Helping you prepare healthy foods in a hurry

Alice Henneman, MS, Registered Dietitian and Extension Educator
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County

Packed Lunch Pizzazz!

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:

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.

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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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

Use Of These Materials:

You may reproduce these materials for educational purposes but not for sales purposes. You're also welcome to link to "Cook It Quick" from 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.

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.

Address: 444 Cherrycreek Road, Lincoln, NE 68528-1507, Phone: 402-441-7180

University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska and the United States Department of Agriculture.