Make Outings with Baby More Fun with Your Own Food

When I was the dad at-home with our young son, we often went on outings to nature centers, parks and playgrounds, places where food service is not readily available. I soon discovered that it's a lot smarter and more convenient to take along your own food. Nothing can sabotage the fun of an outing more than just arriving at your destination and having your child announce "I'm thirsty" when there's not a water fountain in sight.

Besides the convenience, food from home is more economical, tastier and generally more nutritious than what you can get at a fast food place or restaurant. So, take control of your outing, and bring along your own food and drink.

There's nothing like being properly equipped, so you'll want to acquire a few basic items. Start with a good soft-sided cooler with shoulder straps that allow you to keep your hands free for other things. I prefer the tall model that the makers intend to hold a bottle or two of wine. For our purposes they hold an upright one-quart plastic bottle which we used to bring along our own ice water. A couple of smaller containers for juice or milk are also handy. The one-cup containers made for use with blenders are perfect. They're a good size, unbreakable, and seal tightly so they don't leak. Re-freezable 'blue ice' is also a must. One medium-size blue-ice will keep things cool and fresh. It's also good to have along the kind of metal mug you can get at any outdoor store. Also, put a knife in the cooler and leave it there. Do the same with one or two cloth napkins.

For food you want anything that doesn't need a lot of attention and that doesn't spoil easily. Naturally cheese and crackers work well. Add a jar of peanut butter and a jar of honey and you've created a nice mix of easy things to eat at a picnic table. Other favorites with my son were apple sauce, cottage cheese and yogurt.

If you haven't done it before, preparing food to take on a little outing might seem like a hassle, but believe me, it's worth it. Once you develop your routines for going on outings, it only gets easier, and compared to sitting in a restaurant with a young child, it's a lot more pleasant to be outdoors enjoying your own nutritious food from home.