Reforming the al fresco snacking impulse can be challenging.

"Licorice, Cheetos and juice boxes are the only things kids seem to want to eat on picnics," says Anne-Marie Hoppe, a Sparks, Nev., mother of three young daughters. "(They) do not ever want to eat what I pack for picnics, so I get frustrated."

Deliverance is at hand: The trick to packing a better basket is to take kid-friendly textures and flavors and deploy them in more nutritious dishes.

Let's start with flavors.

"Most children like chicken and cheese, but these ingredients don't have to be processed," says Jennifer Bushman, star of "Make It Easy," the new Web cooking show on www.RGJ.com. "Use whole ingredients instead."

Bushman suggests wraps stuffed with roast chicken and Monterey Jack cheese or soft tacos filled with oven-roasted bacon, leaf lettuce and fresh tomatoes. Make the wraps or tacos ahead of time, secure them with toothpicks and then pack them up for the picnic. Adults can add spice with hot sauce.

Kids love finger foods, and both these dishes are hand held. So are slices of fresh fruit pizza. If you have time, hit the farmers market and let the kids pick out fruit and carry it in their own market bags.

Even small efforts can lead to a more nutritious basket. Instead of fatty, salty, caloric packaged dip, make homemade hummus brightened with loads of fresh parsley.

Nancy Horn, chef and co-owner of DISH Cafe & Catering in Reno, combines a quartet of kid favorites — finger foods, pancakes, peanut butter and bananas—- to make sandwiches or roll-ups that are prepared with nutritious whole wheat flour.

The sandwiches also could be filled with apples, apple butter and honey; cream cheese and jam; or cream cheese, honey, shredded carrots and apples. True, there's sugar at work here, but it's natural, not processed.

A lot of typical "kid food" involves pasta that's all too often mugged by artificial cheese. Horn takes the childhood penchant for pasta and peanut butter and refashions it into a toss of seared tofu cubes, fusilli corkscrew pasta, Asian peanut sauce and fresh vegetables.

Horn's pizza suggestion: Buy packaged dough at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods Market, and let the kids roll it out into small circles they top with leftover meat and vegetables.

"Kids love being a part of the cooking process," Horn says.

MOM'S FRUIT PIZZA

1 package refrigerated sugar cookie dough

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature

one-third cup sugar

one-half teaspoon vanilla

3 cups assorted sliced fruit such as peaches, kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, orange sections, etc., or more if needed

one-half cup seedless red raspberry jam (optional)

1 tablespoon water (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut roll of sugar cookie dough into 1/8-inch slices. Line 14-inch pizza pan with slices of cookie dough, overlapping them and pressing gently. Bake about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool.

In large bowl, blend cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Spread over cookie crust. Arrange fruit in circles on cream cheese. Serves 10.

Note: If desired, warm jam over low heat with water, stir and brush glaze on fruit.

Source: Jennifer Bushman, star of "Make It Easy," the new Web cooking show at the Reno Gazette Journal's Web site, www.rgj.com

BACON, LETTUCE AND TOMATO SOFT TACO

one-half cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon mustard

4 12-inch flour tortillas at room temperature

leaf lettuce, washed, well drained and crisped in refrigerator

one-half pound thinly sliced bacon, fried crisp and drained on paper towels

3 medium ripe tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 cup shredded or grated Monterey Jack cheese

Spread in single layer on cookie sheet and bake in 400-degree oven. Bacon will cook and crisp up in about 15 minutes. Remove bacon from cookie sheet and drain on paper towel before serving or storing.

Combine mayonnaise and mustard in small bowl. Arrange tortillas on work surface. Arrange lettuce in layer on tortillas. Divide bacon among tortillas. Sprinkle each tortilla liberally with chopped tomato.

Top each with 1 tablespoon mayonnaise mix and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle each with a little cheese. Fold over bottom fourth of tortillas, then fold up sides, loosely overlapping them. Makes 4 tacos.

Source: Jennifer Bushman

ROAST CHICKEN AND MONTEREY JACK WRAPS

8 8-inch sun-dried tomato wraps or flour tortillas

one-half pound fresh roasted chicken breast, thinly sliced

1 and one-third cups shredded or grated Monterey Jack cheese

one-half cup good quality jarred salsa of choice

sour cream

Spread wraps on work surface. Divide chicken breast and cheese evenly among wraps. Spoon a little salsa on cheese. Roll up. Microwave wraps on high 30 seconds, just until cheese melts.

To serve wraps, allow them to sit a few minutes after heating; they'll slice better once cheese has set slightly. Once cooled slightly, trim off ends and slice into thirds on diagonal. If desired, serve with more salsa and sour cream on side. Makes 8 wraps.

Source: Jennifer Bushman

FAVORITE MULTIGRAIN PANCAKE SANDWICHES

Beat:

2 large eggs

Mix together:

two-thirds cup whole milk

one-half cup shaken buttermilk

3 tablespoons melted butter, slightly cooled

Sift together:

three-fouths cup unbleached white flour

three-fourths cup whole wheat pastry flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 teaspoon brown sugar

one-half cup rolled oats

Add eggs to milk mixture, then add sifted dry ingredients. Blend well, but do not overmix. Let sit at room temperature 20 minutes. Heat nonstick pan on medium-high heat and spray with baking spray.

When drop of water sizzles in pan, use one-fourth cup measure to drop batter into pan. Flip pancake when edges are dry and bottom is browned. Brown other side and check for doneness in center.

Set to cool on wire rack. Store in refrigerator and use by next day or freeze in freezer bag. Defrost at room temperature. Makes about 15 3-inch pancakes.

For picnics, spread and stuff pancakes with fillings: peanut butter and banana; apples, apple butter and honey; cream cheese and jam; cream cheese, honey, shredded carrots and apple.

Source: Nancy Horn, chef and co-owner, DISH Cafe & Catering, www.dishcafecatering.com.

TOFUSILLY PEANUT NOODLES

1 package extra firm tofu, drained in refrigerator overnight on wire rack over sheet pan, using cans for weight

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 clove minced garlic

1-inch knob fresh ginger, shredded

pinch salt

1 teaspoon soy sauce

peanut or canola oil

one-half cup smooth peanut butter

one-third cup warm water

juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon red chili sauce like sriracha (optional; omit if heat not desired)

1 (13 and one-half ounce) can coconut milk

1-pound package dried fusilli or corkscrew pasta of choice

5 quarts water

1 handful kosher salt

Sliced vegetables of choice

Cube drained tofu. Mix together sesame oil, vinegar, garlic, ginger, salt and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Add cubed tofu and let stand 15 minutes. Heat pan over medium-high heat and cover bottom with peanut or canola oil.

When oil starts to shimmer, carefully add tofu. Brown each piece on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, whisk together peanut butter, water, lime juice, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, brown sugar, paprika, chili sauce (if using) and coconut milk; set aside.

Meanwhile, bring water to boil, add salt and cook pasta until al dente, about 9 to 11 minutes. Drain and cool by spreading out on cookie sheet; do not rinse.

To serve, mix tofu, pasta and vegetables of choice (shredded carrots, sliced scallions, sliced red peppers, sliced cucumbers, steamed broccoli, steamed cauliflower and so on). Dress with peanut sauce to taste. Use extra sauce for dipping vegetables or chicken. Serves 8.

Courtesy of Nancy Horn

HUMMUS

2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

one-fourth cup tahini paste (sesame paste)

2 cloves garlic, creamed into paste

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 and one-half teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

one-eighth teaspoon smoked paprika or paprika

one-half cup extra virgin olive oil

Cold water, if necessary, for thinning

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, for garnish

Minced flat leaf parsley, for garnish

In work bowl of food processor, place beans, tahini, creamed garlic and lemon juice. Process until roughly combined. Add sea salt, cumin and paprika, then add 1/2 cup olive oil in steady stream through feed tube.

Thin hummus, if necessary, with a little cold water until smooth and creamy. Top with additional 2 teaspoons olive oil and parsley. Serve with fresh cut vegetables for dipping. Yields 2 cups.

Courtesy of Barbara Mills, owner, Back of the House Culinary Adventures, Reno, Nev., www.backofthehousecooks.com