Back to School Meal Prep to Keep Your Family Safe

Get great and easy back to school meal prep ideas and tips to keep your family safe from Foodsafety.gov, including how to pack safe lunches. It’s not difficult; you just need to pay attention to certain steps.

First of all, make a shopping list before you  go to the store. Know which foods and recipes you’ll be making for the week, then look in your pantry, fridge, and freezer to find out what ingredients you already have and what you’ll need.

When you are shopping, pick up perishable and frozen foods last so they stay cold longer. Separate raw meat and poultry products from veggies and fruit, putting them in bags to catch any raw juices. And make sure all of your food is in the fridge or freezer within two hours of checking out.

When you start to prepare food, the first thing to do is wash your hands with soap and water. A recent USDA study found that 97% of the times participants should have washed their hands they didn’t do it correctly or not at all. That can cause cross-contamination between foods like raw chicken and kitchen handles, spice containers, and other foods.

Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before rinsing and drying. And clean your utensils, countertops, and cutting boards with soap and hot water. Then start cooking. And make sure to serve hot foods hot and cold foods cold.

When you are making lunches, for yourself or for your kids, make sure you always use an insulated bag. Fill it with prepared food and two cold source like frozen water or juice, or freezer packs. You can store the open insulated bag in the freezer overnight to make sure it’s as cold as possible. If there’s a fridge in the classroom or your office, store the lunch  bag there with the lid open.

When pacing hot items, fill the thermos with boiling water, let it stand for a few minutes, pour out the water, then fill it with the hot soup or stew. Keep the thermos closed until lunch time.

And always use a food thermometer when preparing food. Learn the safe final internal temperatures for different products.

Have a great school year!