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Picnic lunch ideas

Purple Backpack

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
CF’12 VF’16 VP w/variants 2022/23 Norte’23, CF ‘23
Perusing the forum this morning and saw a post about lunch ideas but couldn’t find it again. Then saw the post about the dead boar on the trail. Ugh, as a veg head, I would have had a hard time coming across that one. So I thought I’d post a few more appetizing picnic ideas to get a break from trail mix or basic cheese/baguettes.

1. Greek salad in a wrap. I like to pick up a few groceries the night before and this one is simple. A small cucumber, tomato, basil,feta, olives. Stash a bit of olive oil/vinegar from restaurants and you’ve got a light lunch. Feta gives the needed salt when it’s hard to find little packets of salt.
2. Chickpea “tuna”: Pretty easy to find canned chickpeas, roughly crush and mix with onion, celery, lemon juice, mayo packets, fresh herbs like parsley or dried like Herbes des Provence. Yummy on a baguette.
3. “Cowboy” salad: Canned black beans, canned corn, finely chopped red pepper, red onion, avocado, cilantro/parsely, oil/vinegar on tortilla chips.
4. White cheeses on digestive biscuits or sliced apples or ginger snaps. Bon belles aren’t my favorite but keep well. Nice white cheddars or goudas are great…I love Brie but only in cooler weather. Soft cheeses can cause problems if left in the heat too long.
5. Picnic Nicoise: canned tuna or the chickpea version, sliced boiled egg, arugula or whatever greens are available, tomato, small broccoli heads or sliced carrots. Bonus points if you can find tiny cooked potatoes. Lemon vinaigrette and baguette on the side.
6. Spinach or arugula salad with strawberries or apples, nuts, feta, balsamic vinaigrette. If you’re not a veg head, top with leftover protein from dinner the night before.
7. For hikes at home, I’ll buy a large round boule, scoop out some of the center and fill with loads of veggies, balsamic vinaigrette, cheese, tuna/chick pea tuna, fresh herbs. Wrap tightly and let the flavors meld while you hike. Quarter it and share with 3 other people. Heavy but delicious. I often do dinner hikes at home, take one of these, Pringles in the tube, brownies and a bottle of red…if someone else will carry! This would make a good albergue picnic dinner, too!

I like to keep greens separate and take a super lightweight deli take out box from home for the messier stuff, mixing together at lunch. Precutting the veggies first thing in the morning and letting them marinate in a bit of dressing makes lunch a fast put together. Croissants make good sandwich bread. Bagels also work well if you can find them and need a break from baguettes.

Desserts are usually a chocolate bar with berries, bakery treats or strawberries dipped in plain yogurt and a bit of sugar.
 
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