PACKING A SAFE AND HEALTHY PICNIC

It’s the middle of summer, and even though temperatures are peaking in the 90-degree range, we still enjoy being outdoors Whether you are packing a picnic lunch to travel to the ballpark or playground. or planning for that Fourth of July cookout bare are a few food safety guidelines from the LSU Ag Center that you should consider following

PACK A SAFE PICNIC

For a simple picnic:

• Make sure the cooler is filled with ice or ice packs.

• Return chilled foods to the cooler right after serving.

• Wash your hands with hot soapy water before handling food

• Adults should supervise hand-washing for children.

• Make sure you have lots of paper plates, napkins, utensils and dean dishes to hold foods. For a cookout

• Separate storage bags and containers during transportation, and make sure the containers are sealed properly so raw meat and poultry juices do not leak onto fruits, vegetables, and cooked foods.

• Wash your hands with hot. soapy water before handling food.

• Use a food thermometer to make sure you cook foods to a safe internal temperature

• Return leftovers to the cooler with plenty of ice or frozen gel packs within two hours of serving — one hour if the day ‘s temperature is above 90 degrees.

PACK A HEALTHY PICNIC

For a simple picnic

• Pack your picnic basket with lots of colorful, seasonal fruits and vegetables.

• Use raw vegetables like cucumbers* zucchini and celery as appetizers and serve hummus or salsa as a dip.

• Prepare cool salads filled with chopped vegetables and tossed with light, low-tit dressings instead of potato salads and pasta salads.

• Choose drinks like water or 100 percent fruit juice instead of sugary sodas.

• Serve sandwiches or burgers on 100 percent whole wheat bread or buns to add whole grains.

• Try angel food cake topped with fresh berries for a refreshing dessert. For a cookout

• Take along vegetables like colorful peppers, zucchini onions and Portobello mushrooms to put on the grill.

• Grill burgers made with lean beef or ground turkey breast or go for a veggie burger.

• Dress grilled burgers with lots of fresh vegetables, like lettuce and tomatoes. and use avocados in place of mayonnaise.

PACKING A SAFE AND HEALTHY PICNICPACKING A SAFE AND HEALTHY PICNICPACKING A SAFE AND HEALTHY PICNICPACKING A SAFE AND HEALTHY PICNIC