10 Healthy Picnic Ideas for Kids
1) Homemade Cocktail Sausages
Cocktail sausages are a picnic staple but they are packed to the rafters with salt, saturated fat and additives. I didn't know that you could make them yourself until I stumbled upon this recipe from Organix for pork, leek and feta cocktail sausages. They are easy to make and taste absolutely delicious.
2) Homemade Houmous
For dipping or spreading, houmous is a picnic staple. I make my own homemade houmous by blitzing up 400g tin chickpeas (drained and rinsed) with the juice of 1/2 a lemon, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp peanut butter (as a substitute to tahini which I rarely have in) and pinch of cumin.
3) Roast Chicken Drumsticks
Roasted chicken drumsticks are perfect for taking on picnics. Make them more exciting with delicious homemade marinades such as honey and mustard, peanut satay and lemon and thyme.
4) Mini Quiches
Use a muffin tin lined with paper cases to make fantastic portable mini quiches. Mini quiches with a ham crust instead of pastry as they are particularly robust for picnics and very quick and easy to make. They are also lower in fat as they don't have the buttery pastry case. Large quiches made from pastry don't travel well and they also require a knife for cutting.
5) Sushi Sandwiches
I'm not a huge fan of squashed soggy sandwiches for picnics, but I absolutely love theses Sushi Sandwiches which I spotted on Dindindies. Square wraps are ideal for these. Spread on your favourite fillings thinly and evenly, then roll up and slice into little sushi sandwich rolls. My kids love these filled with ham and cream cheese or grated carrots and houmous.
6) Simple Salads
Provided you dress them just before you eat them and steer clear of delicate ingredients, salads make delicious picnic dishes. I love this tasty roast butternut squash and feta salad which is great vegetarian salad. This courgette and lemon pasta is absolutely delicious eaten cold and transports really well. Rice salads will survive any journey. I'm a big fan of this healthy rice and tuna salad which my kids enjoy as well.
7) Banana Cookies & Fruit
Banana and oat cookies and healthy flapjacks are good for you, packed with energy and great for using up brown bananas. I love taking them on picnics as they don't crumble on the way or get too squashed in little hands. Grapes are always travel well on a picnic, as does a nice cold melon which you can cut into wedges when you're ready.
8) Pan Bagnat
A pan bagnat - a hollowed out loaf filled with delicious layers of ingredients - is lovely thing to do for a picnic. It also has the benefit of being very robust and portable as well as a real novelty. Fill with healthy ingredients your family love. Here's a recipe for a turkey pan bagnat to inspire you.
9) Homemade Scones
I love homemade fruit scones on a picnic to give an afternoon tea kind of feel. They make a good sweet treat which are less crumbly than cakes and can usually withstand the heat. Blackberry scones and oaty apple scones, which you bring to the picnic whole and then cut into wedges, are my favourite.
10) Savoury Muffins
Savoury muffins, such as these courgette and cheese muffins, are brilliant for mini picnics with kids. They are more robust than sandwiches and also a great way to smuggle vegetables if you have fussy eaters. These cheese and sundried tomato muffins are also very tasty.
This post is in association with the Organic No Junk campaign which aims to help families to reclaim healthy eating by pledging their commitment to No Junk and to say ‘yes’ to healthy, natural and simple food for the family. You can get involved to by signing the pledge, checking out their healthy recipe ideas and cooking with your kids.
