Well.... we are headed out for a long family bike ride followed by a picnic at the horse park.

Sounds lovely right? The perfect Sunday morning family activity.

Doubtful.

Traditionally.... BIKE RIDE + COOP & CAM = UNPLEASANT

I'm going to give my kids the benefit of the doubt and take the blame. In the past I was unprepared and misinformed.  I didn't know....

•  Riding in a bike trailer causes one to work up such an appetite that you become famished- even if it's only been 1 hour since dinner.
• Cooper and Campbell do not possess the social skills to peacefully co-exist in the bike trailer.
• Once the car is out of site, a 4 year olds legs can no longer pedal.
• When said 4 year old "cannot pedal anymore," he or she is STILL too big to ride in a bike trailer with a baby.

Okay. Lessons learned. Changes made.

Change #1: 

I was slightly terrified when I saw this contraption, but after watching Cooper and Joe take a few laps around the neighborhood, I have high hopes. Cooper is able to ride behind Joe's bike like a "big boy" and help pedal when his legs feel up to the challenge. When he get's tired, he can just ride along. Problem solved.

Downside... now I'm stuck with bike trailer duty ??‼️.

Change #2:

Head out in the AM.  (FACT: My kids are nicer in the morning)

Change #3

Bring Food. I put together a  quick "real food" picnic so that hunger complaints are non-issues.

• Apple Pie Overnight Oats  - Breakfast. Out of the back of the car, before we start the ride.
• Healthy Chicken Salad Sandwiches - Lunch
• Apple Cinnamon Chips - Lunch
• Apples and Peanut Butter - End of ride snack for kiddos/backup plan in case Cam rejects the chicken salad.
• Tomato Basil Hummus and Crackers - End of ride snack for Joe and I.

Putting this all together was surprisingly easy. No cooking! I purposely selected quick and simple recipes that used basic items that I had on hand . If you don't have all the ingredients, just improvise. Tweak it as you see fit.

Helpful Hints:

• Apple Pie Overnight Oats: I had an epiphany while getting preparing these for our picnic. Individual mason jars are adorable, but a small pyrex dish is WAY easier. Instead of creating 4 small servings, I just made 1 big one. It came together in about 3 minutes. The hardest part was converting the recipe measurements. Let me help you out...

• Apple Cinnamon Chips couldn't be easier to make, but they take awhile to bake. Don't want to mess with it.. .buy dehydrated apples to snack on. They are just as healthy and you can avoid the oven!
• Healthy Chicken Salad Sandwiches - This is the one item that I would encourage you not to use store bought. I like making my own so I can control the quantity and quality of the ingredients. Healthy chicken salad could very easily become.. Unhealthy chicken salad. For the bread select 100% whole wheat (label must say 100%, whole wheat means nothing... tricky I know). Also read the nutrition label. A lot of "healthy" breads have 2,000 ingredients, and some of them sound pretty crazy. I try to buy bread with 10 or less ingredients. I have had great luck with this at Trader Joe's.
• Apples/Peanut Butter - Buy organic apples, they are on the EWG's dirty dozen list. You can make your own peanut butter, but why? Buy natural, and ensure that the only ingredients listed is peanuts. At some grocery stores you can even use a machine to grind your own.
• Tomato Basil Hummus and Crackers - Homemade hummus is delicious, but if you don't have time you can definitely purchase pre-made. Crackers can be tricky. Mary's Gone Crackers are a great option. They are GMO and gluten free, vegan, and their original flavor contains only  7 ingredients. They don't taste like a Ritz cracker, but they do taste better than no cracker!

Well... there it is, my plan. Wish us luck! I have no doubt that we will need it.

Did I mention that the bike trail is 16 miles?