Pack up a Picnic with a little help from GLAD

Who doesn’t love having a picnic? When the sun is out it’s all I want to do! For some reason food eaten outdoors seems to taste better so whenever the opportunity arises we pack up some food, grab our blanket and head for a picnic. It doesn’t matter if it’s a grassy park, on the side of a river or on a sandy beach, it’s all about being outside and enjoying some delicious food while soaking up the sun’s rays!

When packing a picnic you need food that is portable so I love lots of different types of picky food! Transporting the food in one piece is key and with the help of GLAD products it is effortless.

Some of my favourite foods to make for a picnic include Chicken Drumsticks which we barbecue ahead of time and slather with our favourite BBQ Sauce. Served with some homemade Coleslaw it makes a fantastic picnic treat that everyone loves.

I absolutely love GLAD Lunch To Go Containers which have a separate little dressing cup attached inside to the lid for your salad dressing! No more soggy salads as you simply dress your salad as you are about to eat it. Genius! You could also use them for veges and dip which I always grab for a picnic. It takes moments to prepare, is healthy, delicious and again every loves it. Or how about making some homemade Hummus and popping some good quality extra virgin olive oil in the dressing cup to drizzle over the hummus at the last minute… Or if you are a chilli addict like me fill the little cup with some of your favourite hot sauce, such as Sriracha and then you can add a spicy kick to your dips. Yum!

For something sweet and refreshing I can never resist wedges of Watermelon and fresh Strawberries which I again just pop into a GLAD container. I pack a Snack bag for any Strawberry Husks to be thrown into which makes for easy clean up and don’t forget the wet wipes for sticky hands which I pop into Medium Storage Bags.

Snack bags are also great for individual snacks for any young family members. I pack raisins, crackers and even baby biscuits in them for a quick and easy bite to eat.

Of course if your picnic is a last minute adventure then there is nothing wrong with making up some quick and easy sandwiches with everyone’s favourite fillings, and if you are really stuck for time stop at your local supermarket or grocery store on your way and grab some of your families favourite foods.

So what are you waiting for?! The next time the sun is shining and you have a day off, pack up some of your favourite foods or head to your local deli, pop it all in a cooler or hamper and find a nice spot for you to enjoy. It’s what sunny days are made for and with GLAD products it’s easy!

Here are a few more of my favourite Picnic foods:

Quinoa Salad

{Easy to make and great for anyone unable to eat Gluten.}

Scotch Eggs

{Such a treat and make for an ultimate picnic! Just don’t forget the ketchup!}

Pan Bagnat

{The ULTIMATE picnic sandwich!}

Smoked Salmon Sandwiches with Dill & Lemon Cream Cheese

{For an extra special treat!}

Pasta Salad

{Who doesn’t love a good Pasta Salad!? If needing to be Gluten Free substitute the Pasta for a GF alternative – my fave is Corn Pasta.}

Duck & Soba Noodle Salad

{Kicking things up a notch and making this an extra special picnic!}

Hummus

{If you want to surprise children why not try Beetroot Hummus or Carrot Hummus for some fantastic all natural colourful food!}

A selection of Cheese, Hams and Cold Meats

Olives

Lemon Drizzle Loaf

{Transports well and doesn’t need to stay chilled. Simply wrap in Cling Wrap.}

Lemon Coconut Bars

Passion Fruit Lemonade

Classic Lemonade

Limeade

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Happy Picnicking!!

Meal Planning Mondays March 30th - April 6th

It's unbelievable how quickly the weeks seem to be flying past just now! Not that I'm complaining - I am so ready for it to be Spring after what seems like a really long Winter. Thankfully for us the sun is shining today and hopefully it will stick around for a good few days before those April Showers make themselves a little too familiar for my liking! Of course with the change of the Seasons comes yet more colds to our house and this time we are all full of it, which is thankfully a pretty rare occurrence. It did however, mean that yesterday's 'Best Ever Ribs' were postponed as understandably Scott didn't want to spend 5 hours smoking them to not be able to taste the final delicious result, so instead we opted for Grilled Fish Tacos with plenty of Fiery Roasted Red Pepper Salsa which was just what the doctor ordered!.... Although I have a confession to make......I recently impulsively bought some pans for making Tortilla Bowls. Honestly I was really hesitant as to whether they would work or not so I decided to give them a go for the Chilli Salad Bowls that we had on Saturday, fully expecting the worst. Instead I was completely surprised because they worked perfectly! A little too perfectly to be honest because now I have a new obsession with putting everything in Tortilla Bowls!... I am not joking! Thankfully Scott and Ben loved them as well so they were delighted for Sunday night's Fish "tacos" to be served in bowls instead of typical tacos. For now though I am putting them away and vow not to take them out for at least another week......maybe!

This week we have Cook Club to look forward to so Saturdays menu will be a surprise for the time being but I will update first thing on Sunday morning with what we had and whether it was a success or not! If you are interested in checking out our previous menus you can have a look here.

And finally as promised I have a few more links to this week's Meal Plan so that if you fancy it you can easily find the recipes and join in. I hope you all have a great week x

Monday March 31st - Sunday April 6th 

                                  Monday  -     Thai Red Curry with Chicken & Bamboo Shoots & Jasmine  Rice 

                                  Tuesday -      Sausage, Olive & Tomato Pasta with Salad

                                  Wednesday - Leftovers

                                  Thursday -     Crustless Pizza from Nigella Kitchen (p.26) 

                                  Friday -         Mustard Pork Chops with Crispy Gnocchi and Salad

                                  Saturday -     Cook Club here - Theme = Street Food! (See Cook Club Menus to                                                            see what we had)

                                  Sunday -       Best Ever Ribs; Coleslaw & Salad 

  As always don't forget you can add links to your Weekly Meal Plans in the comments section below.     

Our Favourite Coleslaw

I LOVE coleslaw and I always have done! My mum loves it so it was always in the fridge and a necessity when it came to eating Cheese Toasties/ Grilled Cheese when we were growing up! Whenever my friends came to our house for lunch the one thing always requested was a Cheese Toastie (Mum had a great toastie maker!) with coleslaw! Generally though coleslaw was not something I made myself....back home in the UK it was just as easy (and delicious!) to buy it from the supermarket. When I moved to Canada however I discovered that the coleslaw from the supermarket was something completely different and I wasn't a big fan so it didn't take me long to start making my own when I needed a coleslaw hit!

This is by far the simplest recipe you will find for coleslaw but it is amazing how many times I'm asked to bring it to a potluck party and for the recipe! People are even more astonished when I tell them how easy it is to make and what's in it. For best results I like to make it an hour or 2 before serving as it allows the flavour of the onion to really come through and mingle with everything, which in my opinion is what makes this coleslaw taste so good. Try it and you'll see!

Pulled Pork

One of my sister's (and her husbands) absolutely favourite things that she tried during her year in Canada was a Pulled Pork Sandwich! I have to say I can't blame her as you can't go wrong with the combination of succulent slowly cooked pork shredded into pieces then mixed with a delicious tangy barbecue sauce. Add it to a roll then top with some crunchy coleslaw and you have the most amazing meal!

Since she loves it so much I had to include it in our Harry Potter Grand Feast for her Hen Party which was a feast made up of some of her favourite dishes along with some slightly more whimsical HP inspired dishes (which will follow over the next few weeks!). For the party I made individual small rolls rather than the full ones pictured here as there was so much other food, it seemed right to keep things bite-sized!

The inspiration for this recipe came from Verses from my Kitchen which in turn came from Trish Magwood's book “My Mother's Kitchen”. I changed a few things to better suit our tastes and toned down the spice a little for Wee One (feel free to up it if you prefer more of a kick) and I love how it tastes. I also cook mine in the oven since I don't have a slow cooker but you could easily cook it in a slow cooker if you have one. Either way you will end up with the juiciest most succulent pork that is impossible not to pick away at as you are getting everything together!! The recipe for the sauce makes more than you will need but since I like a lot of sauce I tend to just serve some extra on the side for those that want it. Final note: for a crowd double the recipe for the pork but keep the sauce the same – you just won't have any extra!

Lauren this one is for you and Billy – now you can start using some of your beautiful new wedding gifts and enjoy some Pulled Pork back in Scotland!