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How to Take a Salad for a Family Picnic

July 19, 2023 by Laura 9 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Who takes a salad for a family picnic?! We do. When you go out for as many picnics as we do, you start to get creative. :)

Now that we are living in Lincoln, we’ve been taking our seven little kids out for almost daily “adventures.” The weather has been beautiful and the outings are sooooo good for our kids’ mental health (and for mine, actually). Plus this has been a good way to help us all become familiar with our new surroundings.

So many family picnics

I’m telling you, we pack food a lot for our crew to eat while we’re out. They love it, it’s not hard to do, and the best part: THERE ARE NO DISHES TO WASH AFTERWARD.

We live a few blocks from the zoo, so we bought a membership and go there for an hour or two whenever we can. Here’s our picnic last week: meat, cheese, applesauce, carrots, crackers, and juice. We had lunch with the giraffes.

Another day Eva, Kelsey, and I took the kids to a splash park and enjoyed sandwiches, chips (wow, what an actual normal picnic), mandarin oranges, and juice.

One Saturday we took the kids to “Discovery Day” at a UNL campus where they featured all kinds of science-based, hands-on learning booths for the kids. We enjoyed doing experiments at many booths before sitting down under a tree to eat nuts, cheese sticks, and fruit.

A couple weeks ago Eva and I took the kids to play at a huge park all morning, then ate hotdogs that I’d heated and “bunned” ahead of time for us to eat at lunchtime.

And yes, we also enjoy a lot of picnics in our backyard. This one was pizza and fruit. But it all tastes better outside. :)

Other picnic ideas we’ve enjoyed:

  • Quesadillas
  • Hamburgers
  • Chicken Sandwiches
  • Burritos
  • Summer Sausage
  • Tortilla Roll-Ups

How to Take a Salad for a Family Picnic

So now let’s talk about salad.

This idea came to me as I was quickly searching my refrigerators to see what I could throw together for my kids to eat at the zoo this week. I had already grabbed some sliced meat and cheese, but we needed a veggie that could easily be transported and eaten at a picnic table. I was out of carrots, but aha! There was a Salad Kit I’d bought for Elias sitting in my veggie drawer. We could make that work at the zoo!

(This is the photo I sent Elias from Aldi asking if he wanted me to get it for him. And then I bought it for him. And then we ate it without him. Sorry Elias. I’ll get you a new one.)

I threw the kit into a gallon-sized ziploc bag along with avocado cups for our toddlers, applesauce cups and muffins for everyone, and juice boxes. We got to the zoo just in time to sit down for a Baby Cheetah “show.” We settled everyone in with an applesauce cup and spoon, then I dumped the salad kit into my ziploc bag.

I added all the extras included in the kit, closed up the ziploc, and shook it up. This took 5 minutes and it was brilliant! (I did wish I had scissors. That would have made the process only take only 4 minutes.)

I then dumped salad out for Brayden, Keith, Kiya, Matt, and me, handed out forks, and we learned about baby cheetahs while we chomped on salad. Truly, this idea is genius.

These kits are around $3 at Aldi, which is a GREAT PRICE for a lunch on the go. Plus they have several varieties to choose from. I will definitely be grabbing more next time I’m shopping so that I’ll have these on hand for outings as needed!

Meanwhile, Acacia ate her avocado cup with a spoon. She loves those!

Want to make your own salad to take along on a picnic? Here are some great recipes:

  • Bacon, Egg, and Avocado Salad
  • Black Bean Taco Salad
  • BLT Chopped Salad
  • Easy Taco Salad
  • Chicken Chef Salad
  • Tuna Salad
  • Perfect Pasta Salad
  • Simple Bacon Broccoli Salad
  • Strawberry Spinach Salad with Vinaigrette
  • Easy Salsa Chicken Salad

How about fruit salad?

  • Strawberry Christmas Salad
  • Easy Blue Raspberry Salad
  • Pineapple Fluff Salad
  • Hawaiian Fruit Salad
  • Simple Strawberry Fluff Salad

Ever tried taking salad for a family picnic?

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12+ Ways to Use a Rotisserie Chicken as Fast Food

May 3, 2023 by Laura 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Use a Rotisserie Chicken as fast food? Oh yes! Here are 12 full meal ideas to work with as you get your creative meal idea juices flowing…

Seeing as Costco and Sam’s offer their delicious Rotisserie Chicken for just $4.98 every single day – we should keep this in mind as a Fast Food option as a way that saves money and provides a healthy meal! Here are some tasty ideas to create a meal with a Rotisserie Chicken:

Ways to Use a Rotisserie Chicken as Fast Food

There are so many different food combinations we can put together to enjoy a rotisserie chicken as a meal! Anything you choose will offer a fast food meal at a fraction of the price compared to ordering take-out at a restaurant. And you can put together some very healthy meal options too!

Look through all the different Rotisserie Chicken meal combinations below. Put these items into your cart, take them home, and put them on your table. Or, how about taking any of these to the park for a simple picnic?? So delicious and fun!

Rotisserie Chicken Meal Ideas:

  1. Rotisserie Chicken, Caesar Salad Mix, Fresh Strawberries
  2. Rotisserie Chicken, Croissants, Romaine Lettuce, Grapes (at home, grab out mayo, mustard, and ranch to complete your sandwiches)
  3. Rotisserie Chicken, Potato Salad, Pickles, Blackberries
  4. Rotisserie Chicken, Mixed Greens, Sliced Cheese, Crackers, Watermelon (enjoy salad dressing that you already have in your fridge with your mixed greens)
  5. Rotisserie Chicken, Hawaiian Rolls with butter, Coleslaw, Grapes
  6. Rotisserie Chicken, Baby Carrots with Hummus, Veggie Straws, Cherries
  7. Rotisserie Chicken, Tortilla Chips with Guacamole, Grape Tomatoes, Sliced Melon
  8. Rotisserie Chicken, Baked Beans, Fruit and Veggie Tray
  9. Rotisserie Chicken, Pasta Salad, Cherry Tomatoes, Fruit Cups
  10. Rotisserie Chicken, Tortilla Chips with Salsa, Olives, Pickles, Peaches
  11. Rotisserie Chicken, Tomato Soup, Cheese and Crackers, Pears
  12. Rotisserie Chicken, Steamed Veggies, Rolls with Butter, Cuties

Mix and Match any combination of these, or add anything else you find that looks good! Simply grab a Rotisserie Chicken (or two if you have a large family, pick up some simple sides, and you have a quick, easy, and healthy meal!

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Great Picnic Food Ideas

June 22, 2022 by Laura 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

My kids are constantly asking, “Can we eat outside today?” Turns out, a picnic can be made from just about anything. Here are some great picnic food ideas!

If we’re packing a picnic to take to a park, we tend to think about sandwiches and chips. But what if anything and everything can turn into “eat it outside” food? Especially when you just head outside to your own yard with your plate.

Two things about our life right now:

  1. With so many littles, our days can be lonnnnnnng. It can be tough to keep so many small people safe and occupied for so many hours. Yes, I am enjoying them. Meanwhile, our days with the kids start around 6:30am and are very intense until 8:00pm with our littles being 1, 1, 2, 3, 6, 8 – each with some level of special need or trauma. I have to be very intentional about staying on top of keeping our kids busy and occupied, otherwise the meltdowns and behaviors are pretty tough.
  2. So I tend to try to make something fun out of nothing and everything, just to make our days a little bit more enjoyable.

Like eating.

Sometimes food just needs to serve a purpose: to fill our bellies. But if there’s any way I can easily make food fun, the kids love it. Eating a “picnic” outside in our yard always makes them so excited!

Matt was out of town one weekend so the kids and I blew up our tiny baby pool and all seven babes had fun splashing around. (We had seven littles that weekend instead of our normal six because a half-brother/former foster son was visiting us!)

As we toweled off, I had our 6 and 8-year-olds drag our little picnic tables around so we could eat outside after playing. They loved the idea the same as if I’d offered to take them to Disneyland. They sat there loving life and lunch, soggy diapers and all.

I have found that most foods that work well to feed children inside work just as well to feed children outside for a “picnic.” Think beyond sandwiches and hotdogs and simply make any meal a picnic!

Like enchiladas. Weird idea? Well, one evening, Matt was painting a gutter on our house. The kids loved the “show” so as dinnertime approached and I had a pan of these enchiladas in the oven, I simply scooped some onto paper plates and carried them outside for the kids to eat on the trampoline. Again, they thought it was better than Disneyland. (Also, they’ve never been to Disneyland, so…)

Great Picnic Food Ideas

Here are some foods we’ve eaten outside lately:

Bean and Cheese Quesadillas, which I cut into triangles so that the kids could all grab them easily. I washed strawberries and we carried them outside to the table as-is. Then I squirted ranch into a bowl and dumped in some carrots for a community bowl of carrots with dip!

Another day when I was on my own with all the littles, I made a bunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the morning before the babies got up and covered the plate to grab at lunchtime. I put a can of mandarins and a can of peaches into the fridge to chill. I was so thankful I’d prepped ahead because our morning was full! When we were ready to eat, we took the prepped sandwiches, cold fruit, a jar of pickles, and some avocado cups outside and feasted. :)

We have a fire pit in our backyard, and the kids LOVE it when Daddy gets a fire going. We only do this when Elias and Malachi (our 20 and 17-year-olds) are around because it’s a bit intense to keep so many little ones safe when we’re trying to cook hotdogs and feed littles and oh yes, did I mention that Elias got a dog who tries to eat children? (Just kidding. But she does like hotdogs.)

I shared here about how we pack food to eat on a blanket when we go to our older boys’ games. Hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, chicken sandwiches, burritos – even a container full of hot chicken nuggets! Get more details —>

I didn’t get a picture of any of us eating this particular time, but one spring soccer game day, I made a big batch of Omelet Muffins for the kids to eat while they watched Malachi play. It was easy to transport these and all of us loved them!

Chicken Salad with rolls, croissants, bread, or crackers is easy to take outside or take to a park. Here’s more info about what we took to a fun family picnic when we had time with all of our kids from oldest to youngest this spring.

Snacks to Eat Outside

And how about picnic-y snacks too? If we are outside playing, I often run inside and grab something for the kids to eat outside if I can tell they are getting hungry and need something to hold them over. Eating snacks on the porch is – you guessed it – more fun than going to Disneyland. :)

Apples and cheese fly off the plate when I take them outside.
Why does everything taste better outside?

Here are three of the kids sharing a little bowl of fruit:

We go through a lot of Mudballs at our house, and these are super easy to grab and take outside for kids to eat while they play.

The best thing about eating muffins outside during snack time? All the crumbs fall to the ground instead of under our kitchen table. Here’s a huge list of muffin recipes that I reference all the time.

It’s super easy to grab a container of washed berries or grapes to take outside to eat. Or grab a cutie for everyone and let them peel and eat it as they play.

Sometimes I take out small bowls of frozen veggies or frozen fruit for babies to munch on if it’s hot outside.

Once again I’ll say: If they can eat it inside, they can eat it outside. And if it makes the day more fun with little to no extra effort? I say it’s a win!

Here’s a quick list to reference for easy to grab food to take outside to eat:

  • Sliced apples and cheese
  • Washed berries or grapes
  • Cut watermelon or cantaloupe
  • Cheese sticks
  • 100% fruit juice popsicles
  • Frozen veggies or fruit
  • Smoothies
  • Muffins
  • Mudballs
  • Pickles
  • Avocado cups
  • Applesauce squeezies
  • Veggie straws
  • Chicken salad or tuna salad with bread or crackers
  • Chips and salsa or guacamole
  • Quesadillas
  • Veggies in a bowl of ranch
  • Bean and cheese dip with chips
  • Burritos
  • Pizza slices
  • Pizza boats
  • Smoked chicken

What are your favorite foods to feed your family outside?

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