Knowing what food to bring to the beach is pivotal for every beachgoer. Food is just as crucial as your beach gear. So, you have to give it the same urgency.
You probably have the best beach cooler with wheels ready and are wondering what meals to include. You could also be having the best beach bag but do not have the convenience of extra packing space.
So, what are good beach snacks and food? You need meals that make you fuller quicker, but more importantly, they should be healthy. That brings us to the foods on my list.
What Food To Bring To The Beach When Pressed For Time
Those You Can Grab From The Store
Consider grabbing any of the foods below from the store if you are in a hurry:
Dried Fruits
If you are worried about fresh fruits becoming soggy because of the heat, then you should get some dried fruits from the store.
You can consider the Crispy Green Freeze-Dried Fruit Pack. The snacks are not just crunchy and tasty but also nutrient-packed.
You can eat these snacks at lunchtime or at any other time of the day. It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan, thus healthy.
Yogurt
You cannot miss yogurt in any supermarket that you visit. So, if you can’t make it at home, consider buying it locally before heading to the beach.
Yogurt comes energy-packed to make you fuller quicker. The snack is a complete meal in its own right.
Health-wise, yogurt is right for your heart health, bone development, and immunity. You can buy it plain or flavored, depending on preference.
Trail Mix
Trail mix snacks are good for snacking on your way to the beach and also when you get there. You can buy trail mix online, and I recommend Daily Gourmet Nuts Mix
The beach snacks come in cranberry, omega-3, and heart-healthy packs to keep you nourished.
Those You Can Prepare At Home
Are you wondering what food to bring to the beach that you can prepare at home in a hurry? Consider these choices:
Rice Cakes
If you want to pack a complete meal but do want to make something complicated, you cannot go wrong with rice cakes. The beach food is low in calories and doesn’t take much time to prepare.
More importantly, it fills you up much faster, and that’s what you need the most on the beach. You can add cucumber, banana slices, or cheese on the rice cakes to make them tastier.
Italian Sandwich
There is so much you can do with a loaf of bread. One fantastic recipe to consider is the Italian sandwich.
You’ll need bread that you’ll load with meatballs or chicken, cheese, basil, and roasted pepper. You can substitute the basil with any vegetable of your choice to make it as tastier as you want.
Apple Sandwich
You can make a fantastic sandwich using just apples and bread. Apple chops make the bread tastier. So, the sandwich is another excellent food for the beach to take any time.
Nutrition-wise, apple brings balance by injecting antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins into your intake.
Avocado Sandwich
You can switch the apples for avocado and be able also to make a tasty sandwich. You can even add cream and vegetables to make it more delicious.
Avocado is rich in vitamin C and K and minerals like potassium and magnesium. It’s also fiber-rich, thus essential in promoting weight loss.
When packing, you don’t have to cut the avocado until you get to the beach.
What Food To Bring To The Beach When You’ve Limited Cooler Space
Those You Can Buy From The Store
Buy any of these foods if you don’t have much cooler space:
Granola Bars
Granola bars are narrow and lightweight, thus easy to pack. You don’t need much cooler space to do it. They are also protein-packed, therefore more nourishing on the beach.
Granola bars are also energy-rich, which means they make you fuller quicker.
Here are Larabar Gluten Free Snack Bars that you can buy and pack conveniently. The granola bars are vegan and come in 8 tasty flavors.
Brownies
If you don’t mind some chocolate treats, you should grab some brownies from your local store. They will get you fuller quicker, thus an excellent snacking choice.
Unlike most chocolate treats, brownies don’t melt faster. As a result, you don’t have to keep them in the cooler at all times.
Packed Nuts
Are you a fan of almonds or walnuts? Then grab the Emerald Nut protein pack. The nuts are great for snacking since they are delicious and make you fuller quicker.
The best bit is that Emerald Nut is gluten-free and non-GMO, thus very healthy even for kids. With such good beach snacks, you don’t have to worry about additives or preservatives.
Edamame Beans
Maybe nuts aren’t your thing, maybe you’re allergic? If that’s the case try The Only Bean Edamame Beans. These beans are high in protein and fiber and come in three great flavors – salt, sriracha and buffalo.
Some more great bonuses about these little beans is that they are gluten-free, non-GMO, keto and kosher just to name a few. They are great for the beach, snack drawer at work and at home. You can snack all day long and not feel guilty!
Those You Can Prepare At Home
Prepare and pack these foods in the limited cooler space that you have:
Mixed Fruit
Perhaps you don’t have enough space to pack a whole watermelon or a banana bunch. That, however, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pack some fruit.
Consider packing pieces of each fruit you can find. That will allow you to pack enough for everyone depending on available cooler space.
Mixed fruits are generally an excellent way to cool off, and so you’ll enjoy taking them in the afternoon.
Frozen Fruit
How about you freeze some fruit and take them to the beach in containers? You have the liberty of freezing as many fruit varieties as you want.
Generally, frozen fruits also provide you with an excellent way of cooling off on a hot afternoon. They are even tastier and will make you fuller quicker.
Pasta
Pasta is another savory meal that you can take any time on the beach. It’s quick to prepare and also budget-friendly.
Pasta is also easy to take since you can consume it warm or cold. So, it’s an excellent choice when you run out of cold storage space.
You can add chicken, bacon, or mushroom to make your pasta tastier.
Hard-Boiled Eggs
Hard-boiled eggs are easy to prepare. You need to put eggs in water and bring it to a boil. So, this is something you can do in the morning, just before you head for the beach.
Hard-boiled eggs come nutrient-packed to not only make you fuller but also to boost your overall health.
You can eat hard-boiled eggs at room temperature, which means you don’t have to keep them in the cooler.
What Food To Bring To The Beach When You’ve Ample Preparation Time
Consider these beach foods if you have ample time to prepare them:
Smoothie
A smoothie is always a great refreshment on the beach. While most people take it to cool off, its health benefits are enormous.
Adding vegetables to your smoothie provides you with immunity-boosting nutrients. Also, adding protein to the mixture means appetite control, muscle mass boost, among many other benefits.
Also, you can add some fruit of your choosing.
Pasta Salad
If you are a fan of pasta and salad, you should consider combining the two. You can top up the mixture with garlic powder, red wine, or vinegar to make it more flavorful.
Pasta salad is easy to prepare, which makes it a good beach meal. Moreover, it can be taken at room temperature, which means you don’t have to keep it in the cooler box.
Hummus and Vegetables
Hummus is protein-packed, which makes it an excellent complement to vegetables, which are rich in both vitamins and starch. So, you’ll be taking a complete meal here.
The best part is that the recipe is not expensive. You are required to dip the vegetables in the hummus, which is just mouthwatering.
You have the option of using cucumber, carrots, or just any vegetable that you prefer.
Oven-Fried Chicken
If you are taking your kids to the beach, they will love to take some tasty chicken for lunch. Instead of preparing chicken stew, which may not be ideal for carrying, consider oven-fried chicken.
It not only tastes good but allows you to take it cold or warm. So, you don’t necessarily need to use a cooler.
I like to tenderize my oven-fried chicken with buttermilk. So, perhaps you can try that.
What Fruit Snacks To Bring To The Beach
Here are the fruit snacks to bring to the beach:
Oranges
After a long afternoon under the sun, nothing is refreshing like orange juice. But instead of bringing bottled orange juice, which could have preservatives, consider real oranges.
Oranges don’t take much storage space and have incredible nutritional benefits. For example, they have nutrients that boost your immunity, prevent skin aging, and regulate blood cholesterol.
Grapes
Grapes come with so many nutritional benefits. They contain antioxidants that slow down skin aging and promote weight loss.
Also, they contain vitamin C that boosts your immunity and polyphenols that promote cognition and heart health.
The nutritional benefits aside, grapes are juicy, thus effective at rehydrating your body. Given that most stores sell these fruits in convenient packs, they should be easy to carry to the beach.
Strawberries
Did you know that a cup of strawberries contains about 6g of fiber and 100 calories? That’s right. Additionally, it’s packed with vitamin C that boosts your immunity and antioxidants, which promote anti-aging.
So, they are a healthy food to take to the beach when in a hurry. Besides, you can always add strawberries to your yogurt, smoothie, or salad.
Watermelon
I don’t know if it’s only me, or it applies to most beach campers, but I find watermelons to be irresistible. They are very juicy, which means they’ll hydrate and refresh you on a hot afternoon.
I like the fact that there are many ways to consume watermelon. You can squeeze the juice out and drink it or cut it into chunks and eat it. You could also use the pieces to make smoothies, salad, or freezer pops.
Health-wise, watermelon promotes heart health and lowers inflammation.
Other Worthy Fruit Choices
Bananas
Bananas are rich in potassium, which is good for your heart. They also contain manganese that gives you a youthful appearance.
The best part is that bananas are an easy-pack. You can bring a whole bunch if your cooler has room for it.
Though it’s common to take ripe banana as it is, you can also take it in a salad or dip it into butter.
Cherry Tomatoes
If you are a tomato freak like me, then cherry tomatoes are a must-pack. They are bite-size and juicy, which makes them perfect for the beach.
You can take cherry tomatoes as they are or add salt. The tomatoes are rich in antioxidants that protect your skin from aging quickly.
Also, cherry tomatoes have nutrients that regulate your blood pressure and promote weight loss.
Other Worthy Considerations
Still not sure what food to bring to the beach? Here are some extra options for you:
Fruit Crisps
Fruit crisps are a crunchy and mouthwatering pick that your kids will love. You can grab them online, and here are Brothers-All-Natural Fruit Crisps to consider.
The fruit crisps come in tasty fruit flavors like apple, peach, banana, cinnamon, and strawberry. There is also a variety pack that includes multiple fruit flavors.
Kebab
Kebabs are a tasty option that your kid will love to eat on the beach. So, they are the best food to pack for the beach when you have a large family.
You can grab them from the local store or make them at home if you have the know-how.
The beautiful thing about home-prepared kebabs is that you can add just about anything. I like my kebabs with veggies and fruit chops, but you can still add chicken chops or steak if you like it that way.
Lunchmeat Rollups
Lunchmeat rollups are, without a doubt, space-saving. However, that is not the only reason why you should consider them.
You can take lunchmeat rollups at any time of the day at the beach. The food is excellent at making you fuller quicker, and more importantly, it’s nutrient-packed.
With lunchmeat rollups, you can add cheese, olives, mustard oil, and just about any topping that you prefer.
Conclusion
Now you know what food to bring to the beach. You don’t have to pack all items on the list as it’s long. So, find two or three meals, and you’ll be on course for a hunger-free time on the beach.
