Perfect Picnics - even for fussy eaters!

Summer is on its way and eating outside is one of the joys of better weather. The birds get to snack on the crumbs, less washing up plus all you really need is a picnic blanket and a sunny patch of grass. Perfect picnics might seem idyllic until you remember that each of your tots likes something different in their sandwich - and no one love a sweaty cheese one!

So here is our guide to getting the perfect picnic regardless of how many fussy eaters you have in your house.

Keep it simple

Forget prepping all your food at home. Grab some bread, dips and fruit. Pop your water bottles into a bag and head out. Give the kids’ hands a wipe down before you start and everyone can tear and share.

This way you have a simple picnic without all the prep. Everyone can pick their own dip. Don’t like cream cheese? Here’s a pot of hummus. Or salsa. Or guacamole.

Then for pudding crack open a couple of packets of summer berries. Picnics made simple.

Plenty of pots

Prefer to have a bit more variety in your picnic? Get your kids involved with the prep. When kids help out, they are more likely to try different food. That’s the theory, anyway. Or they can pick the bits they want to take with them, pack them up themselves into handy snack pots and scoot off to the park carrying their own lunches.

By putting everything into individual snack boxes, you don’t risk any cucumbers or tomatoes making the bread go soggy or the cheese sweaty. Instead, you can call it an open sandwich, and they can put in their own filling when they get there.

Sharing plates

A picnic wouldn’t be a picnic with lots of food to pick. If you’re going with other families, take some dishes to share. Scotch eggs, sausage rolls, and pies are a traditional picnic (and there’s plenty of plant-based options for those who don’t eat meat).

Or keep it healthy with a pasta salad. Just remember to pack the cutlery. Don’t forget traditional fare like quiche makes good picnic food. You can easily eat it with you fingers and the crust works like a plate. Tell the kids it’s picnic pizza and they’ll never know!

Picnic Desserts

We’ve probably all perfected the banana bread loaf by now and these make great picnic puddings. Robust enough to travel and you can pre-slice them before you go.

Or a tub of homemade fruit muffins will give everyone an energy burst for some post-lunch park games. These both have the benefit of less waste to take home.

Park games

A picnic is more fun when you’re running off the food with some park games. Pack up a football or frisbee and see how many new friends your kids can make in the park.

Short of a bag to carry it all in? Trunki is made for making travel easy. Pack it all up inside and take your Trunki for a walk (it also makes a good table top if you do need to slice anything).