Thoughtful Food Ideas for a Mother's Day Picnic

Sometimes a card, and chocolates, or a bunch of flowers just don't cut it on Mother's Day. Every now and then, doing something special and memorable for your mother is the only way to go. A picnic hamper, full of foods that your mother enjoys, is a really thoughtful way to show you care. Here is a list of the best foods for a Mother's Day picnic to remember!

Cheese and Tomato Quiche - If baking from fresh, use organic eggs and beef tomatoes. Also, a nice creamy medium strength cheese gives the quiche a delicate flavour.

Celery Sticks and Cream Cheese - This is a really simple, but tasty appetiser.

Salad and Homemade Dressing - Any salad that your mother likes will be appropriate, but make a nice healthy dressing yourself to accompany. Mix some chopped up squares of cucumber together with a large pot of natural yoghurt and two dessert spoons of mint sauce.

Minature Prawn Cocktails - Top a small square of crusty bread with a lettuce leaf, a king prawn and some Marie Rose sauce (mix tomato ketchup with some salad cream and add a dash of cream and a squeeze of lemon). Secure with a cocktail stick.

Tasty Sticks - Get some cocktail sticks and layer on pickled onions, cheese chunks, and pineapple chunks. Again, simple but tasty. I have fond memories of my mum making dozens of these for parties, and then eating most of them! An alternative to this would be to layer feta cheese, black olives and cherry tomatoes.

Traditional Strawberry Tarts and Cream - All mothers love traditional desserts, especially anything with strawberries in! You can buy really nice strawberry tarts from anywhere, or you can make them from fresh. It is important that you get freshly whipped cream though. Cream makes the dessert, every time.

Homemade Rice-Crispy Cakes - Use a personal touch, and recreate a food that your mum taught you to make when you were young. I chose Rice-Crispy Cakes (most children will have been shown how to make these by their mothers) because they are simple to make and really nice to eat. Use equal amounts of syrup, sugar and chocolate (melt these into one mass over a stove) and mix with rice-crispys. For an added touch, be corny and use writing icing to say I Love You Mum.

Victoria Sandwich Cake - You can't beat a sandwich cake at a picnic, especially as mothers generally love this cake. The only thing is, mother's are really good at baking cakes so I would play it safe and either buy one from a reputable bakery, or get some little old lady from across the street to bake it for you. If mother asks, tell her you baked it yourself - make her feel special - it is Mother's day after all!

Finishing touches, would include: an assortment of sandwiches - any fillings, any bread - but you can't have a picnic without them. And get your mother to make some traditional lemonade, then steal it for her picnic... she won't mind!