3 recipes to take on excursions with children

With the holidays comes the perfect time to enjoy with the family and go on excursions. It does not matter if we go to the mountains, to amusement parks, ride a bicycle or visit new cities and towns. Children are naturally curious and want to see everything.

Preparing the backpack for the excursion can be quite a challenge. Surely we will bring bottles of water, sunscreen, a hat, the favorite stuffed animal and, of course, food. Children they are hungry all the timeespecially if they are exploring the world.

In many places there are no shops. And even if there are, many of the foods sold are unhealthy, rich in sugars and fats. In most tourist sites what we find are mostly fast food type dishes.

For this reason, unless we are clear that the place where we are going will be able to manage, it is best to take our own food on the excursion.

Ideas to take on excursions

Here are some tips when it comes to organizing to know what food to take for the children when you go on an excursion:

Depending on the time of the estimated excursion, we will take food and a couple of snacks or snacksAmong the snacks that we can take on excursions with children, we have many options, such as nuts and dried fruit, homemade popcorn, cereal pancakes, oatmeal cookies, energy bars, hummus or peanut butter sandwiches and, of course, a couple of of pieces of fruit. The easiest thing is to prepare tuppers or silicone bags with individual portionsAs for the easiest food to take on excursions, the best thing is all kinds of sandwiches in good quality bread or tupperware with dishes such as pasta, couscous, quinoa or another cereal, legumes… In general, in summer you want fresh and delicious dishes. all these options can be served cold.

Here are three ideas for picnic lunches that kids will love and hold up well in a backpack.

1. Pasta salad with peach

Preparation: 15 minutes – Cooking: 10 minutes

Pasta is one of the children’s favorite dishes. Try taking your kids on the next outing with this colorful pasta and peach salad instead of the typical tomato pasta.

Choose your little ones favorite vegetables and you will see how they will love it. Instead of peas and cherry tomatoes, you can use grated carrots, peppers, baked eggplant….

And if you don’t like the peachyou can try with apple, mango, grapes or pineapple.

Ingredients (4 servings):

200 g of whole wheat pasta 80 g of frozen peas 80 g of canned sweet corn 2 peaches 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes 200 g of cooked chickpeas 100 g of feta cheese (can be vegetable) (optional) 2 handfuls of lamb’s lettuce or other green leaves

For the vinaigrette:

4 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon maple or rice syrup 1 teaspoon mustard salt

Preparation:

in a big pot, bring water to a boil. Add the pasta and frozen peas and cook according to the instructions on the pasta package. Once cooked, strain and run under cold water. Throw in a bowl.cut peaches in pieces and cherry tomatoes in half. Add to the bowl along with the pasta. Add the corn, cooked chickpeas and feta cheese, if you are going to use it, and mix well. Season with salt.In a small bowl prepare the vinaigrette. Mix the olive oil and vinegar with the syrup, mustard and a little salt. Add to the salad, mix well and fill the salad in tuppers.In a small tupperware Take the green leaves and add to the salad just before serving.

2. Empanadas with vegetables and beans

Preparation: 30 minutes – Cooking: 65 minutes

These empanadas take a little more work, but it is guaranteed that the little ones will love them and they are also easy to eat with your hands.

If we don’t feel like making the dough, we can use purchased puff pastry or use the filling with wraps.

We can change the filling to our liking: use other types of legumes, vegetables, spices or take advantage of the remains of a stir-fry or stew that we had left over. If we have leftover filling, we can use it on toast with some slices of avocado.

Ingredients (8-12 patties):

For the mass:

300 g of whole wheat flour 150 ml of water 75 ml of polyva oil 1/2 teaspoon of salt 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds

For the filling:

1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans 1 cup crushed tomato 1/2 onion 1 small red pepper 1 carrot 2 garlic cloves 3 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 tablespoon tamari a pinch of stevia or brown sugar

Preparation:

Prepare the dough. Place the flour, salt and seeds in a bowl and mix well. Add the water and oil. Mix with your hands until you get a dough that does not stick. Cover with a cloth and let rest in the fridge.Prepare the filling. Chop the onion and garlic. Grate the carrot and cut the pepper into small pieces.In a pot, heat the oil. Add the onion and fry for 10 minutes. Add the bell pepper, garlic and carrot, a pinch of salt and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the spices, give it a few turns in the pan. Add the beans, tomato, tamari and a little sweetener and cook for about 15 minutes.preheat the oven at 180 degrees.Make the empanadas. Flour the table and stretch the dough with a rolling pin into a rectangular shape. Cut into 8 pieces. Fill each one with a couple of tablespoons of the filling in the center and close in the shape of triangles. Seal the edges with a fork. Grease a baking sheet with a little oil or line it with parchment paper. Place the empanadas on the tray and bake 25-30 minutes until they are golden.Let cool completely and takes the excursion in a tupperware.

3. Wraps with tofu salad

Preparation: 15 minutes – Soaking: 4 hours

This cashew mayonnaise and tofu salad never fails. The mayonnaise It is very easy to make, but if we don’t have time to prepare it, we can use a good quality vegan mayonnaise.

In the salad we can use what the little ones like the most: add olives, dried tomatoes, change the tofu for white beans or cooked chickpeas….

Ingredients (4 servings):

4 whole wheat or corn wraps 4 leaves of buds

For the tofu salad:

200 g firm tofu1 tablespoon capers2 piquillo peppers1/4 spring onionssalt kala namakblack pepper2 pickled gherkins1/4 teaspoon turmeric

For the cashew mayonnaise:

70g raw cashews soaked for 4 hours70ml water1 tablespoon lemon juice1 tablespoon nutritional yeast1 tablespoon olive oil1 teaspoon mustardsalt

Preparation:

First you have to leave the cashews to soak for 4 hours. Cover the cashews with water in a small bowl, add a pinch of salt and leave at room temperature for 4-6 hours. If you are in a hurry, you can cover them with boiling water and soak for 30 minutes.To prepare the mayonnaise, remove the soaking water from the cashews. Put the soaked cashews in a blender or a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients for the mayonnaise and blend until you get a smooth cream. Try the taste. Booking.to make the salad, cut the tofu into cubes and put it in a bowl. Add salt and pepper and shred a little with a fork. Chop the spring onion and cut the peppers into strips. Add to the bowl with the tofu, add the capers and mix well. Stir in the mayonnaise for a desired consistency and a pinch of turmeric for a pretty color and mix. Check the taste.Heat the wraps a little while in the oven to wrap them more easily. Put in each one a lettuce leaf, a couple of tablespoons of the salad and wrap. Then wrap each wrap in parchment paper and place them in a tupperware container.

You can also use pita bread or take the salad in a tupperware container and accompany it with crackers and vegetable strips.