If you’re anything like me, this pandemic has both challenged and inspired your cooking skills. It’s inspired me to seek out and try different recipes with ingredients that I can stock up on. But it has challenged me because I’m tired of being in the kitchen in what seems like an endless cycle of prep, cook, clean.
Ordering in has become my new best friend, but I keep wondering if it is safe to order takeout or delivery. After all, it’s exposing my family to several people in the chain who may come in contact with the food — from preparing it to delivering it.
Here are the 6 safety tips I’ve found to help keep you safe when ordering takeout:
Limit exposure
Clean up
6. Wash your hands
Immediately wash your hands after you have disinfected items or get home with the food. Washing your hands is the most effective way to prevent the spread of coronavirus. “The most important thing is to wash your hands whenever you are in contact with anything from outside,” Dr. Virginia Thornley, M.D. told Mom.com.
For me, this might mean handwashing multiple times after I get home with the food to taking it out then reheating. This process, on top of applying hand sanitizer and disinfectant, is my way of using abundant caution when ordering takeout and delivery. Make sure to prevent hungry hands from poking into the bags and taking a peek before you are ready to serve it.
By using caution and being conscious of how you handle food from the outside, you can enjoy a cooked-for-you meal without major concerns of contracting the coronavirus. While preparing and cooking your own food is ideal, it might not be practical. Everyone is under a lot of stress, and taking cooking off your plate, even if just for one night, can be a significant step in some self-care for moms.
