Reheating Guidelines - Some Notes
Every meal label contains a part that lets you know if the meal is to be served hot or cold. Rarely you will see a meal that says serve hot or cold.
Please NOTE that due to variables such as the water content of food items as well as the strength of one’s microwave, the instructions below are guidelines only.
Our black rectangular containers sealed with film are dual oven or microwave, you can put them straight in the oven. Our backup containers with lids are microwaveable only. To reheat in an oven transfer your meal to an oven safe container.
It is preferable to re-heat certain items such as fish in the oven, whereas pancakes for example, should be re-heated in the microwave. However, in general, most items can be re-heated using either method. All of our meals are fully cooked and only need to be reheated to serving temperature.
Pre-heat your oven to 325 F (160 C)
For meals with film cut a small slit to let the steam out while heating, remove the film before serving. For containers with lids transfer your meal into an oven-safe dish. For both place them on the middle rack.
Meals will take 8-20 minutes to re-heat depending on the meal.
- Breakfast items will take closer to 8-10 minutes.
- Lunch items that need to be re-heated will require 10-15 minutes
- Dinner items will take the longest. Recommended time is 15-20 minutes.
The oven is the suggested method for re-heating seafood items.
Coated or breaded items have a much better texture when heated in the oven.
A note on preservatives – well we don’t use any. We are especially mindful of reducing salt for your heart health.
One thing preservatives do is bind water to ingredients. Since we don’t use any some of our meals will have extra water after a bit of time. Heating in the oven helps when there is extra moisture.
For containers with film cut a small slit to let the steam out while heating, remove the film before serving. For containers with lids, remove the lid from the container and only put the black tray in the microwave or transfer your meal to a microwave safe dish.
Avoid re-heating on high, this causes undesirable changes in texture and moisture.
Generally, the power level on your microwave should be set at medium. For slower, less powerful models you may want to use medium-high. However, due to the differing strengths of microwaves there will be a certain amount of trial and error in determining ideal re-heating times. Be careful not to overcook meat.
To heat in your microwave remove the lid. You may need to partially cover if the dish might splatter. Below are RECOMMENDED re-heating times.
- Breakfast– Items containing eggs have a high water content which means that they will heat up relatively quickly. Generally, 1½ to 2 minutes on medium in your microwave will suffice. We suggest checking after 1 minute to ensure that you don’t overheat them as eggs could become rubbery.
If desired, Breakfast loafs and muffins can be warmed slightly; approx. 30 seconds. - Lunch & Dinner– Most items will need approx 3 minutes depending on the individual microwave. If you decide to re-heat fish in the microwave you should be aware that fish will heat much more quickly than most vegetables. We recommend heating up the rest of the meal first and adding the fish back in for the final minute.
Stews should be stirred at the half way point.
If possible, items which take longer to re-heat should be arranged near the outside of the dish as microwaves heat from the outside in.
Items to Eat First From Your Delivery
- Sandwiches, Wraps, Pitas
- Salads
- Seafood