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A Picnic with Baby
Tips for a Perfect Picnic with Little Guests
By Beth Hering
For many adults, food is the highlight of a picnic. Don't be surprised, though, if your child is so caught up with being outside that he doesn't see eating as exciting.
"There's usually too much going on for Brandon to concentrate on eating," says Braccio of his 16-month-old. "Generally, he just wants to run around."
Melissa Durante, a mother of three from Bartlett, Ill., likes to bring along kid-friendly, nonperishable items. "We like easy, take-along snacks like fruit roll-ups, granola bars, Pringles chips, rice cakes and goldfish crackers," she says.
Ruth Frechman, a registered dietitian and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, agrees that keeping an eye on food safety is extremely important. "It's best to avoid taking cold food that can't be kept cold for one to two hours or hot foods that can't be kept hot for one to two hours to avoid foodborne illness," Frechman says. She advises that perishable food that has been left outside for more than two hours (or one hour on days over 90 degrees) be thrown away.
While most of us think of putting cold foods in coolers or bowls of ice to help them stay cool, it is just as important for the safety of picnickers to pay attention to the preparation of hot foods. "To start, scrub off the grill with hot soapy water before cooking food," Frechman says. "Keep the meats separate from the other foods to prevent cross contamination, and avoid cross contamination between raw and cooked protein. When you are grilling, keep a food thermometer handy. Cook hot dogs to 165 degrees [Fahrenheit], chicken breasts to 170 degrees and hamburgers to 160 degrees."