What greater way to enjoy the hot summer days than with a delicious picnic? Eating outdoors is not only more enjoyable, but it’s great for your wellbeing too.
However, picnic foods aren’t known to be particularly healthy. In fact, they can be really unhealthy. If you’re looking for healthy foods to bring on a picnic, below you’ll discover 7 of the best healthy picnic food ideas for inspiration.
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Confetti slaw with a delicious poppy seed dressing
This colorful dish is perfect for summer picnics and it contains just 40 calories per serving. It delivers a refreshingly tangy flavor and is packed full of Vitamin C.
It’s simple to make too, requiring just a few simple ingredients such as Dijon mustard, cider vinegar, poppy seeds, red cabbage, green cabbage and small matchstick carrots.
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Low carb cauliflower salad
Looking for a healthy alternative to potato salad? This great dish substitutes potatoes for cauliflower, yet still delivers that creamy refreshing taste.
As well as cauliflower, you’ll need ingredients such as hard-boiled eggs, Greek yoghurt, Dijon mustard, dill pickles, mayonnaise and half a lemon. This is sure to become a firm family favorite!
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Nutrient packed sandwiches
Sandwiches are by far the best type of picnic food and just because you’re eating healthy doesn’t mean you have tocut them out of the diet entirely. With a few healthy tweaks, you can turn the typical high-carb sandwich into a delicious and healthy picnic food.
To make it super-healthy, why not create the “Ultimate Veggie Sandwich”? As the name suggests, it’s packed full of salad vegetables such as lettuce, carrot, cucumber, red cabbage and avocado. Mustard can be used for taste, and there are so many ways you can tweak the recipe to suit your own taste buds.
If you really can’t bear the thought of ditching the meat entirely, simply add cooked skinless chicken.
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Brown rice, mango and avocado sushi
It may be a little too hot to leave raw fish out on a picnic, but there’s a few excellent vegetable-based sushi recipes you can enjoy. This brown rice, mango and avocado dish is unbelievably delicious and super-healthy too.
It does require quite a few ingredients, but the cost and preparation is definitely worthwhile. Some of the key ingredients you’ll need include brown rice (short grain), rice vinegar, cucumber, nori sheets, mango and avocado.
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Strawberry balsamic pasta salad
Strawberries aren’t typically something you add to a salad, but you’ll be surprised just how delicious this recipe is. The sweetness of the strawberries mixes perfectly with the tangy taste of the balsamic vinegar.
The great thing about this dish is it’s so quick and easy to make. You’ll need penne pasta (ideally wholegrain), strawberries, baby spinach, feta cheese, balsamic vinegar and sliced almonds.
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Nonalcoholic Mojito fruit salad
A picnic wouldn’t be complete without a sweet dish. This nonalcoholic Mojito fruit salad is both sweet and tangy, giving your taste buds a real summer tasting treat.
As no alcohol is added, this recipe is extremely healthy. You’ll need lime, mint, strawberries, watermelon, blueberries and raspberries.
If you’re heading out on an adult-only picnic, you could add a little rum to give it a little kick without compromising its healthy quality.
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Avocado cheesecake
Ok, so cheesecakes aren’t ever going to be truly “healthy”. However, this avocado version comes pretty close and makes an excellent picnic treat.
You can always substitute some of the ingredients for healthier varieties too such as low-fat cream cheese and sour cream instead of heavy cream. However, if the majority of your picnic food is low-calorie and low-carb dishes, you can get away with enjoying this creamy, avocado cheesecake exactly how it is.
Overall, there’s plenty of delicious yet healthy picnic foods you can enjoy. As you can see above, healthy recipes really don’t have to be boring!
