“PEAS” BE SAFE!

January 12, 20162 Comments

Kids Kitchen Safety Tips!

It’s such a wonderful thing to teach kids how to cook. It’s an even more wonderful thing, when kids remain safe in the kitchen at all times. There are many checkpoints one can fulfil, when helping kids stay safe in the kitchen. The below are some examples of some cooking tasks which are relatively safe for kids to do:

Weigh small amounts of ingredients on the cooking scale
Place placemats on the dining table
Place serviettes on the dining table
Sprinkle food with fresh herbs or cheese
Pour small amounts of cold water into a bowl for the recipe
Mix the ingredients together using a wooden spoon, provided there are no harsh ingredients inside the bowl (e.g. chillies)

The above will enrich the cooking experience for children. The above will teach them valuable cooking skills, along with keeping them safe in the kitchen, away from sharp utensils, hot surfaces, electricity and many other hazards in the kitchen.

Enjoy!

Karina x

SHARING ISN’T CARING!

December 16, 2015Leave a comment

Karina’s Anti-contamination Cooking Tips!

Some times, sharing is caring. When it comes to germs, however, sharing isn’t caring and there are many things you can do in order to keep your food safe. A select few things you can do, are as follows:

Wash hands, benches, chopping boards, knives, utensils etc often, in order to prevent contamination.
Avoid cross-contamination. Use a chopping board for chopping vegetables and a separate chopping board for chopping meat, if you need to prepare a combined vegetable and meat based dish. Alternatively, you can use one chopping board, however, chop your veggies first, then clean the chopping board very well. After the board is clean again, use this board to chop your meat, then clean your board again.
Clean your chopping knife before and after chopping your vegetables and clean your chopping knife before and after chopping your meat.

Have fun and be safe in the kitchen!

Karina x

THAT’S “HARDCORE!”

November 3, 2015Leave a comment

Karina’s Fresh and Safe Cooking Tips for Kids!

Before you cook with your child, ask your child to put on their apron and to keep them away from any sharp objects.
Before you cook with your child, ask your child to clean their hands well.
Before you cook with your child, ask your child to help you pick which fruits, vegetables and meat are the freshest.
If your child likes the look of fish from the fresh seafood market, ask your child to look into the fish’s eyes, then ask your child “what do you see?” If the fish’s eyes are cloudy, tell your child not to buy it. If the fish’s eyes are clear, then tell your child the fish is fresh.
Try to gradually build your child’s appreciation for food, by allowing them to help you to select the freshest ingredients, so that you can help your child in making safer food choices.
Introduce your child to farm animals, so they know where their food came from. One important safety tip regarding this, would be to keep your child far away from an aggressive farm animal, bulls, goats and any other potentially aggressive animals.

Be Safe in the Kitchen!

Enjoy!

Karina x

NOT “KID”DING!

October 14, 2015October 14, 20152 Comments

Karina’s Safety Cooking Tips!

When thinking about kitchen safety, one thing always pops into my mind: how can we prevent kids from getting injured, whilst in the kitchen. Well, I’m not “Kid”ding about a few key tips, as follows:

Create a buffer zone, where you keep children at a safe distance away from flammable sources, such as stoves, ovens and toasters etc
Create a buffer zone, where you keep children at a safe distance away from slippery surfaces, such as wet tiles, etc
Create a buffer zone, where you keep children at a safe distance away from sharp objects, such as knives and blades, etc
Create a buffer zone, where you keep children at a safe distance away from hot water and hot water generating appliances, such as kettles and the hot water tap, etc
Generally, create a buffer zone, where you keep children at a safe distance away from anything which could possibly harm them.

I’m sure there are many other ways, you can help create a safer environment for kids, however, the above are just some examples.

Have fun and be safe!

Karina x

WE’VE GOT “CHEMISTRY!”

September 23, 20152 Comments

Karina’s Chemical Safety Cooking Tips!

Separate your detergents and other chemicals from your food preparation areas
Whilst shopping, separate your chemicals from your food by placing your chemicals in different bags from your food
If you have young children, locking your detergents and other chemicals away would be a good idea
If you are out at a picnic, use food-safe grade wipes, to clean your cutlery, plates and cups

Be safe in the kitchen!

Enjoy!

Karina x

MY KITCHEN RULES!

September 1, 2015September 1, 20154 Comments

At first glance, one may assume I may be speaking of the cooking show ‘My Kitchen Rules.’ Diving deeper, there is another meaning.

Let’s pretend I am a child right now, who has written down a set of rules for my parents, to help me stay safe in the kitchen.

MY KITCHEN RULES:

Please don’t put me anywhere near harm in the kitchen.
Please store all your knives away from my innocent hands.
Please provide our home with fire extinguishers, fire blankets, a first aid kit, smoke/fire detectors and anything that will keep me safe.
Please clean your hands well before you cook for me, so you don’t contaminate my food.
Once you have finished cooking for me, please turn the stove and oven off because I would like to see my Mummy and Daddy again.
Please make me clean my hands before I eat.
Please keep that dead animal in the fridge, until you are ready to cook it for me.
Please make me healthy meals, that are low in saturated fat, so that I may be healthy.
Please read the labels of the food you give to me, to make sure you are giving me the right nutrition.
Please try to cook using fresh fruit, vegetables and lean meat.
Please make sure it tastes good, so that I eat it.
Please keep my pets away from where you are cooking, so they don’t get hurt and so they don’t make things dirty.

I’m sure there are more rules, so please help me stay safe along the way.

Thank you Mummy and Daddy,

Love Sam

‘Egg’spressing Egg Safety!

August 12, 2015August 12, 20157 Comments

Karina’s ‘Egg’cellent Cooking Tip!

Some things are an ‘Egg’cellent idea, however, leaving uncooked egg-based products out of the fridge, is not an ‘Egg’cellent idea at all. In fact, it is one of the worst ideas, when it comes to food safety. Leaving uncooked egg-based products out of the fridge, may cause food borne Salmonella outbreaks and this would not be good.

Although there are many ‘Egg’ceptional tips, when it comes to Egg safety, I will provide you with a select few:

If your eggs are cracked before you use them, it is safest to chuck them in the bin.
As soon as you prepare any raw egg-based products, such as Mayonnaise, make sure you place your raw egg-based products straight into your refrigerator and store it at 5°C or lower. Try and aim for 3°C or lower, in case the refrigerator is opened every now and then.
Leave your eggs in the carton, when refrigerating.
Maintain proper hand hygiene practices, when handling all food. Thoroughly clean your hands with an adequate cleanser and running water. Clean and dry your hands thoroughly, before and after handling any eggs or egg-based products.

Be safe in the Kitchen!

Karina x

Showing ‘dis-tain!

July 22, 2015July 22, 20154 Comments

Karina’s Safety Cooking Tip!

– Ensure your cooking utensils, equipment and kitchen surfaces are decontaminated prior to preparing your food.

– Ensure you use food safe substances to clean your serving plates and other serving gear.

– Ensure you don’t cross-contaminate food (please refer to my older post on cross-contamination).

– Ensure you clean up all spills ASAP, otherwise, you may cause ‘dis-tain’ by staining your kitchen and another areas of your home.

– Use a separate kitchen towel to dry your dishes and/or dry your hands.

The list will go on and on, however, I have focused on a select few for now.

So, if next time there’s a dirty cooking bench, you won’t need to show anyone any ‘dis-stain’!

Stay safe in the kitchen.

Enjoy.

Karina

‘Chill’, man!

May 20, 2015Leave a comment

Karina’s Safety Cooking Tip:

When it comes to keeping food in the safe zone, you should prevent foods that are high-risk from becoming a health risk. What I mean by high-risk foods, are foods that can quickly develop bacteria if treated irresponsibly. High-risk foods include, but are not limited to: Eggs, Milk, Raw Meat, Cooked Meat, along with many other foods, which have a reasonable or some degree of moisture content. This moisture content is not specifically defined. Low-risk foods, include foods that are sold on shelves, including, but not limited to: dried uncooked rice, dried uncooked pasta, Dried crackers, etc.

Low-risk foods do not need to undergo temperature control, however, high-risk foods do. For example, if I were to cook a chicken, I would either need to eat this straight away, or, keep this within the safe zone for temperature control. You can find guidelines on this topic, regarding the safe zone of food, along with many other useful information, at the following website: http://dofoodsafely.health.vic.gov.au

Stay safe and have fun in the kitchen!

Karina x