Reclaiming The Lost Art Of A Wonderful Summer’s Picnic

It’s very easy to see a picnic as a quaint activity, but it can be one of the most wonderful experiences you have. A picnic works for both romantic or platonic affairs. It gives you the chance to truly enjoy and indulge in the summer weather. 

Picnics are worth enjoying and reinvigorating because they’re an innocent, non-cynical, enjoyable time. You don’t need to spend a great deal of money to enjoy one, you don’t need an utterly fancy seating area, and you don’t need to ask permission, dress well, or book a table to enjoy it.

You just need free space in a park or a garden, and relatively warm weather. With a nice basket to carry your ingredients and pre-prepared meals, a small rug to place on the grass so you can sit more comfortably, and perhaps other accessories like sunglasses or a few plastic cups, you have everything you need.

But what food and drink should you bring with you here? Let’s consider that, below:

Light Foods & Dips

It’s nice to have foods that are easily portable, easy to present from one person to another, and cause little mess. This is why sandwiches, baguettes and wraps are very popular foods for picnics, as they can be easily held and the crumbs can be cleared up or simply left in the grass for the birds to eat. 

You may also learn how to make Hawaiian macaroni salad and place this within Tupperware containers to preserve their condition. These can provide something a little more exciting than the other options here, giving you a filling but not overly bloating healthy lunchtime food. With a few dips on top of this like hummus, tzatziki, or chili dips depending on the kind of food you eat, there’s no reason why picnic foods have to be tiresome, boring, or purchased in a package.

Sweet Teas & Juices

Of course, if you’re eating out in the sun, it’s important to remain as hydrated as possible. But you don’t have to solely drink bottled water if you’d like something a little more engaging. This is why creating a nice flask of sweet tea or preparing juice drinks ahead of time can be so worthwhile, as they can also be created by your own hand without all of the overwhelmingly overburdened added sugar content of drinks you can by from the supermarket shelf.

A nice peach tea can be a great place to start for instance, or pre-preparing matcha for something warm should the weather drop a little and you wish to relax. Sweet teas and juices can also clean your palate more easily; allowing you to avoid going from place to place after eating with picnic-food breath. 

Holdable Foods

If you’re looking for something easy, trying holdable foods that work well for picnics can be incredibly useful. What does this mean? Well, preparing pizza slices in a container, or opting for a pasty such as the Cornish variety can help you enjoy portable foods that provide great nutrition outside of lunchtime snacks.

Holdable foods can also involve light snacks such as fruits you can easily access with just your hands or a small paring knife (make sure the blade is properly protected within a sheathe if carrying this in your picnic box), can work wonders. This will help you avoid having to bring along plenty of paper plates or more robust cutlery when eating in the park or garden space.

Hygienic Tools

Eating with your hands and licking your fingers thanks to how tasty the food was is pretty natural, but it’s worth being as hygienic as possible. This is why bringing along some wet wipes that you can use to freshen yourself up and clean your hands before and after eating is so important.

This can also help you avoid getting the residue of sun cream on your foods before you eat it. In some cases, you may wish to bring along some plastic knives and forks, or more biodegradable disposable wooden options. Just be sure these are recycled or disposed of carefully.

No Phones!

A picnic is meant to be enjoyed with light conversation and relaxation. Of course, keeping your phone to hand is necessary in case you need to talk to someone quickly or someone needs to reach you, but it’s best to keep this in your bag, protected, with the alert sounds on rather than having that by your side. Otherwise, it’s easy to continue looking at the screen, or you may feel like taking pictures every second. A picnic is better when you can focus on it.

With this advice, you’re certain to reclaim the lost art of a wonderful summer’s picnic. If you choose to enjoy one this year, let us know how it went!