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Carrying
your food in an insulated container with a freezer gel pack helps
prevent boring bagged lunches! |
Make extra
of a favorite main dish and enjoy it a day or two later as a packed lunch
at work or school. Use an insulated container and gel freezer pack to
carry perishable foods that must be kept cold.
For this
lunch, a carton of yogurt provides a calcium- and protein-rich snack.
The main dish is the other half of the following salad:
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Oh-So-Easy
Corn and Black Bean Salad
Servings:
2 main dish salads or 4 side dish salads.
- 1
(15-oz.) can of black soybeans or black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2
cups of frozen corn, thawed (1)
- 1
small sliced tomato, if desired
- 1/4
cup minced fresh onion or 1 tablespoon dried minced onion, rehydrated
(2)
- 1/4
cup light Italian salad dressing
Combine
all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour before serving
to let flavors blend.
Serve
half the recipe as 2 side salads one night and pack the other half
as your main dish salad for lunch the next day.
Cook's
Tips:
(1)
Thaw
frozen corn in the microwave for a few minutes following manufacturer's
directions. Or put frozen corn in a colander and run cool water
over it.
(2)
Rehydrate dried onions by letting them sit covered by a small
amount of water for 5 to 10 minutes; drain off any water that isn't
absorbed. Check package directions for any additional information.
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Bacteria
multiply rapidly if food is held in the "danger zone"
of 40 F to 140 F for more than 2 hours (1 hour when the temperature
is above 90 F).
Keeping
food at a safe temperature is important when carrying your lunch.
Let your "sack lunch" be limited only by your imagination
through following these food safety tips:
|
At
room temperature, just ONE bacterium could grow to 2,097,152 bacteria
in 7 hours!
|
Preparation
-
To serve
safe food in carried lunches, the food must start out safe. Follow
general food safety practices of cooking foods to safe temperatures,
working with clean and using clean utensils and a clean work surface,
cooling and storing food properly.
-
Wash
the lunch container and thermos with hot water and detergent after
every use. If you use a paper bag, purchase bags specifically for
carrying sack lunches and use a clean one each time.
-
Prepare
just the amount of perishable food that can be eaten to avoid possible
safety problems with leftover perishable foods.
-
Use
thermos containers to keep liquids or semi-fluid foods cold or hot.
Fill shortly before leaving with your lunch. For hot foods, preheat
the thermos by filling it with hot water and letting it stand for
a few minutes. Pour out water and add steaming hot food. For cold
foods, fill your thermos with cold water first and let stand a few
minutes before emptying the water and adding cold foods.
Keep Cold Foods Cold
-
Perishable
foods served cold, must be kept cold. These include the following
foods and items prepared with these foods:
-
Meat,
poultry, seafood, eggs, tofu
-
Dairy
products (milk, cheese and yogurt)
-
Opened
canned fruit, cooked fruits and vegetables and cut/peeled fresh
fruits and vegetables
-
Pasta,
rice and cooked vegetables and fruits
-
If lunches
are packed the night before, keep perishable foods refrigerated until
you are ready to leave with your lunch. Add cookies, chips or other
foods that lose crispness in the morning.
-
If possible,
store lunches containing cold perishable foods in a refrigerator until
lunchtime. When refrigeration isn't possible, carry already chilled
foods in an insulated lunch container. Include an ice pack, freezer
gel pack, or water frozen in leakproof plastic freezer containers.
Place your lunch in a cool place out of direct sunlight
Reheating Foods in
the Microwave
-
If foods
are reheated in the microwave at work, reheat until they are steaming
hot throughout.
-
Follow
package directions for frozen convenience meals.
Foods Safe at Room
Temperature
- Packed
lunch foods that are safe at room temperature are:
-
Peanut butter sandwiches
-
Popcorn
-
Bread, crackers, bagels
-
Fresh fruit in the peel
-
Unopened single-serving containers of fruit, fruit juice and pudding
-
Commercially prepared meats, poultry, seafood and dried beans (such
beans and franks) that can be opened and eaten immediately
-
Dried fruits
-
Nuts
-
Cookies, cereal bars
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IT QUICK!
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Developed
By:
Alice
C. Henneman, MS, RD
Extension Educator
University of Nebraska
Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County
Fax:
(402) 441-7148
Phone: (402) 441-7180
E-Mail: ahenneman1@unl.edu
Web site: lancaster.unl.edu/food
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Use Of These
Materials:
You
may reproduce these materials for educational purposes but not for
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your website. Please credit: COOK IT QUICK!, University
of Nebraska Cooperative Extension (lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciq.htm)
Use
of commercial and trade names does not imply approval or constitute
endorsement by the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension.
Nor is criticism implied of products not mentioned.
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For
more information about
preparing healthy meals, contact your local University of Nebraska Cooperative
Extension Office; for the location of the office nearest you, click
here. For a listing of Cooperative Extension Offices throughout the
United States, click
here.

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