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Depending on where you launch your boat, you may or may not have access to a place for purchasing ready-made food to eat while on the lake. Part of the enjoyment of spending leisure time on the water is being able to snack or eat a meal while out on your vessel.

Listed below are some tips for preparing food before or while boating, assuming that you have access to a designated picnic or shore area for further food preparations. Try a few of these ideas for your next picnic, and enjoy dining alfresco!

• Small gas barbecue grills are available that run on disposable cans of propane. They do not take up much room in the boat and can be set up on any shore or bank with ease and convenience.
   
• Season thawed chicken breast fillets with seasoned salt. Sprinkle with fresh, ground black pepper and lemon pepper seasoning. Layer between sheets of wax paper, and freeze in ziplock bags. Just before leaving for the lake, place frozen chicken breasts in the cooler. Remove from the cooler about 1.5 hours before grilling time. They are delicious on hoagie rolls with mayonnaise, spicy mustard, dill pickles, sliced cheese, lettuce and tomato.
   
• Pat out hamburgers and season with onion powder, seasoned salt and black pepper. Layer patties between waxed paper and place in freezer. Place in cooler before leaving for lake. Thaw outside of cooler about 1.5 hours before grilling time. Eat on whole wheat buns with mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, cheese, pickles, Thousand Island dressing and sweet Vidalia onion slices.
   
• Prepare kabobs on wooden skewers the night before a boat trip. Use red and yellow bell peppers, pineapple, sirloin chunks, chicken chunks, mushrooms, onion slices and kielbasa sausage chunks. Season with Jamaican Jerk seasoning, and place lengthwise in a long plastic container along with juice from the drained pineapple. Place in the cooler on the day of the trip. These grill easily and taste great along with potato salad, coleslaw or cold rice dishes.
   
• Spray barbecue bread with cooking spray and place on the grill to brown. After flipping the final time, sprinkle the top with shredded Asiago cheese or a Mexican cheese blend. Wrap in foil and keep warm on the grill until ready to serve.
   
• Cast iron skillets work great on grills. You can fry potatoes, fish, and even cook baked beans. Empty a large can of baked beans into an iron skillet and add diced onions, ketchup, brown sugar, and some syrup. Stir until bubbly.
   
• Salads are terrific items to add to the lake picnic cooler. Make fresh tuna salad with boiled eggs and sweet pickles. Chill in plastic containers and serve with saltine crackers. Cook macaroni or rotini pasta and rinse under cool water. Add half-inch chunks of cheddar cheese, frozen green peas (thaw first but do not cook), chopped pimiento peppers, finely diced celery and carrots, and diced red bell peppers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add mayonnaise to taste. Chill in a plastic container.
   
• Prepare egg salad, chicken salad, and homemade pimiento cheese the night before a lake trip. Make sandwiches on bread and trim the crusts. Feed crusts to the birds or save for use in bread pudding. Cut sandwiches into fourths and pack in plastic containers to place in cooler.
   
• Pack crackers, sliced cheese, canned squirt cheese, pickled eggs, Vienna sausages, hot pickled sausages and meat sticks.
   

About the author:

Jane Warren is a water sports enthusiast who enjoys boating, scuba diving, and swimming. Visit the web site, TowableTubesDirect.com, for her reviews on water sports equipment including towable tubes, skis, wakeboards, kayaks and water trampolines.