FYI: Hefty makes TV dinner trays (= convenient bodybuilding meal containers!)

[Kaido]

I got a new lunchbox today - the 6-meal Isobag from Isolator Fitness:

https://isolatorfitness.com/products/isobag?variant=37957643082

MSRP is $109, but there are always sales & discounts available (check Retailmenot etc.). I paid $79 for mine; build quality is very good, on par with an Ogio backpack, plus it has a limited lifetime warranty. It includes the bag with strap, 3 freezer packs, and a dozen reusable meal prep trays. The main front pocket holds the trays, plus there's a zipper top for loose stuff or another TV dinner tray, and two side pockets for bottles, plus a couple of mesh pockets for more bottles. However, it is surprisingly compact...about the size of a Coleman hardbody lunchbox cooler, a little wider tho. This is quite a bit smaller than my previous soft-pack picnic lunchbox, lighterweight, and better-built.

Two updates:

1. Lunchbox is still holding up great. I now hesitate to call it overpriced because it has been such a workhorse for me. Nothing has broken on it in 7 months of daily use & it does the job perfectly. It is a great system if you need to take your food on the road. I wish it wasn't so pricey, but with a lifetime warranty, it's a solid long-term investment for something I literally use every single day. Between this & my Walmart-brand Ozark double-sealed vacuum-insulated metal mugs, it's really nice to have equipment that isn't complete crap & falls apart in short order.

2. They have much smaller new models, more lunchbox-sized than duffel-sized. My wife got a pink one. I like my bigger unit because it holds more stuff on the sides, but this is nice if you want something compact:

https://isolatorfitness.com/products/isocube?variant=38109037258

They also make meal-prep backpacks (very cool for using if you're in school or prefer a backpack as opposed to a bag), as well as a duffel bag (great if you play sports or go to the gym). It's kind of weird talking so specifically about lunchboxes & getting excited over them (lol), but this is the vessel that I use to transport my food; it helps me to be successful at my dietary goals on a daily basis, so it's kind of a big deal for something that shouldn't be so noteworthy.

 

[Kaido]

FYI - RTIC finally came out with a gallon jar:

https://www.rticcoolers.com/shop/drinkware/bottles/One-Gallon-Jug-Black

$34.99 (free shipping is $35, so if you add something small from their store, you can get free shipping). It's a stainless-steel, double-walled, vacuum-insulated jug like the rest of their cups. Comes in black or stainless.

Pros:
Holds a whole gallon of water, so there's your water intake for the day
Keeps ice cold all day
Exterior doesn't sweat, so it won't drop on your desk or get your paperwork wet or anything
Has a large metal handle to make it easier to carry

Cons:
It's huge, which makes it a bit unwieldy to refill your drinking cup with (not really grippy around the sides or anything)
The spout nozzle on top is a bit small & it takes awhile to refill a drinking cup.
The handle has a foam piece that feels a bit cheap, not sure how long it will last (the spout is also plastic, hopefully it holds up over time)
People can't handle how big my water refill jug is, lol

YETI has a similar model out, the main difference is that the YETI is dishwasher-safe & the RTIC is not. Well, that and the YETI one-gallon rambler costs a whopping $130 and the RTIC is "only" $35 (still expensive for a jar, but the jug itself feels like it will last forever). Anyway, I think this is pretty much the final piece of my mobile meal prep setup:

1. 6-meal ISObag from Isolator Fitness
2. One-gallon water jug from RTIC
3. 20oz Ozark tumbler from Walmart

Oh, and I also just picked up the new 17oz food container from RTIC ($17), which is great for soup or chili when it's cold out:

https://www.rticcoolers.com/shop/food/Food-Container-17oz-Stainless

 

[Kaido]

As far as meal prep goes, lately I have been working on turning my upright deep freezer into a "shopping center" for meals. I do a lot of vacuum-sealing these days & then use the Instant Pot & Anova to prep the food. It's crazy convenient, because then I just have to pick out what I want to eat as if it were a frozen meal from the grocery store, except it's homemade (yay macros!).