u/BOU1982

I'm a chef in the UK (28 years in kitchens). At home we try to keep most of the week low-UPF, but school holidays and long walks destroy the plan. Kids are suddenly starving, the only options in the café are bars and crisps, and the "healthy" multipacks in the supermarket are often the worst offenders once you read the back.

What has worked for us (not perfect, just practical): 

Things I personally side-eye on the shelf (UK): a lot of "veg" crisps, fruit winders-style sweets, cereal bars with a health halo, and anything where sugar/oils/emulsifiers dominate the ingredients list even if the front says wholegrain or protein. 
Curious what actually works for other UK families on walks and days out. Especially anything that doesn't need a fridge for 3-4 hours. 
 
(Not looking for perfection. Looking for "good enough that we leave the house without a meltdown.")
  
Fruit that travels
 Apples, clementines, bananas if you're eating soon. Boring, but they win.   
Cheese + something crunchy you control
 A block of proper cheese cut at home + plain oatcakes or rice cakes with a short ingredient list. Not the coated kids cheese strings if the list is a novel.   
Homemade "bars" that aren't bars
 Overnight oats set in a tub, or a simple flapjack you baked: oats, butter, a bit of honey or maple, dried fruit. You know every ingredient. Slice and wrap.   
Hummus or yoghurt pots + veg sticks
 Only if you've got a cool bag. Carrot, cucumber, pepper. Kids demolish these when they're actually hungry.   
Popcorn you popped yourself
 Corn + oil + salt. Bags of microwave "butter" flavour are a different animal.   
Nuts/seeds if age-appropriate and school rules allow
 Portion into small pots so they don't inhale the whole bag.