Rosemary Conley Online

Picnics are great fun for all the family, but if you aren’t careful, tucking into a traditional summer outdoor feast can add up to a whopping 4,000 calories or more! It’s enough to give you indigestion.
But it doesn’t have to be like that. Whether your picnic is basic on the beach or posh in the park, there are plenty of alternatives to high-fat, high-calorie traditional fare.
As with every other kind of meal, forward planning is a good idea. Think about the kind of food that suits you and your family. When you’ve had picnics before, which food has been eaten and which has been thrown away or hard to repack? Has an opened pack of salad dips leaked over everything in the cool box? And think about where you’ll be having your picnic and how far you have to carry it. Perhaps, most importantly, WHO has to carry it?

Here are just a few ideas to get you started for your perfect family friendly, low-fat picnic. And remember, the picnic is a meal replacement, not an extra meal on top of your other 3!

Pick some dippers – carrot batons, asparagus tips, baby sweetcorn, cherry tomatoes and celery sticks are all fun finger foods. Pack a low-calorie dip in a lidded pot and you’ve got the perfect starter for 10! Salads are a great idea, depending on where you’re having your picnic. Make sure that any pre-packed side salads are low fat and come in pots with lids.

• Pack some energy – choose low-Gi wholemeal bread, rolls, pitta or tortilla wraps and make up some super sarnies from our list (see below). Wraps for small fingers can be made and stored in the flexible lolly moulds available from our online shop – no leaking filling, no mess and they can be eaten straight from the “mould”. Perfect for kids, as the top can be put back on in between trips to the swings!
• Don’t forget the fruit! With so many summer fruits available, it’s easy to create a colourful fresh fruit salad. Slice the fruit into nibble-sized pieces and, if using apples or bananas, add a dash of lemon or orange juice to the cut fruit to stop it discolouring. Pack in a sealable bowl and remember to bring some plastic forks to spear the fruit with.
• Pack some protein – picnics don’t need to be all about sausage rolls and pork pies. It’s just as easy to eat finger foods that aren’t wrapped in pastry or fried. Southern fried chicken nuggets, for example, can have more than 400 calories per 150g. Cooked chicken breast can be sliced into thick “fingers’ for easy eating and has less than half the calories. Did you know 6 standard cocktail sausages have around 250 calories? Anyone can eat 6 – they’re so small! Instead, cook 2 low-fat sausages and slice into 6 pieces and you will have saved more than 150 calories. Take a little bowl of tomato ketchup for dipping and the kids (and adults) will tuck into them without noticing the difference. Or, if you have time, make filo pastry sausage rolls (see our recipe database – snacks). Hard-boiled eggs are a favourite with children and adults alike and don’t have to be coated in sausage and breadcrumbs and then deep-fried. Quarter each egg and lightly dust the yoke side with paprika, black pepper or a salad herb and spice shaker.
• Like your crisps? They are traditional at a picnic, but they don’t have to be high fat or expensive. A typical bag of “hand-cooked” crisps or chips can set you back almost 700 calories. OK, so it’s meant for sharing, but how many will you eat yourself? Half the 150g bag maybe? And what about the leftovers? Who eats them? A family pack of 6 bags is kinder on your diet, as you’ll open only 1 or 2 bags at a time and the rest can be safely taken home for another day. Choose low-fat crisps or pretzels and, if you do eat a whole bag yourself, it will only be about 100 calories. Making your own crisps is a really healthy alternative – try the baked vegetable crisps in the snacks section of our recipe database.
• A bit of running about afterwards will help use up those extra calories!

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