Hit the beach, keep it safe
My favorite beach is Emerald Isle. I love having a picnic lunch while I am there. Here are some of the ways I keep my family safe:
1. My lunch usually isn’t anything fancy. It usually consists of finger foods such as cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon or carrots. I always include wraps such as tuna salad or egg salad, nothing that will melt, and I always carry partially frozen bottles of water with me.
2. I don’t want any ants, horse flies, sea gulls, bees and certainly no food poisoning to ruin 
my perfect day. So I always try to plan ahead when I am going to the beach, so that I don’t forget any essential items that I might need for a safe picnic such as a cooler with ice, clean utensils, storage bags or containers for leftovers, paper towels, table cloth and trash bags. Table cloths are much easier to wash than blankets.
3. I use disposable wet wipes or hand sanitizer to clean my hands before I touch food because running water is not available. I always plan some games for the children to play after they finish eating.
4. I don’t leave foods out in the sun. I position the cooler behind my beach chair in the shade. I serve the food quickly from the cooler and return it fast.
For more tips to keep your family safe visit foodsafety.gov
Writing this blog makes me want to pack my cooler now and head to the beach! See you there!
Susan
Don't Dread the Road Trip
A long time ago, I used to dread long road trips especially when my children were much younger. However, after years of experience and many miles later, I now love road trips and look forward to our next one.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that I need to plan ahead especially when it comes to eating during our travel. Although it may seem easier to buy food from a convenience store or a drive-thru along the trip, it can get expensive. Not to mention, most of those foods are high in fat, sodium, and calories. Instead, I like to bring our own snacks because it’s healthier and saves us money and time.
I prefer to pack foods that don’t require refrigeration. However, when I do pack perishable items, I store them in a cooler with lots of ice packs or frozen water bottles (this is great in the summertime). Keeping food safe is a vital part of planning a road trip…after all, we’re on a journey to have fun and make memories with the kids and not end up at the Urgent Care.
Foods that need to be chilled include:
- Deli meat or lunchmeat
- Anything made with egg, tuna, chicken, ham, seafood (or other animal protein)
- Cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products
- Cut up fruit and vegetables
- Homemade fruit and vegetable dips
Foods that can be left out include:
- Bread
- Peanut butter sandwiches (I cut them up to make it easier to eat)
- Whole fruit (Juicier fruits, like mango, oranges, kiwi, watermelon and others can get messy)
- Dried fruit
- Nuts and seeds (I like to make my own trail mix)
- Crackers and other dry packaged snacks (I avoid anything that melts like chocolate)
If your kids are like mine, they can devour an entire bag of anything if given the chance. This is why I divide the snacks into single servings and store them in sandwich bags. Each child now has his own treat that is easily accessible and just the right amount. I also tend to pack water rather than sugar sweetened drinks. Not only is it healthy and refreshing but if it spills, it won’t stain!
And finally, I always pack moist hand wipes (lots of it), paper towels, trash bags, barf bags (for the times you least expect it), and disinfectant spray (trust me, you’ll need it).
Road trips are supposed to be fun and memorable when planned well. Save money and time by packing your own healthy snacks. And reduce your risk of foodborne illness by handling and keeping your food safe.
-Lisa
Visit FoodSafety.gov for more information
How to beat the rising cost of meat
I love a good deal whether it’s on clothes or groceries! And I hate paying full price for anything if I can help it. The cost of meat along with everything else continues to rise and has become one of the largest budget items in our family’s grocery budget. Most of us like eating meat so finding ways to make it more affordable is important. If you have freezer space, buying a large cut of meat can be cheaper per pound than buying individual cuts. You can have the butcher at the grocery store cut it up for you into smaller pieces. The butcher should not charge you extra for this service; it’s part of his job. You do need to tell him what cuts you would like or ask him for his recommendation on the best way to cut it.
A large 16-pound sirloin tip could provide you with the following cuts:
- 6 lbs. hamburger or (12) ½ lbs. of hamburger
- 2 lbs. stew beef
- (2) 2-lb. roasts
- (12) 4-oz. steaks or (6) 8-oz. steaks (3 lbs total)
- 1 lb. of trim waste
Buying the whole sirloin tip costs less per pound than buying each of these items individually. To preserve the meat for longer freezer storage, wrap each item tightly in plastic wrap to keep the air from getting to the meat. Then place the wrapped items in freezer storage bags or containers. Make sure you push as much of the excess air out of the freezer bag as you can prior to putting in the freezer. I close the bag all the way leaving a space to insert a straw. Suck all the air out of the bag and pull the straw out while closing the remaining space. This is almost as good as the expensive vacuum sealers. Mark the bags with the contents and the date you put it in the freezer.
My husband loves ribeye steaks. Recently a local store had whole rib-eyes on sale for $6.99/lb. A quick trip to the “club” grocery store down the street to which we belong showed that their whole rib-eyes were $3.00/lb. more expensive. So we bought the whole rib-eye at our local grocery store and had the butcher cut it into 1” thick steaks. At home, I cut each of these steaks into half giving us steaks that averaged about 5-6 ounces. This amount provides an adequate serving of meat for us for dinner. When I finished cutting, wrapping and storing the steaks in the freezer, I ended up with 36 steaks that cost just $3.62 per steak. When did you last pay $3.62 for a rib-eye steak? Since we don’t eat steaks often, this will last us for over a year in the freezer. Because I protected the meat from freezer burn by wrapping first in plastic wrap and then placing in freezer storage bags, my steaks will be as good as the day I put them in the freezer.
Look for ways you can purchase larger cuts of meat to save you money in the long term. It does require you to expend a larger amount of money at one time for the larger piece of meat, but if you plan and set money aside each week or month, it is well worth it when your freezer is stocked with good, quality meat at a reasonable price.
For more information about the different cuts of beef available, check this infographic: http://www.angus.org/pub/beefchart.pdf .
Happy shopping!
Suzanne
Family, Fun, and Fitness!
Looking for ways to increase your physical activity and have fun as a family?
Check the video below and share with us, what are your family’s favorite physical activities?
Save time and money with a well-stocked pantry
I love experimenting in the kitchen but quite honestly, I haven’t always checked to see what I had on hand prior to starting a recipe. This left me frustrated and running to the store to grab a couple of last minute items. In most cases, they were items that I should have already had in my pantry. After experiencing this a couple of times, I decided to make a list of basic items that I would keep in my pantry.
Keeping a well-stocked pantry not only saves money and time, but, is essential for any cook. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced cook, having some basic supplies on hand will help you be prepared to put together a family friendly meal or last minute dinner for friends. Keep your pantry stocked so when you’re short on time, what you need is always on hand.
You may ask yourself these questions, “what are basic items to keep in a well-stocked pantry?” or “what kinds of ingredients do I need to keep in the pantry to be prepared for unexpected company?”
For more information visit: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/the-well-stocked-pantry.
Stephanie