I bought 6 of these for Christmas gifts and kept one for myself. One was given to a first year college student who is required to live in the dorms and microwaves are not allowed. She said this is perfect to put in oatmeal, can of soup, top ramen....then while it heats she studies and it is ready when she is hungry without timing meals to the cafeteria hours of operation.  I use it to bring in my non-frozen leftovers, plug it in when I get to work, by lunchtime 3-4 hours later it is the perfect temp. Food stays moist and I don't have to waste break time to heat up in the microwave at work. It saves so much money this way! My only complaint is that I have been using this several months now and the plastic lid for the insert is warped and doesn't stay sealed. Not a huge deal but something that they need to send back to the engineers to fix.