Picnic Tips

It's summer, so it is time to take the food outside for a nice picnic.  Below are a few tips I use when  planning a picnic.

Picnic Tips

1. If I am planning on using a picnic table, I purchase an inexpensive plastic tablecloth and matching plates, cups, paper napkins, and plastic ware.   Lounging around on a picnic blanket is wonderful if the ground is dry.  I take a tarp to lay under our blanket to ensure a dry comfy place to sit.

2. I try to plan my food so I will not have a lot of leftovers.  Leftover food can spoil easily on a hot day.

3. I don't pack ice cream or hard to eat desserts.  Instead I pack cupcakes, cookies, or bars.

4. I try to make food interesting.  I like to serve salad in half of a pita instead of just placing it on the plate.

5. Do not partially grill or cook your food to make cooking quicker when you get to your picnic area.  You must completely cook meat to destroy bacteria.

6. To keep from digging around in the cooler looking for items, I pack the cooler in reverse order.  Last thing I will be eating goes in first.  The first item I plan to eat, is the last thing I pack.

7. I make food the night before and refrigerator it, so it will be chilled before it goes in the cooler.

8. Instead of adding ice to our cool drinks, I add sliced frozen fruit.

9. I also pack sun block, wet-ones, and bug spray.

Strange but true! 
I am a regular guest on my friend, George's, "Foodie Friday" radio segment on KICD AM 1240, which broadcasts in Iowa.  We were talking about picnic tips when he asked me if I had ever used Listerine to keep the bugs away when on a picnic.  I told him that was a new one to me!  But according to, George, his wife sprays Listerine around the picnic blanket and the bugs stay away. 

What are your picnic tips?

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