Foods to Bring to the Pool/Beach

May 30, 2024

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My family loves our summer pool days, we love making these memories. Water days definitely make my kids turn into eating machines. It seems like they are eating every hour on the hour. Going out to the snack stand or getting food delivered eat can add up quickly.

After several summers I have mastered what the meals and snacks work the best.

Make sure you have a lot of ice and an insulated cooler. Want to make sure that you have a good cooler that can withhold the summer heat.

Check out my pool dinners meals that are easy and portable and perfect for summer evenings! You’ll be set for a delicious summer of fun!

I am not big on my kids filling on dry snacks from the snack bag, so here are some make-ahead and portable healthy pool dinners we can pack in our coolers and take with us to the pool or any family planned water day.

Enjoy!

Chicken Salad:

First up is Chicken Salad. My kids love chicken salad, you can add this to a garden salad or add to a roll, bread or even add some CRACKERS. You can use chicken breast or rotisserie chicken. This can be a low carb option as well. Yummy versatile and Classic.

You can have this classic for lunch or dinner.

Check out this recipe.

Rice and chicken with veggies:

This easy meal is so easy. Just grab a large pan and watch how juicy chicken, loads of veggies, and a savory-sweet sauce quickly come together in this colorful, healthy meal. This is great to serve hot or cold. Pick your favorite veggies add chicken and your favorite rice, my particular favorite is Jasmine rice. Add to Tupper ware and pack some forks.

There’s not much work required, except chopping up a few veggies and dicing the chicken. A simple sauce such as the teriyaki sauce can make the final touches on this great flavor.

Here is what you can use:

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast: Both chicken breasts and chicken thighs will work in this recipe.

Bell Pepper: Red bell peppers are ideal for their subtle sweetness and vibrant color. But any color works!

Broccoli: I think a pop of green is always necessary in a classic chicken stir fry. Don’t love broccoli? Swap in sugar snap peas!

Onion: Either white or yellow onions work in this recipe.

Enjoy!

Pasta Salad –

The Sky is the limit here. With Cold Pasta you can do cheese and pepperoni. Sausage and cheese, ham and cheese or just cheese and veggies.

This is an easy, make-ahead salad that is perfect for a water day.

I love that you can change up the ingredients based on what you have on hand. Check out this perfect recipe:

Turkey pinwheels –

Turkey wraps can be cut up into pin wheels to make for easy snacking.

Easy Classic Turkey and Cheese Pinwheels. You can use any lunch meat favorite and some veggies wrapped in a tortilla. Serve as an appetizer, snack, or finger food.

Make ahead and refrigerate and pair this with baby pickles or pasta salad – YUMMY!

Check out this recipe:

Hot dogs –

This is always an easy one and a kid’s favorite. I usually just pack the hot dogs in the thermos. We have used this idea for tailgating with our kids for a baseball game.

This is usually the thermos that I use to keep the hot dogs hot.

Pack up your favorite condiments and toppings and your kids will surely thank you!

Ham eggs and cheese bites –

These can be made in cupcake pans. Just mix up some eggs ham and cheese and put in the oven. Or which ever your favorite breakfast pairs are. Easy peasy these are served at some of your favorite breakfast spots staples. These are just as delicious served cold as they are hot.

Once finished cool egg bites to room temperature. I like to place them in a freezer bag or freezer container to be able to enjoy for your water day. Once you are ready to serve, they taste just you made them!

Check this recipe for a step by step guide.

Focaccia –

Homemade or store bought, a little olive oil or add some cheese and veggies. Cut into small squares for easy access.

This delicious recipe is super-easy to make, and can be topped with fresh rosemary, olive oil and flaky sea salt.

If you just want something easy to make they have store bought focaccia, and you can any delicious toppings you would like.

BLT sandwiches

This is an oldy but goodie, but here are a few steps to make sure this classic staple will make a great pool day.

A good sandwich is only as good as the bread it is sandwiched with. My personal favorite is potato bread.

Do NOT over toast your bread! We don’t even want it to be dark brown. Just a nice, light, golden touch of toast and you are good to go, this will and add the perfect amount of crunch, without turning your bread into a big mess of shattering crumbs.

Next add your mayonnaise, sorry there is no substitute for a good BLT. Some nice crunchy lettuce, romaine always does the trick for me.

Tomatoes really add the burst of flavor to a BLT. I like vine ripe tomatoes or Heirlooms best.

And last but not least a ton of bacon! I like the thin cut, but really any bacon will do, again as long as there is a ton.

If you really want to add some creaminess to your BLT, avocadoes are always a great way to add that flavor.

Hummus and Vegetables –

This a quick and filling treat for your little ones. I usually like to the travel size hummus for pool days, this way you don’t have to worry about your little ones double dipping. My kids usually like cucumbers, celery and carrots. Crackers, pretzels and sesame rods do the trick as well.

Tortellini Salad –

Tortellini Pasta Salad is a delicious side dish paired with any of the above and can be hearty enough to make for an easy meal! It's loaded with tasty ingredients like cheese tortellini, Genoa salami, fresh mozzarella pearls, and cherry tomatoes, olives all tossed in a zesty homemade Italian dressing. Here, is the beauty with this staple you can mix and match whatever you like!

It tastes even better the second day so it's the perfect make-ahead dish for any pool day. Pair this with the hot dog, BLT, or even the turkey pinwheels or just enjoy as a meal.

Sesame Noodles –

Sesame noodles is an easy enough recipe it can be made ahead of time, and can be served either warm or cold. That is why this is great to add to your pool menu it is great served cold.

My kid’s love it. This can be a side or a dinner if you add veggies and a protein and make this your pool meal.

If your kid’s like low-mein they will love this dish!

Check out this recipe:

Here are some additional snacks to have in your pool cooler…….

Fruit Salad