Pack Up a Picnic

Packing a picnic is one of the best ways to control the food you eat on a day out. But there’s more to it than throwing a few cheese sarnies into a basket.

Follow these tips and you won’t hamper your diet.

1. Fill sarnies with low fat fillings such as lean ham or beef, chicken, egg, prawns or tuna canned in water. Give cheese and mayo-filled sarnies a miss.
2. Avoid packing up pastry products like pork pies, quiche, pasties and flans. Instead, go for small slices of veggie pizza or grilled chicken pieces.
3. Pack plenty of fresh fruit but don’t just stick to apples and pears – take along slices of melon, strawberries, raspberries, grapes, fresh apricots, nectarines and peaches.
4. Crisps are packed with calories – take along chopped up vegetable sticks and cherry tomatoes instead and serve them with low-calorie dips such as salsa or tzatziki.
5. Chocolate bars are likely to melt and won’t do your diet any favours so leave them at home. You’ll be able to save the calories for an ice cream later in the day.