How to Put Together a Plant Based Picnic
Pairing your outdoor lunch with sunshine and fresh air is the best way to enjoy any meal time. Just like with any other meal, your picnics should nourish your body too! This summer, take your lunch to a comfortable blanket or wooden table surrounded by nature, and keep your meal time exciting.
Why does picnic food always taste so much better? It may be the fresh air, the great company, or sensation of getting Vitamin D after a long winter. You can make your picnics taste even better with nourishing, plant-based meals! And trust me…plant-based meals can definitely still be enjoyable, shareable, crowd pleasing dishes, even for the most stubborn carnivores! Lets walk through the best ways to make your dishes the talk of your next summer time picnic!
The first step is picking what to bring – particularly when you want to keep the meals fresh and healthy. The main things to think about when picking your picnic dishes, is what foods make the least mess, involve the easiest cleanup and can be prepared in advance without spoiling.
One important thing to keep in mind is the temperature your food needs to be stored at. Many fruit and vegetables need to be kept at cool temperatures to avoid food borne illness. Throwing your food into a cooler, or keeping it cool with an ice pack is a great way to ensure maximized freshness when you eat your meal.
This summer, start your picnic with some vegetables and home made dips. Carrots, celery and peppers work great for dipping into whatever your taste buds crave. Hummus, eggplant dip, bean dip, guacamole, olive tapenade and tahini are all delicious party favours at picnics, and are full of nutrients, healthy fats and rich in protein. And this time, skip the store-bought stuff! Dips are one of the easiest snacks to make, and the best part is that you can get as creative as you want with them. Mix your own, unique flavours to really add some pizazz!
For the bulk of your meal, I recommend serving quinoa salad. You can throw in your favourite veggies to get the nutritional benefits, while enjoying the filling content of this gluten free grain. Some of my favourite things to add into quinoa are grilled sweet potato, goji berries, spinach and almond slivers. Quinoa is easy to make a lot of at once, and can easily be made well in advance.
If your picnic is just an afternoon snack, or you want a small snack before mealtime, apples and almond butter are always a great crowd pleaser. Keep your apples fresh after cutting them by soaking them in lemon juice for 5 minutes after cutting them up.
Worried you do not have enough food? Make one more dish to guarantee everyone leaves feeling full. Bean salad or cabbage slaw both make a great side dish to your quinoa. Either one of these dishes is a colourful addition to your picnic spread.
We all know that we cannot finish off the picnic without our favourite juicy fruit: watermelon. Containing 91% water by weight, hydrating has never tasted so good. When you are outside in the sun for hours, it is easy to forget to drink sufficient amounts of water. Having even just a few slices of this juicy pink fruit at the end of your picnic meal will quench your thirst.
So next time the sun is shining, pack up your basket with forks, plates, lots of water, your favourite plant-based dishes, and enjoy the great outdoors! Your guests will be impressed with the flavours, and astounded to know that you have chosen great dishes for their health.
