Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Thanks to all who posted such helpful reviews because it convinced me to buy/try this for my 5-year-old who just started Kindergarten and needed a container that would keep food warm from 7am until 12pm when he has lunch. The first time we used it I followed the advice of a reviewer who recommended to heat up water ahead of time in the microwave and pour into container, put lid on, and let it heat up before placing actual hot food into container to maximize food staying warm. Well, apparently the soup was still so hot from 7am at 12pm that my son had to WAIT until it stopped steaming to have his soup! That said, here's what we've done so far successfully: 1. Warm up water in microwave for about 1.5 min, pour into container, put lid on, then heat up food. 2. Heat soup, pasta and meatballs, mac n cheese, etc. until hot/steamy (but not excessively so) 3. Dump out hot water, pour in hot food, and close lid tightly enough so that it closes, but not overly so. Voila! Food stays hot and does NOT emanate any heat whatsoever, so the double-walled construction REALLY does work beautifully. My husband was skeptical about this in terms of placing this container in his insulated lunch box along with a cold pack for items that needed to be kept cool but it absolutely works--no heat comes out at all! Also thank you to reviewer who stated that you need to remove seal each time and hand wash, allow to dry, and then replace before using (i.e., you can't just let it stay on the top and wash top with seal in--for max food safety and cleanliness remove seal each time). I suggest buying two of these so you can rotate easily throughout the week. Oh, and the inside of containers clean REALLY EASILY--no residue whatsoever. The seal did get orange from pasta sauce, etc., but it doesn't smell at all. Overall, highly recommend these and if you're buying for small children to use, get the one with the handle over lid--makes it super easy for them to open/close.