Baby showers, birthday parties, book clubs and small family gatherings. Life must go on.
These events are still happening amidst COVID-19, yet under new health protocols, including reduced group numbers, social distancing, and of course, menu changes.
For example, a few weeks ago, Stephanie Martin of St. John’s, N.L. had a drop-in baby shower. Most food was on sticks or required very little touching of other people's food, she says.
“We had Individual foods only, so no one was touching spoons or serving utensils,” she says.
For Charlene Power’s 40th birthday party, she had a small backyard get together with family and close friends at her home in Mobile, N.L. Power bought individual bags of chips and cans of drinks while her mom, Bernice, the baker of the family, made and individually wrapped baked goods.
“We also had hot dogs, which we laid out in wraps, and put condiments on a table with wipes and hand sanitizer,” she says.
Later, for her son’s birthday, Power had an outdoor movie. Kids brought their own chairs, and she used a snack bucket for loot bags. She served pizza and individually-wrapped cookies as well.
All of these ideas for individual or packaged snacks work well under COVID-19 health protocols.
“A lot of hands touching everything during this time is not a great idea,” says Jen McKenna, owner of Cured Creations in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Try to keep minimal contact on foods to prevent the spread of germs, she adds.
With this in mind, McKenna started Cured Creations - a box service creating take-home charcuterie kits, party boxes, take-home meals and catering - during COVID-19 to help people know what to serve to small groups. The business focuses on charcuterie spears, where everything in the box is on a stick for people to grab instead of handling everything. These have been super popular for smaller get-togethers, she says.
Claire Gallant, owner of the Halifax-based Bite-Sized Kitchen, which helps to teach families how to cook with children using whole ingredients and hands-on methods, suggests making sure everyone, adults and kids alike, help prevent the spread of germs. Avoiding communal dip and chip bowls makes sense these days - anything with individual pieces that guests pick up from a platter works well, she adds. Some examples are cheese puffs, sausage rolls, mini cinnamon buns, mini quiches, crackers, cookies, muffins and more.
Kid treats
When it comes to feeding children at a playdate, Gallant says the same rules apply. Use individual pieces that are the right size for kids to grab.
If you’re concerned about kids touching every piece on the platter - a legitimate worry, says Gallant - hosts could opt to serve each child their own plate with a selection of snacks.
“But I think a large platter is also fine, if you have enough supervision or old enough children to ensure that they will touch only one,” Gallant said.
Good COVID-19 friendly snacks for kids include cheese cubes, raw veggies (without dip - or serve individual cups of dip for each kid), mini muffins, ham roll-ups with cherry tomatoes, olives, berries, apple slices, energy bites, and homemade granola bars cut into little squares.
“I'd avoid anything too tiny, messy or crumbly that would encourage kids to spend more time with their hands on the platter,” says Gallant.
Overall, though, Gallant says her approach to group snacks hasn’t changed very much because of COVID-19.
“Was it not the case pre-COVID-19 that we wanted kids to wash their hands before eating and only touch the snack they wanted to eat, and not double-dip?” she asks.
“I think if we are in small groups, amongst friends, abiding by provincial regulations about gathering, then sharing food in a smart way - as in the examples I shared above - is not a problem.”
Avoid plastic
Bonnie Davison, who lives in P.E.I. in the summer and Victoria, B.C. in the winter, says when it comes to snacks, East Coast residents need to find ways to not buy into thinking that all of a sudden, they need to use more plastic.
“So much of the individual-serving, pre-packaged foods create so much waste,” she says.
Lilly Porter, from Foxtrap, N.L. agrees. In the name of health and safety, beyond the obvious disposable masks and gloves, the other impact of COVID-19 is creating more plastic waste and trash.
“I mean no judgement, since we are all doing the best we can in times of the pandemic, it's just an observation,” she says. “Where do you find the balance between being safe and being mindful of the trash we are creating?”
Perhaps, says Porter, the individual packaging can't be avoided in some instances, but she would like to see a dynamic shift from companies.
“We know that people are buying disposables, so companies need to offer biodegradable and eco-friendly package options for single serve items,” she says.
It’s so important to keep snacks waste-free, says Gallant. She hopes to see people continue to find ways to make their own and not rely on foods with more disposable packaging.
Try some of these ideas for serving up low-touch snacks:
- Put fruit and veggies in a cupcake liner.
- Make individual dip containers by putting it in small plastic takeout cups. Serve with individual bags of Doritos.
- Use a teacup. Put dip in the bottom of the cup and fill it with veggie sticks.
- Make kebabs, snacks on a stick, including fruit, cheese, etc.
- Cupcakes
- Have a social distancing charcuterie board with the grapes left in little bunches so you can take the whole thing. Include individually boxed raisins and individually packaged old white cheese, little bowls for the crackers and skewered meats. Place hummus in little bowls as well.
- Buy mason jars and fill them with snacks from Bulk Barn. This way, party guests will most certainly reuse them, and the only waste you would create would be the couple plastic bags you have to bring the snacks home in.
