Safe Foods for a Picnic

After a long, cold winter, it's nice to be outdoors when the weather starts warming up. Stop by any park in the spring, and you'll see couples and families enjoying an afternoon picnic lunch. Picnics are fun, but always keep food safety in mind. Often, picnic food cannot be refrigerated or kept hot when you're at the park. Minimize the risk of food-borne illnesses, and pack only non-perishable food items for your picnic.

Fruits and Vegetables

• Whole, unpeeled fresh fruit that has been washed well is safe to bring along, such as apples, oranges, and bananas. Bring a clean knife with you and cut up the fruit at the picnic. Some fruit needs to be kept cold once it is cut to avoid bacteria starting to grow, particularly with all fruits in the melon family, such as watermelon and cantaloupe. Bring along some caramel dip or cinnamon and sugar mix to dip the fruit in. Raw vegetables, such as carrots and celery, are safe to bring along with some ranch dressing. Bring along a new bottle of ranch dressing that does not require refrigeration until it has been opened.

Sandwiches

• Bread, nut butters and fruit jams are all safe to eat at room temperature and do not need to be refrigerated. If you are tired of regular peanut butter with grape jelly, experiment with different kinds of jellies and nut butters. Try blueberry or apricot jelly instead. Almond butter, cashew and macadamia nut butters are are flavorful options that will give you a completely different taste experience from basic peanut butter. Alternatively, use hazelnut and chocolate spreads. Add marshmallow fluff for an indulgent treat. Or, bring frozen meat sandwiches, which will thaw out by the time you are ready to eat. Eat the sandwiches while they are still cold. Meats, cheeses, mayonnaise, and even opened canned tuna are not safe to eat if they have been at room temperature for more than two hours. Bring unopened canned meats with you to make a sandwich when you are ready to eat.

Hard Cheeses and Dried Meats

• Hard cheese hold up fine in warm or room temperatures. Aged Gouda cheese has a rich flavor to eat and is good for snacking. Other hard cheeses include Coverdale, Montgomery's cheddar and Parrano cheese. Pair your cheese with dried salami, which has been dry-cured, making it safe to eat. Bacon and pepperoni baked to a crisp are also safe snacks.

Dry Snacks

• Packaged potato chips, pretzels, crackers and other packaged snacks are great to bring along to a picnic. Nuts of any kind are safe to bring as well. Save money and make your own spicy mixed nuts as a snack. Heat 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil with 2 tsp. of chili powder and 1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper over medium heat. Pour the mixture over a bowl filled with 2 1/2 cups of mixed almonds, cashews, pecans and peanuts. Add 2 tbsp. of sugar and 1 tsp. of salt, and toss the mixture to coat all of the nuts. Toast the nuts on a baking pan in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Baked Goods

• Your favorite cookies, cakes and fruit pies are all safe to bring along with you on a picnic. Make an elegant fruit pie easily with pre-made pie crusts. For a cherry pie, scoop two 21-oz. cans of cherry pie filling into a pie crust-lined pie pan. Spread the cherries evenly and cover them with the top crusts. Pinch the edges to seal and brush the top crust with milk. Sprinkle the top crusts with 1 tsp. of sugar and cut slits in the crust so that the pie can vent. Bake it in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the crust is a golden brown. Edges will brown first during baking, so cover the edges with foil about 20 minutes into baking. Allow the pie to cool for an hour before packing it up and taking it with you on your picnic.