It’s finally picnic time – the 5 best tips and ideas
Picnic tip 1: Ensure you have the basic equipment
A picnic is often quite spontaneous: the sun is shining, let’s go for it! With a hasty departure, however, there is always the risk of forgetting important picnic utensils or spending forever at home looking for salad servers and the like. There’s nothing more annoying than discovering at the picnic spot that you don’t have cups or a bottle opener. Clever picnic fans avoid this calamity by having the picnic basket or cooler box and another bag already packed with the necessary equipment and ready to go. So what does the basic equipment consist of? A picnic blanket, plates, glasses, cutlery, serviettes or kitchen paper, and a corkscrew or bottle opener. Other than that, think about including a few outdoor games for young and old. Slacklines, a set of boules or a card game, for example, are all great options. Other important items are sunscreen and bags for your rubbish. And don’t forget to pack a Bluetooth loudspeaker for your favourite music!
Picnic tip 2: Focus on uncomplicated snacks that have the freshness factor
As we mentioned above, picnics are often somewhat spontaneous affairs. Ultimately, the whole experience should be a casual summer pleasure that does not involve a lot of work. So focus on fresh nibbles that are quick to prepare and easy to take with you. Colourful salads with light dressings and fresh bread are a perfect choice. Finger food, such as vegetable sticks with dips, skewers with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes, meatballs, cubes of cheese, olives, nuts, chutneys and hummus also make good picnic food. And of course every picnic should include fresh fruit, such as melon, berries, grapes, bananas or cherries. For those who like pastries, pack a few little treats like muffins, scones or cold pancakes. Foods that contain mayonnaise or eggs are best avoided in the summer heat, as food-borne pathogens are particularly fond of high temperatures. Looking for inspiration for your next picnic? Then you definitely need to try some of our Dole recipes: pineapple and cucumber salad with quinoa, grape and granola cups, banana and buckwheat waffles or pineapple and avocado sandwiches.
Picnic tip 3: Don’t forget something to drink
Phew … getting to your picnic spot can be pretty tiring. So make sure you include plenty of drinks in your picnic. These are best brought in thermos flasks to keep them nice and cool. In addition to mineral water, unsweetened teas, fruity spritzers and homemade sodas are wonderfully refreshing. Watch out for wasps and bees while you are drinking – these creepy-crawlies could make their way into your glass and sting you. Our tip for a handy ‘bug screen’: simply place a paper muffin case with a hole in it over your cup or glass. Stick a straw into the hole. You now have a cover to protect you from annoying picnic troublemakers. Feeling thirsty now? Our pink grapefruit iced tea and coconut and pineapple smoothie will provide inspiration for some cool drink ideas for your next picnic.
Picnic tip 4: Make it easy to chill, transport and serve your food
It goes without saying that all your picnic food should remain fresh for as long as possible and survive the summer heat unscathed. A cooler box with freezer packs is therefore a must for your excursion. If you don’t have these freezer packs to hand, the following smart tip will help. Fill two water bottles with still water and freeze them. Pack the frozen water bottles with your snacks to keep them nice and cold. Another advantage of this method is that you will also have some reserve drinks on board! Store salads and similar foods in plastic containers that have a lid. Glass mason jars make a pretty alternative; you can even spoon the food out directly from these jars. Disposable dishes and cutlery are of course no longer welcome on picnics. Instead, bring some lightweight reusable dishes, e.g. made from melamine, which you can then wash at home. Reusable muffin moulds make good containers for serving dips or nibbles. Bring on those summer feelings!
Picnic tip 5: Banish mosquitos kindly
Our final tip for your picnic enjoyment is a real survival hack. Lakes are the main haunts of mosquitos, buzzing around, lying in wait to spoil our picnic. So if you don’t like these troublesome bloodsuckers, the following natural insect repellent will help. Simply cut a lemon in half and stick cloves into the cut surface. Mosquitos cannot stand the combined smell of the lemon and cloves and will quite simply ‘do a runner’. And if someone does get stung by an insect during the picnic, rubbing half an onion or one of the freezer packs on the sting will help. The sap of a daisy should also alleviate the itch.
Life is a picnic!
Your Dole team