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Kids are not as fussy about what they eat when they are running around playing.
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Kids love food on the run
Carmel Thomason6/ 8/2008
WE'VE all seen idealised pictures of the perfect picnic. You know the ones - a sunny, cloudless sky under which couples have set up the works, tablecloth, champagne flutes and shiny cutlery.
It all looks fabulous, but seems just a little bit too much hassle, especially if you've got kids.
Thankfully, creating a healthy family picnic doesn't have to be so much effort.
Where children are concerned, often the less formal you can make it the better. Running around in the fresh air is all part of the enjoyment of a picnic.
And, as mum and nutritionist, Dr Carrie Ruxton has found to her advantage, this can be a great opportunity to introduce new healthy foods without any fuss. "Picnics are a great opportunity to sneak in some new foods, particularly fruits and veg, which mums often say that children don't eat enough of," she says.
"Amazed"
"You'll be amazed what new things they'll try on a picnic. If you stuck something new on a plate at the table they'll be thinking, `I don't like that', whereas when they're outside playing and you give them something to hold in their hand they're probably not going to pay too much attention."
Keeping it simple but healthy, Carrie steers her picnics away from foods that need peeling or knives and forks to eat, instead focusing on finger foods with a variety of tastes and textures.
"I like to have a selection of little foods because they are very easy for children to pick up and eat," she explains. Old favourites like carrot sticks go down well with dips like hummous, yoghurt and cucumber.
"Peas in the pod are in season at the moment and children love popping them and crunching them in their mouth - it's something fun to do. Little baby radishes cut into quarters are also lovely and crunchy to pick up and chew on."
Sandwiches are a staple of all picnics.
High-fibre
Using high-fibre wholemeal or wholegrain bread is the ideal, but if your child will only eat white bread use the picnic as an opportunity to try introducing one of the new half-and-half varieties.
"If you use bread that's high-fibre white or half-and-half they probably won't notice because they'll be more interested in playing," Carrie advises.
"For the filling, try a lean meat - turkey is absolutely fantastic because it's just a little bit different from chicken and is a great low-fat sandwich filling."
Don't worry if by this point you're thinking it all sounds a little bit worthy because Carrie has some tips to make sure that your kids still feel like they are getting some of their favourite snacks as well.
"We don't have to steer clear of crisps any more - now there are some really interesting healthier options, like baked low-salt; salt and shake, where you can control how much salt you put on the crisps, and Walkers SunBites, made with the oil that's low in saturated fat."
Sweets
Instead of traditional sugar-loaded sweets, Carrie suggests taking dried fruits such as apricots or banana pieces to chew on.
Berries such as strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries are another ideal sweet option because, not only are they in season in the UK at the moment, cutting down on food miles, but if you go to a pick your own place you can make it part of the day.
If you get the children involved by picking their own berries, they'll feel really proud of their contribution to the picnic and want to eat them much more than if they've just seen them come out of a packet.
Finally you'll need something to drink and there is now plenty of choice in the soft drinks market. Belvoir Farm produce organic cordials in a wide range of fruit flavours which can be diluted before you go.
"You can also try mixing fruit juice with lemonade or soda water," Carrie suggests.
"It dilutes the fruit juice down a little bit so you're not having as much of the sugar in the fruit juice but you're still getting a really healthy drink and it's a lot cheaper than buying ready-made sodas."
For more healthy ways with seasonal local fruit and vegetables visit
www.iminseason.com
. And for some more healthy picnic ideas, including some simple recipes, click
here
.
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