Car picnics

[chickensarethebest]

I need inspiration.

Going to be doing long journeys (8 hours) for the foreseeable. What do you take in the car? What is your best sandwich? How do I avoid the pitfall of sweets and lattes? Help .....

Go on - it is a challenge in this weather. And I would like to be frugal!

Cold pizza
Wraps
Small tubs of fruit or veg
Hard boiled eggs

You can get wide-necked thermos things that you can put chilli, soup, jacket potato etc in. If you pre heat them first while you're warming up the food they stay warm for ages..

no ideas to help but a warning. A couple of years ago I was driving along when there was a sound like a gun firing and something shot past my head at speed and hit the window. I pulled over as soon as I could, becoming aware of a foul smell in the car as I did so. I honestly thought someone had taken a pot shot at my car. Of course they had not , turned out a milk shake I had had as a car picnic and then discarded on the floor ( cries of slut from the cheap seats, deserved!) had been festering away and building up a head of noxious gas sufficient to blow the lid off in dramatic fashion.

It could have been very nasty if it had been a busier road and had actually hit me so my only advice is first pack a rubbish bag to dispose of all your car picnic left overs ASAP.

Wraps are good, as are pots of cut up peppers, carrots and cucumbers that you can lunch on but are not messy..

Warm food in a Thermos that you do to eat might also be nice.

you can get portable food warmers that run off the 12 v 'lighter' in the car if you want to eat something hot.

Soup in a thermos
Wraps with lots of salad and some protein
Picky things like ready made falafels, chicken bites, crudités with some dips.
Some nuts and crisps

I’d want to avoid big, bread sandwiches or too many carbs as they would make me feel a bit dozy.

viques - thank you for making me laugh. It is definitely something that would happen in our family.

Right, so I need to get a decent thermos and I am off to investigate whether my car has a lighter thing as a portable food heater sounds perfect.

Thank you, All.

Glad it made you smile chicken. On a serious note please factor in some stops which are about getting out of the car, having a stretch or a quick walk- and a wee of course. On long journeys it is all too easy to start getting sleepy .

My main criteria is low mess! Grapes, crudités, malt loaf, cooked chicken tikka chunks, baby bell, m&ms, hula hoops
Sandwich criteria, moist enough to stick together but not sloppy or soggy. Chicken, lettuce and mango chutney, tuna and cucumber, ham mustard and tomato, falafel with peppers and lettuce, ham and coleslaw.

viques - you are right: I need to find a country park or similar on the way; I have to steer clear of service stations: way too tempting now with M&S and Waitrose.
At least - yeah, I was thinking finger food, too. But to add to the situation, I need to shift some weight next year so, will need to plan to the nth degree to avoid my own mindless munching. One bag of hula hoops and I always want more.