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A while ago after going to the Liberty London Girl talk at Bath in Fashion, I decided that I was going to diversify a little with the topics I blog about to include a monthly post about natural beauty, natural food, eco living and eco tech. Today is the first of my eco living posts and I have decided to share some ideas for eco picnics.

When the warm weather does finally arrive, I always like to make the most of it by getting out of doors. In the summer, we try and have dinner out doors as often as possible and picnic lunches are the perfect way to get the children out and running around in the park. For those that work in an office, a picnic lunch is a hundred times better than grabbing a sandwich in front of your computer screen, It gives you time to take a break get some fresh air and rejuvenate ready to get back to work in the afternoon. A home made picnic is also a much more eco friendly, tasty and healthy option than a shop bought lunch with all of that throw away packaging.

Sandwiches

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I love sandwiches and they are most definitely my favourite picnic food. To avoid getting bored I like to choose different breads and concoct lots of different sandwich fillings. Pinterest is also a constant source of sandwich inspiration! For an eco friendly and chemical free alternative to foil or cling film, I love the reusable sandwich wraps at Yours Sustainably which also open out as a mat to put your food on. A local farmers market is also a great place to stock up on yummy fresh fillings for sandwiches.

My favourites are

• Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels with rocket
• mozzarella, tomato and avocado with pesto
• Turkey, horseradish and watercress on rye bread

Tiffin Tins

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My girls love salads for lunch and these stylish tiffin tins are great for filling with a variety of salads including Greek Salad, pasta salads, cous cous salads and either fresh strawberries or fruit salad.

These tiffin tins from Yours Sustainably are fair trade, made from recycled metal and free from chemical nasties.

Cold Drinks

A cold drink is just what you need to sip whilst lazing in the sunshine. I usually just fill a bottle with water but for a special treat, I love elderflower or some other posh cordial. A Chillys Drinks bottle is a good eco alternative to disposable drinks bottle and keeps your drink really cold too.  For a really special treat on a weekend, a bottle of cider, Prosecco or champagne served in these pretty fragipani floral cups goes down a treat! The cups are fair trade and handmade from recycled materials are available from Yours Sustainably.

Picnic Blankets

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