Avoid Bringing These Foods to the Beach

Doritos and Other Snack Foods: Here’s what happens. Right as you get yourself situated on your beach chair, you open up the bag of Doritos. After a while, you lose interest and seal up the bag for later. An hour or so later, your little one reopens the bag to grand a handful of chips. This wouldn’t be an issue, except for the fact that she has been spending the past half hour digging a moat in the sand, and filling it up with ocean water. Once it’s your turn to grab a Dorito, her sandy hands have already contaminated the bag. You toss the chip into your mouth, take a bite, and feel the crunch of sand between your teeth. Sandy snacks are delicious? Not really.

Coconuts: You have spent your day at the beach slathering on tanning oil, sipping on a beach cocktail that has coconut rum, and staying hydrated with some coconut water. Now you’re thinking about snacking on coconut candy bars. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and that is the case here. After all, you don’t want to turn into a walking, talking coconut.

Burgers, Ribs, and Other BBQ Treats: Bringing your own portable grill to the beach can be both a good idea and a bad one. Some beaches absolutely forbid outdoor grilling, while others encourage it with designated BBQ pits. Don’t bring burger patties and ribs to the beaches that explicitly ban barbecues. When heading to a barbecue-approved beach, just make sure to bring enough food to share — otherwise the delicious smells will only serve to make everyone jealous.

French Fries and Pizza: We can’t talk about food at the beach without mentioning the birds that are infamous for stealing everyone’s food. French fries seem to be a favorite of the seagulls, since they are smaller and easier to grab from picnic tables and beach blankets. However, seagulls steal any food that is near them. When they spot a pizza pie left in the middle of the beach parking lot, they all flock. For this reason, make sure that you don’t leave your leftovers out on the beach when you’re done eating. Otherwise, you’ll be starring in the sequel of Hitchcock’s The Birds.

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The Food Almanac: Thursday, April 23, 2013

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