Food "on the go" (outside/picnics, etc)

[klpmommy]

I need ideas. I hope to spend a lot of time outside while the weather is nice and I need ideas of what to feed my kids that is easy and doesn't have to be warm....although cold is probably fine since I can take an ice chest.

[mellifera]

:popcorn I'm wondering this too, since I'd like to at least pretend that we're no so "indoorsy" this summer. Sandwiches every day sounds kind of boring. :think I'm thinking about getting bento style lunchboxes for different kinds of finger foods.

[TuneMyHeart]

my kids won't even eat sandwiches and we have to take all our food if we leave the house. I would love some new ideas, but so far this is pretty much what we eat:

fruit
cheese
lunchmeat
cold pasta
crackers/chips
dips
cookies

eta - cold pizza! we eat this all the time

[AmyDoll]

veggies & dips
cucumber salad (cukes, onions, tomatos)
crackers and cheese
hard boiled eggs
different lunch salads - chicken, tuna, egg (we like them on romain lettuce leaves or crackers)
fruits - pears, oranges, stone fruits, cut up melons
Apples & PB
I pretty much keep PB & rice cakes in my car

[backtobasicsmum]

Any kind of fruit, cut up or not. Same with veggies....sliced up. Dip or not, depending on your kids. Tortilla, lunchmeat, cheese roll ups. Or just lunch meat and cheese slices, crackers. Drinks. Trail mix (pretzels, raisins, peanuts)

[Cat]

subbing

[teamommy]

:popcorn

Hey, how about popcorn? :giggle Maybe I could put some in a big ziploc for snacks.
Otherwise subbing...

[The Tickle Momster]

:cup

[tinybutterfly]

I have always been big on peanut butter and honey on whole wheat bread and fruit. :heart

Cheese, crackers, fruit, lunchmeats ( rolled up with cream cheese to make pinwheels is fun) or lunchmeats on sandwiches or in those flatbreads rolled up with lettuce, tomato, cheese, etc.

Salads.

Pasta salads ( full of veggies)

Bread, cheese and fruit.

Leftover cold meats, hardboiled eggs, tuna salad, egg salad, chicken salad ( I know some of these have been mentioned)

Pita pockets with hummus.

Yogurt

Apples and peanut butter.

Fritatta ( I have never made one of these, but read that it is good served warm or cold.)

Have fun!

[Psyche]

Subbing.

I'm beyond sick of eating fast food and am also beyond sick of sandwiches.

[klpmommy]

Subbing.

I'm beyond sick of eating fast food and am also beyond sick of sandwiches.

that about sums it up for me, too.

[Waterlogged]

:popcorn

[chasingbutterflies]

Subbing too. I am hoping to spend a lot of time outside this spring - which will equal a lot of packed meals.

[Castle On A Cloud]

:popcorn

[Aerynne]

Cheese and crackers (or lunchmeat and crackers)

Breadsticks or foccaccia with marinara for dipping

Does a wrap count as a sandwich? I spread stuff on a tortilla (pbj, pbh, cream cheese and jelly, hummus) and cut it into little sandwich rolls.

Ever make pizza rolls? Picture making cinnamon rolls but with pizza dough, sauce, cheese, and toppings- roll and cut with floss and then bake (I like to put a little more cheese on top before baking). You can then take them with you. They're good cold, too.

Pretzels with lunchmeat wrapped around them

Don't underestimate the ability of a different kind of bread to change a sandwich- pitas or croissants, for example, make it a different experience.

Have you looked at the Vegan Lunchbox (I know you didn't mention being vegan, but regardless of that, there are still some great ideas in there for portable foods)

[The Tickle Momster]

Me too. And, I prefer something like someone posted pizza rolls. They are easy to get into the lunch box. I have mostly made it ahead. Serves cold and I just have to add fruit or veggie.

I love the idea of bento boxes, but packing 4 for the kids & something for me leaves me :crazy Not to mention, the boxes we have are too small for my older 2. They frequently need more to eat than the little Lock & Lock box packs.

[Blue-EyedLady]

I think a fun picnic meal for the kids would be crackers or chips with assorted dips and salads: guacamole (or straight up avocado), Hummus, chicken salad, tuna salad, etc.

[Lady Grey]

My kids love love love trail mix that I throw together - an assortment of nuts, seeds, raisins, granola, goldfish etc... basically whatever I have around. It's not a meal by itself but it adds bulk/protein to whatever else we are having. It is also a great way to clear out almost empty snacks from the pantry. It is great to serve outside because of crumbs.

I have very selective eaters so my ideas are limited.

[The Tickle Momster]

My kids love love love trail mix that I throw together - an assortment of nuts, seeds, raisins, granola, goldfish etc... basically whatever I have around. It's not a meal by itself but it adds bulk/protein to whatever else we are having. It is also a great way to clear out almost empty snacks from the pantry. It is great to serve outside because of crumbs.

I have very selective eaters so my ideas are limited.
:yes to the selective eater thing. I can't keep up with which of my kids likes which lunch meat/nut butter/jam, etc. The older 3 actually make their own lunches when I have my act together enough to have the 4 food groups represented so they can pick & choose.

[klpmommy]

picky eaters here, too.

But I'm getting good ideas for me if they are going to continue with their picky ways. ;) *I* get bored with sandwiches, cheese & crackers, etc.

[ncsweetpea]

We have done yogurt parfaits, cold grilled chicken strips, boiled eggs, string cheese, the big olives, pickles, cottage cheese, and peanut butter honey balls.

[BriansLovie]

:popcorn

[Marzipan]

We have done yogurt parfaits, cold grilled chicken strips, boiled eggs, string cheese, the big olives, pickles, cottage cheese, and peanut butter honey balls.

:bumping in case anyone else has anything to add

Also, what is a peanut butter honey ball?

[WingsOfTheMorning]

Fresh spring rolls like these (http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/vietnamese-fresh-spring-rolls/Detail.aspx)are really portable, but not super fast to make. I like to take them for a change sometimes though.

[ChristmasGirl]

:subbing

[charla]

:popcorn

ETA: My kids love anything on a stick so I've done meat chunks and cheese chunks on a stick, you can do salad on a stick (wedge of lettuce, cherry tomato, cucumber slice and pack dressing on the side), fruit kebabs, veggie kebabs with or without dip. One thing that was really good on a stick is steak cubes, grilled peppers and onions, toasted bread cubes dipped in cheese sauce, kinda like a deconstructed philly cheesesteak. Not sure how good that would be on the go though. :think

[wisdomjourney]

:popcorn

ETA: My kids love anything on a stick :think

maybe it's too late for me to be up, but I am cracking up about this one. Somehow it seems to sum up all manner of absurdities and silliness that comes with children. :giggle

I am loving this thread! I usually take nuts--pistachios, almonds, etc, and I keep dried apples (I dry them in the fall when they are abundant) sprinkled with a little cinnamon.

Lots of great ideas here!

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

Ever make pizza rolls? Picture making cinnamon rolls but with pizza dough, sauce, cheese, and toppings- roll and cut with floss and then bake (I like to put a little more cheese on top before baking). You can then take them with you. They're good cold, too.



Holy cow that sounds awesome and my daugther would LOVE that!! :rockon

---------- Post added at 05:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:16 PM ----------

Ok I haven't read everything so I apologize if I am repeating...

I have 2 laptop lunch boxes (http://www.theultimategreenstore.com/m-29-obentec-laptop-lunches.aspx) which are great because I can put a different food in each compartment and Pink LOVES it!

So I often do stuff like:

Celery & dip (she loves bleu cheese)
Cubed cheese
Crackers
Some sort of sandwich/wrap (right now she's obsessed with a curry chicken salad wrap I do... let me know if you want the recipe)
Turkey Pepperoni
Avocado cubes
Raisins
Slices of Apple
Yogurt (the little containers have lids)
Kale "chips" (baked kale that she thinks are actually potato chips :giggle)

She loves little mini snack lunches like that. When we do outings (to the zoo or the childrens museum or the park) I find it easier to just bring ltos of smaller snacking items as opposed to trying to make this huge meal. It's usually a big hit :rockon

[shaslove]

Do you have a recipie for kale chips Candice?

We like to do cold chicken legs or lots of little things like Candice suggested.

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

Do you have a recipie for kale chips Candice?

We like to do cold chicken legs or lots of little things like Candice suggested.

Here is the recipe I use:

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 -2 teaspoon salt (this makes them pretty salty- you may want to reduce the amount, then sprinkle the chips with salt a)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 bunches kale, rinsed with stems removed

1 Cut kale into 2 to 3 inch pieces.
2 Mix vinegar, oil, and salt in a large bowl then add kale and mix by hand.
3 Try to get all the leaves covered.
4 Place on baking sheets (I like to use parchment paper for easy clean up) and bake at 350 F until they are crispy.
5 After about 20 minutes, if it looks like they are not sizzling a bit or getting a little crispy, turn up the heat to 400°F.
6 Time for baking varies depending on the size of your chips and desired crispness.
7 The outer edges cook quicker than the pieces from near the stem.

[filmgirl2911]

:cup

wow! what a lot of great ideas! I am going to come back to this thread and copy a bunch of these down :yes

thanks for sharing

[Niphredil]

Loving all the ideas... I think every one has already covered my go-tos.

We are lots of little things people too... Last time we went to the zoo we stopped for snacks three times. :lol But it breaks it up nicely when you have littles. :yes

[Close2MyHeart]

Have you ever seen these (http://www.amazon.com/GoGo-appleapple-Applesauce-3-2-Ounce-Pouches/dp/B002E0S4UW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302470981&sr=8-1) I find them in our local grocery store and they come in a variety of flavors. 100% apple (or fruit sauce) no sugar additives, etc. They are good and because they have the screw on lid if they don't finish them you can save them for later. :tu

Lots of good ideas on this thread. :tu Thanks for starting it. It's picnic/out of the house a lot weather for us pretty soon too. :rockon

[mamahammer]

:popcorn

[Heather Micaela]

subbing

[BearyBlessed]

Have you ever seen these (http://www.amazon.com/GoGo-appleapple-Applesauce-3-2-Ounce-Pouches/dp/B002E0S4UW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302470981&sr=8-1) I find them in our local grocery store and they come in a variety of flavors. 100% apple (or fruit sauce) no sugar additives, etc. They are good and because they have the screw on lid if they don't finish them you can save them for later. :tu

Lots of good ideas on this thread. :tu Thanks for starting it. It's picnic/out of the house a lot weather for us pretty soon too. :rockon

I love those! And so do the boys. :yes I need to order from Amazon, though. The are cheaper than at our HFS.

[shaslove]

Have you ever seen these (http://www.amazon.com/GoGo-appleapple-Applesauce-3-2-Ounce-Pouches/dp/B002E0S4UW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302470981&sr=8-1) I find them in our local grocery store and they come in a variety of flavors. 100% apple (or fruit sauce) no sugar additives, etc. They are good and because they have the screw on lid if they don't finish them you can save them for later. :tu

Lots of good ideas on this thread. :tu Thanks for starting it. It's picnic/out of the house a lot weather for us pretty soon too. :rockon

oh, I get those from Starbucks all the time for Lina! Love them!

[ncsweetpea]

Where do you find those rice papers to make the spring rolls? I have been craving those since trying them at Pei Wei!

[TuneMyHeart]

there are some really cute food on the go ideas in the latest family fun mag if you get it. nothing my kids would eat though. :doh

[ThreeKids]

Whole Almonds, unsalted

Very durable (don't crumble like crackers) for keeping in the vehicle long-term.

Keep drinks in the vehicle if you must have salted.

[kwisie]

:popcorn

[WingsOfTheMorning]

Where do you find those rice papers to make the spring rolls? I have been craving those since trying them at Pei Wei!

I get them at the Asian grocery store.