warm meal on the road or just leftovers. I am diabetic and its nice to be able to control my meals.

Man do I love this thing. I do blue collar work and this has been my saving grace to keep from eating out. Next to no complaints when it comes to how it works with the exception of you need a second container to keep it cold if you want certain foods to last. It heats leftovers very quickly and cooks from frozen most foods. It's my favorite for pasta sauces like Alfredo because is doesn't separate the oil from the cheese like it would in a microwave. The reason why it's 4 instead of 5 stars: The quality of the insulating material is just not very durable. My first one, the heating pad worked exceptionally the entire time I had it but the insulation because flaking off and coming undone just after the first year mark. Easily fixed by registering the lunchbox and hopefully of this second one does the same, then I can get it replaced. This second one is obviously newer but this complaint is that the microwave safe container they sent with it arrived broke. Overall, absolutely the best lunchbox I've had when I need to eat on the go. Worth the money to me.

I just received the Small Hot Logic. I bought it to warm lunch in my truck at work. It works great. I’ve been using the plastic container it came with, but plan to also use some glass containers I own. I take me container of food and place it in the bag when I leave my house in the morning, then btwn 1030-11 I plug it in, and by noon it’s warm. This is in 60* ambient temp. I can see as it gets colder outside, more or different types of food and container may change required heating time. I hope it lasts because I did find it to be a little pricey for and insulated bag and 12v hot plate. There is some issues with the paper work. It says it uses 45w, which I believe because the plate gets pretty hot, but 45w at 12v equals 3.75 amps not the 0.5 amps it claims. That being said I run mine 1-2 hours and don’t have any issues with battery. The other thing is 45w could prolly be harvested off solar panel and keep battery charged if needed, but that a lot of trouble. Overall I am very pleased with product for now. Only time will tell how it holds up.

* update. This is the 2nd one i have purchased in the last 6 months. Both have died on my and i dont know why. The fuses are still good in both of them. A company rep said to send them back for my money back or a replacement.* I used to own one and lost it so I bought another. These are better than the fully enclosed hard shell style for reheating/heating food in small rectangle plastic or glass dishes if you want to store the leftovers should you not eat the entire container. This one is bare bones... no temp regulation, or temp sensor but does heat relatively quickly and food will get very hot to the touch. Drawback is you need a 12v power outlet to use and if you have only one, better buy a splitter so you can still charge your electronic devices. Very good investment if you want warm/hot food in a car, truck, or equipment like a crane.

I use this in my RV and it works great. Before I travel, I make a big crockpot full of yummy stew, and then freeze it in individual servings. On the road, I put one of those servings into a rectangular tub with a lid and pop it into the HotLogic around lunch time, while I'm driving. It plugs into a cigarette lighter plug. By the time I stop for the day, my dinner is ready. It's very easy to clean, assuming that you put the food into a tub with a tight-fitting lid. There's no real "temperature control" - it's off or its on. But it seems to slowly heat up the food so my dinners have never been burned or dried out. Recommend!

Very good product and customer service

Excellent product would Recommend. great for delivery drivers who want hot food on the move works very well

I’m a truck driver and I was tired of eating sandwich’s all the time,now I just take leftovers and just heat them up