Picnic food inspiration for a sunny day

(Image courtesy of BBC Good Food)

14th April 2021

By Abbey Bryant

With summer fast approaching, you can bet our minds are wandering to one thing… outside picnics of course. Picnics serve as the perfect social occasion, especially at the moment when fresh air will do us all good!

Sausage rolls, sandwiches, scotch eggs -the list of yummy alfresco treats are endless. Venturing to your local park, braving the English ‘summer’ weather requires some energy, so these picnic treats are perfect for the occasion.

The summer picnic presents itself as a perfect opportunity to get dressed up and indulge ourselves in the summer season. Brighter skies, sunny days, and fuller bellies – the perfect motto to eat your bodyweight in yummy picnic treats this summer.

The perfect picnic is comprised of a selection of delicious finger-food. In preparation to your picnic, I would recommend raiding the cold food section of your local supermarket. You will be met with an overwhelming stash of quiches, sausages and specially selected sandwiches and pasta- delicious! Make sure you pack plastic cutlery to devour these scrummy treats. If lockdown has taught us anything, it is ‘wash your hands’ – so, a bottle of anti-bac gel is your bestfriend for an outside picnic.

English weather is unpredictable – but do not let this ruin the fun! A picnic blanket is an essential. Whether you’re huddled under the blanket when the English rain hits, or you’re attempting to be a picnic Instagrammer – you will need a blanket! Don’t worry, special savoury pastries will add a touch of sweetness if the English weather fails us. My mouth is already watering at the thought of devouring Yum Yums and Chocolate Eclairs!

Come June 21st, we all hope to be reuniting with our families or boozy brunchin’ with the girls? The variety of picnic occasions are endless, so make sure you’re prepared!

Missing brunch? The first-world problem on everyone’s mind this summer, including us! We can’t go out to brunch at the moment, so we are compromising and bringing the brunch to Westgate Gardens. Not quite Gaucho’s…Nonetheless, a hoisin duck meal deal and a family-sized pack of Doritos will fill the brunch shaped hole in our hearts.

A summer day out, enjoying a picnic with the ‘gals’ is the perfect excuse to drink a silly amount of canned pink gin and tonic. Refreshing and it never hurts to let your hair down!

Student budgeting is hard at this time when life is starting to pick up, so make sure you maximise every offer you can get. Yes, I am talking about the £3 smoothie as part of the £3 meal deal – BARGAIN!

My personal favourite combination must be a southern fried chicken pasta pot, an unbeatable choice. Wash it down with orange tropicana – but MUST be smooth, how can you tolerate the bits? Finished off with a Wispa bar – a Wispa gold if you really want to treat yourself. This seems like an adequate meal to fuel my body for a ‘boozy picnic’ right?

The perfect snacks for this occasion vary from Dorito’s, dipped in salsa. Or for your healthier friends, carrot sticks with hummus. Personally, I will be sticking to the family-sized bags of crisps as who wants to restrict their calories on a picnic?

Easy and convenient - the student motto when it comes to meal preparation. Plastic bowls and plastic cups are a must have or if you want to be environmentally friendly, bring your own metal cutlery that you can wash and use for many picnics to come! The perfect filling could be pre-prepared pesto pasta. A student favourite, and my dinner for 80% of the week. Students can really showcase their cooking skills and bring their pesto talent to a picnic. Not quite Gaucho’ssteak, but it will do.

Let’s hope we can enjoy a summer filled with picnics with our loved ones, and yummy alfresco treats!