Healthy Ideas on the Go: The Best Foods for a Picnic
Proteins and Carbohydrates
If you’re trying to prepare the best foods for a picnic, healthy proteins and carbohydrates should be a high priority. They’ll give you plenty of energy to enjoy the great outdoors, and they’ll leave you feeling full and satisfied. Some of the easiest picnic proteins are made from eggs - deviled eggs, hard boiled eggs - or sandwiches on whole grain bread made with egg salad or sliced eggs with Romaine lettuce and tomato slices.
You can also grill or lightly bread some chicken (in whole grain breadcrumbs) and slide them into a sandwich. Alternatively, cut the chicken into strips and eat them as finger foods alone. Chicken salad can also be a good protein, especially if you minimize the amount of mayonnaise used and add some interesting spices (such as cumin or chili powder) to pack in the taste.
Looking for a different type of protein for your picnic? Make some salmon patties from a can of salmon to get some of your omega-3 fatty acids, or put out some nuts and seeds (e.g., sunflower seeds) as snacks. You can also fill celery stalks with some natural peanut butter, adding some raisins to them for any picky kids at your picnic.
Although the bread in most picnic sandwiches, as well as the fruits and vegetables, provide plenty of carbs, you can also add some whole grain pasta salad or mustard-based potato salad to your picnic blanket. Again, go light on the mayo, and add vegetables to the salads to give them a crunch and a bit more nutrition.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are fun foods to eat when you’re on a picnic. Set out a platter of baby carrots and grape tomatoes, small broccoli trees, sugar snap peas, raw green beans, and strips of other vegetables like cucumbers, peppers in various colors, celery, and zucchini. Add a cup of a healthy dip, such as hummus or guacamole to the platter and voila - you have some fun and healthy finger foods for your picnic.
Corn on the cob and sweet potato fries work well as side dishes, especially if you’re making a chicken-based protein food. You can cut jicama, watermelon, apples, or other fruits into small sticks for people to snack on. Alternatively, cube various types of fruits and add them to a shish kabob skewer along with some cubes of cheese for a fun and different picnic snack. Fruits make a healthy dessert as well, so prepare some cherries or various types of berries, possibly topped with a small amount of whipped cream, for a dessert treat.
Drinks
Make sure to prepare plenty of drinks for your picnic. The best drink ideas for a picnic include mint iced tea, tomato juice, fresh-squeezed orange juice, other types of 100% fruit juice, sparkling water, or the classic healthy option: plain old water. Keep them cold by putting them in thermoses or a cooler meant for drinks, or simply provide plenty of ice to cool off the warm drinks. You can also make healthy smoothies at home using yogurt, milk, a banana, and some berries, and bring them along in a cooler bag.
If you bring along a variety of these foods, everyone will agree that you’ve chosen the best foods for a picnic - and you can bring most of them on roadtrips as well. Not only that, but they’ll be eating healthy while having fun!
References
https://www.rd.com/living-healthy/healthy-picnic-food-recipes/article81533.html
https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/healthy-picnic
This post is part of the series: Healthy Choices On the Go
When you’re on the go, it’s easy to fall into the trap of making unhealthy food choices. The articles in this series protect you against that by giving you ideas of healthy and delicious food options you can take with you when you leave your home.