The 3 don'ts of a successful picnic

As far as eating out is concerned, there's little better than a homemade picnic. Here's three tips for making sure your picnic goes off without a hitch.

• Just hold the mayo and eggs and make potato salad with oil and vinegar instead.
• When potato salad is made with eggs and mayonnaise, it can harbour bacteria that cause sickness.
• There are many delicious variations on potato salad that use oil and vinegar instead — but few cookbooks tell you that they're safe for picnics.
• You can easily whip up any oil-and-vinegar-based dressing by mixing three parts good olive oil to one part good vinegar. Then, add salt, pepper and other favourite flavourings to taste.
• Here's a very simple but healthy potato salad: boil potatoes until they're tender. Drain and dice them. Dress them while still warm with your olive-and-vinegar dressing.

• Don't count on coolers to keep frozen things from turning to goop within a few hours.
• Hard coolers do a better job than soft-sided ones, but softies are easier to store and clean.
• A full cooler stays cool longer than a half-full one.
• Pack it in layers for better results: ice on the bottom, then drinks, then more ice, then soft stuff on top.

• Many a picnic has been ruined because some essential item was left behind.
• Make a checklist of the foods and equipment you need to transport and serve it.
• If you go on picnics often, put together a special picnic basket that contains all the basics. Leave it packed from picnic to picnic.
• Make sure to include such indispensables as a corkscrew, bottle opener, clips for closing bags of chips, bug repellent, adhesive strips and antiseptic.
• Be sure to pack several medium-size garbage bags for collecting your trash and recyclables.

For a successful picnic, you need three things: a good spot, good company and great food. With the right preparation and supplies, you can take full advantage of the great outdoors.

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