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Picnics and Pack Ups

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Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed May 25, 2022 3:20 pm

We had a previous thread on picnics viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5063&hilit=Portable+Picnics

But I was thinking in a slightly different direction, as I want to take a sandwich or another simple packed lunch on a walk tomorrow, and others through the summer, and I'm almost bereft of ideas for things that will stand a morning in a warm back pack and still be nice to eat by the time I get to the lunch stop

So many things will either not survive, or aren't worth making for one or two portions, which is why I keep coming back to sandwiches though they aren't usually my lunch of choice. Pasta salad is I suppose a fairly obvious alternative, if I put the right things in it.

What sort of thing do you take on hikes, excursions, and for that matter trains?

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Lusciouslush » Wed May 25, 2022 3:38 pm

What about the small cooler bags you can buy specifically for lunches?
Small enough to get in a backpack & depending on reliable brand will stay cool for a good few hours.

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed May 25, 2022 3:57 pm

It's not equipment that's the problem, it's actually thinking of food to put in it.

I've looked at a list of 40 best sandwiches - most of them were either toasted or involved a hot filling such as meatballs and sauce, not helpful!

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby ZeroCook » Wed May 25, 2022 4:19 pm

Small cooler bags are definitely a good idea - the square boxy ones that zip.

So many take out food places we almost never bother taking anything unless driving somewhere and planning not to stop off to pick something up.

Nutrition and non messiness are the main considerations then. We also always take nuts and/or nuts and raisins/dried fruit - varying combos. Dried apricots are good.

We sometimes take sandwiches - usually something like fried egg sandwiches straight on best sliced wholegrain bread - no mayo or raw veg which go off fast. Hard boiled eggs are always good. Easy to eat fresh fruit, too. If you have Mediterranean/Middle Eastern shops nearby, cheese pastries travel well, as do mini pork pies and sausage rolls, non-mayo pasta salads or a portion of cold pasta or pizza. Small tub of hummus or similar with pita in pieces, good too on the hoof. Small containers of anything, homemade or bought at a fave salad or deli counter.

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Suelle » Wed May 25, 2022 4:53 pm

I'm usually equipped with a cereal bar and a bottle of water. If I really expect to have to make a meal out of it, rather than carrying it 'just in case', then I'll add a banana too.

I very rarely do anything that means I wouldn't be within reach of some source of food, but sometimes plans change on the hoof, and I end up not eating as expected. I think the last time was when the queue for the restaurant at the Cambridge Botanical Gardens was too long, so the cereal bar kept me going until I got back to the station.

Cereal bars vary a lot - I like to buy the heavier 45g ones, such as Eat Natural, which provide about 200 calories.
Traditional home baking, and more:
http://mainlybaking.blogspot.co.uk/

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed May 25, 2022 4:56 pm

I am thinking of things to take in a back pack specifically to places where there won't be takeaways or cafés, or certainly not ones I want to use, mainly when walking, I don't drive

So I'm really wondering what people would take when fell walking or hiking off road - :wave: Seatallen?

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Pepper Pig » Wed May 25, 2022 5:09 pm

Kendall Mint Cake?

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby ZeroCook » Wed May 25, 2022 5:20 pm

You may be overthinking, Stokey.

Perhaps the thread title would have better been Backpacking or similar, rather than picnics, which imply very different sets of purpose and logistics.

Backpacking food e.g:
Cereal/ptotein bars
Nuts
Dried fruit
Sandwiches
Soup

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Lusciouslush » Wed May 25, 2022 5:27 pm

Pitta stuffed with filling of choice - mine would be dry meatballs or spring rolls tightly wrapped - anything that wasn't messy or smelled strongly - ugh - that would remind me of school trips when I was a very young Lush.... :(

When we climbed & fell walked around The Lakes/Scotland/Wales we just took simple snacks as has been mentioned - no time to linger much before the dreaded fog engulfed - that was end of play unless two thirds of the way up Helvellyn. Again, I was a much younger Lush......... ;)

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Kacey » Wed May 25, 2022 5:39 pm

Speaking as a girl who loves her cheese, I bought some 'giraffe rolls' from Sainsbury's last week and made cheese and onion rolls to take with us on the plane. I made up all 8 rolls and we ate the last 4 the next day and they were still pretty damn good. They had been in thr fridge overnight I hasten to add.

As a rule I'd avoid wraps and pitta bread, they always go soggy. But a good sturdy roll will be fine. I've just discovered how nice Quorn Southern Bites are as a sandwich filling, just take mayo and lettuce separate. Iceberg lettuce washed and left wet will tie up in a plastic bag a survive a long walk quite well. Think about veggie fritter type fillings too. They can be robust enough to survive a good walk between a good roll or a doorstep of crusty bread and with the addition of a good condiment, can definitely rise to the occasion.

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Busybee » Wed May 25, 2022 5:42 pm

Tupperware full of carrot sticks, cucumber sticks and cherry toms. Smaller one with some hummus plus some sliced pita bread. Banana and something sweet for an energy boost.

Thermos of soup, wide food thermos with any kind of stew/casserole. Both ideal for walking in colder weather.

Cheese and egg and combinations make good sandwiches fillings. I always put them in a carrier bag with an ice pack, keeps them cool until lunchtime ditto with the hummus.

A good scotch egg or sausage roll can be a thing of beauty on a long walk.

I also always carry dog treats for any beautiful hounds I may come across.

I don’t tend to use a cool bag, just a plastic carrier with ice pack tightly wrapped in the base of my rucksack. And rule number one, use each and every toilet you come across even if you think you don’t want to go!

Happy hiking.

BB

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed May 25, 2022 5:46 pm

Thanks, that's more the sort of thing I had in mind

This is group walking, and the lunch stop is part of the day's schedule so as I said I'm looking for suggestions for a sandwich or other simple thing that will still resemble a picnic or packed lunch when I unpack it - I really don't see a picnic as necessarily distinct from any meal eaten al fresco

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby WWordsworth » Wed May 25, 2022 6:11 pm

How about tabbouleh?
Or couscous with chopped salad veg and a few shavings of parmesan?

Both can be eaten with a spoon which is often easier when not seated at a table.

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby scullion » Wed May 25, 2022 7:00 pm

well, a pasty of course! - or it's lesser cousins, a clanger, a calzone or cudduruni.

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Earthmaiden » Wed May 25, 2022 8:18 pm

I know this is probably what you're trying to escape from but I always think that because I'm going to be hungry and glad of whatever I've got it's not the time to be too fancy. Things that will go in a plastic bag rather than a box. IMO, rolls are more robust than sandwiches or pastry goods which might go soggy or get squashed. I go for plain cheese of the cheddar type as I don't think it needs an ice pack though you can get teeny ones - if you want something moist, cucumber better than tomato for robustness. An oat bar and an apple. Little things in pots are great but you're stuck with the pots all day, I'd rather save the space for water. There's always so much to carry anyway and I really, really hate carrying stuff!

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed May 25, 2022 8:51 pm

For tomorrow I have mad a small pot of savoury cheese filling, which will go into either rolls or some bread, I have a good sandwich case like this
Image

It seems it's not just me then, I can never think of anything, the last person whose lunch I snooped at had jam sandwiches because they survive hot weather, but that doesn't really feel like the sort of thing I want

This is going to be a recurrent issue this summer, couscous or bulghar salad is an idea, and as I seldom make pastry for myself, I might pick up a couple of things from bake sales and freeze for instant packed lunches, the things from the Turkish shops tend to be a bit fragile

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby miss mouse » Wed May 25, 2022 10:47 pm

Pepper Pig wrote:Kendall Mint Cake?



Ooof, my idea of gastronomic hell.

edit to correct spelling.
Last edited by miss mouse on Wed May 25, 2022 11:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby WWordsworth » Wed May 25, 2022 10:48 pm

I agree with transporting the bread and the filling separately.
Can't bear wet bread.

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Amber » Thu May 26, 2022 12:07 am

We prefer to keep going (with possibly a small snack on the hoof) then eat and relax afterwards. We find it’s hard to get going again once you stop. Or is that just us :shock: :oops: :) ? BTW, have you tried KIND bars? I love them.

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Re: Picnics and Pack Ups

Postby Badger's Mate » Thu May 26, 2022 9:20 am

Sandwiches - often cheese based, so the leftovers can be toasted upon our return. Any pies that are designed to be eaten cold. Tortilla in tortilla - a rustic omelette/frittata cut into wedges and wrapped in a flatbread folded like a filter paper (not fluted!!) Scotch eggs. Fruit bread/buns, fruit, maybe a banana.

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