Summer dining MM
Eating alfresco is always a great way to spend quality family time. What better way to do it than by…
Packing the
perfect picnic!
We probably all remember the days of family picnics with soggy tomato sandwiches and cold sausage rolls, but today’s picnics are a whole different kettle of fish! From simple but delicious pasta salads, to Italian focaccia bread drizzled with balsamic vinegar, you can easily create a fantastic meal for when you’re ‘on the go’!
Lite bites Salads are always a great option for picnics. With a few plastic lunchboxes, you can provide your family with a creative meal packed with colour and – more importantly – nutrients! Why not rustle up a few potato and pasta salads with red, green and
yellow peppers? Then throw in some cherry tomatoes and chunks of cucumber to create a rainbow of colour that will immediately entice your child to eat! Or why not experiment with traditional chicken or turkey salad? Add in big
chunks of peaches or apricots and then add in the ‘green for go’ with papaya or mango strips. Then simply top with a herb vinaigrette or fruit- flavoured yoghurt dressing. Yummy! Sandwiches are another picnic staple, but gone are the days of two slices
of pan bread, butter and a bit of ham! Now you can tuck your favourite sandwich fillings into a fantastic range of artisan breads: from tasty Italian focaccia bread to yummy French baguettes. If you are using standard plain or pan loaves, why not invest in some
unusual pastry cutters and cut regular sandwiches into interesting shapes? Kids will be more likely to eat food if it looks fun.
Thirst quenchers Kids are prone to fluid loss when they’re playing in the sun, so make sure you don’t forget to provide a regular fluid source. While iced water is your best bet, you could also try the following to beat the heat and add some fun: • In a blender, purée chunks of peaches, pears or nectarines, along with a tablespoon of lemon juice. Pour into ice cube containers and freeze until firm. Serve as ice cubes in chilled water, or, if you add lollipop sticks prior to freezing, you can serve them as ice lollies.
• Spice up regular lemonade by adding cranberry or raspberry juice. Dilute sweet drinks well with water as sweet drinks may increase thirst.
• Mix up a fruit spritzer by adding soda water to 100 per cent fruit juices. Try freezing it until just slushy and eat with a spoon.
Make things easy for yourself! The key to a great picnic is to make it stress free so, if you don’t have the time – or the desire - to prepare your own outdoor food, most supermarkets now supply a great selection of pre-packed picnic foods such as chicken drumsticks, sausages, sandwiches, salads, pastas and fruit treats.
Modernmum 59 Play safe!
Remember that, when it comes to dining alfresco, there are some food safety rules you need to adhere to: • Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. At temperatures between ten and 50°, most bacteria can grow and some produce poisons that may cause illness
• If you’re preparing chicken, egg or meat salad, refrigerate it as soon as possible. Try to prepare it as close to picnic time as you can. Then, keep these foods cold in a cooler box until you serve them
• Thermos bottles can keep stews or drinks at the right temperature for hours. If foods are poured boiling hot into sterilised bottles, there shouldn’t be any problems
• For packing food to take outdoors, put foods in the cooler bag in the order opposite to using them. This means that the food you’ll need last will be packed first, at the bottom. Take out the food only as you need it and keep the cooler bag in a shady spot to keep it cool.
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