Picnic Inspiration
The sun seems set to stay for a while - so our focus has shifted to picnic inspiration. It can however be a real challenge to think of new & exciting ideas for picnics and packed lunches, and often we are left churning out the same food.
So, here at Cooking them Healthy we have done the hard work for you and been thinking up wonderful, fresh and fun new ideas for time saving and easy picnic ideas...here are a few we think are great!
Quails Eggs - (my children call them "mini eggs"!) are perfect for picnics and are packed full of protein and make a handy bitesize snack.
Tortellini Skewers - buy pre made tortellini, cook and thread onto a skewer. Ideally drizzle with some fresh pesto or use it as a vehicle for dips.
Hummus Jam Jar Pots - spoon some hummus into a jam jar, cut up some carrot, pepper or cucumber and place inside. Screw on the lid and you are ready for an instant no mess picnic dipper.
Watermelon Lollies - buy some watermelon and cut into slices. Cut a small slit into the skin of the watermelon and place a ice lolly stick inside. Healthy, fun lolly!
Rainbow Wraps - simply get a wholegrain wrap, spread hummus, goats cheese or any of your favourite dip down the centre of it and pile with a variety of fillings. Ideas include sweetcorn, grated carrot, beetroot, pepper, lettuce etc. Wrap it up tight and either cut in half or into smaller bite sized pieces - this is a great way of getting a lots of veg into them in a fun way.
Green Chicken - an easy cold, saucy, chicken dish, think coronation chicken but a healthier variety. Here is our recipe :-
Serves 4
Cook 2 chicken breasts - either simply roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes, poach in some water for 10-15 minutes or use leftover chicken from a roast. Chop it into mouth sized pieces and mix through our herby yoghurty sauce (recipe below).
Herby Yoghurt
This is a great sauce to have in your fridge to throw on pasta or dip pitta in. Herbs have fantastic health boosting properties and we encourge you to use them liberally in your cooking. Parsley for example is packed full of vitamin C. Yogurt is naturally rich in healthy good bacteria to support digestive & immune health.
3 tablespoons natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic pasted
A large handful of parsley, mint and coriander (light herbs such as dill, tarragon,
chervil would all work well)
Place all in a small magimix or use a hand blender to blitz everything together to get this incredibly vibrant sauce. Will last in your fridge for 2-3 days.
Mix this through your chicken and serve. Great with cold new potatoes
For Full Recipes with Pictures go to Picnic Inspiration
