Keeping the Kitchen Safe
The first step in learning home skills is knowing how to stay safe while you practice them!
Kitchen Hygiene
Whether you’re snacking on some fresh veggies or cooking a gourmet dinner, handling your food safely is important. Food that hasn’t been stored or handled properly can make you sick.
Here are 3 important kitchen hygiene tips to keep your cooking safe and healthy:
1) Wash your hands
Always wash your hands, before AND after cooking!
If your hands are dirty they might have germs and bacteria that can make your food unsafe to eat; that’s why you should wash your hands before cooking.
Some foods, like raw meat, have bacteria a germs that might get on you when you touch it; that’s why you should wash your hands after touching them. (But don’t worry, they don’t have icky germs after it’s cooked, so it’s safe to eat!!)
*To wash your hands properly, put soap on them and then rub every part under running water for about 20 seconds; that’s as long as it takes to sing the whole “Happy Birthday” song twice!
2) Your kitchen needs washing, too!
Just like your hands, some parts of your kitchen should be washed before and after you cook.
Pay special attention to the parts that touch raw food (especially meat); for example, your counter top, cutting board, utensils (knives, stirring spoons…whatever you’re using!), and cooking tools like pots and pans.
3) Rinse your veggies
Produce (fruits and vegetables) comes from nature, so sometimes it’s dirty even when you buy it in a store. Washing them especially important right now with Covid19, since sometimes other shoppers and grocery store employees might have touched the produce before you bought it!
Before you cook or eat your fruits and veggies, run them under cold water and then dry them off.
Let’s go over one last kitchen safety video:
It is SO important that you remember to stay safe while in the kitchen. If you have any questions or concerns, make sure you get extra tips and training from someone you know who’s a kitchen pro!
Note: if you want to get a job working in a kitchen, you’ll need to do some extra kitchen safety training called FoodSafe. It will teach you all about proper food prep, cooking temperatures, and other super-important stuff to keep yourself and others safe while cooking and serving food!
Leftovers: they’re great, but don’t keep them too long!
If you cook more food than you want to eat, don’t force yourself to finish it: you can keep it for later! Leftovers are great because you can cook only once, then eat two or three times. But food doesn’t last forever (not even in the fridge or freezer). Sooner or later, it won’t be safe to eat it anymore. Here’s some info about how long different kinds of leftovers will last:
Meals with cooked meat, eggs, and/or veggies
In the Fridge: 3-4 days
In the Freezer: 2-3 months
Cooked poultry (ex. chicken, turkey) or fish
In the Fridge: 3-4 days
In the Freezer: 4-6 months
Meat broth or gravy
In the Fridge: 3-4 days
In the Freezer: 4-6 months
Soup
In the Fridge: 2-3 days
In the Freezer: 4 months
Recipes
A recipe is like a map of how to prepare a meal. It tells us all of things we need, and how to put them all together to make something tasty. We’ve collected and created some easy recipes that you can make at home, whether you’re new to cooking or an old pro! We’ve also searched the web to find some GREAT websites that have TONS of recipes to keep you learning, cooking, and eating well.
LifeStreams Printable Recipes
Here are some fun and easy recipes to try! Some are perfect for beginners, while others may take a little practice, but all of them are step-by-step guides. You can print them out with pictures to follow along with, or just the important instructions. You can also download them, and then read them right off your computer!
More Recipe Resources
This site has many easy-to-make recipes that are available in written and visual form. The visual recipes make following the steps super easy for everyone!
This site lets you enter a list of ingredients that you already have. Then it will give you a list of great recipes you can make with them!
This site has tons of simple and cheap recipes, all labeled with price-per-serving. Delicious food doesn’t have to be expensive!
Have you used one of our recipes, or cooked something else that you’re really proud of? Submit a picture or video to The Voice, and it could end up in a future newsletter!
Click here to share any new ideas you’d love to see on this page!
