Finally – picnic season is right here! As a substitute of indulging in picnic after picnic, nonetheless, it’ll pay to pack a picnic that’s on the healthier side… at the very least a few of the time.
To provide you some nutritious picnic inspo, listed here are 5 meals that I, as a dietitian, all the time have on my picnic menu.
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1. Prawns
Not solely are prawns drool-worthy scrumptious, they’re a wonderful picnic possibility as a result of they’re tremendous satisfying due to their excessive protein content material. With simply over 100 energy per 100 grams of prawn meat, prawns make for are a lightweight picnic course – and the truth that you must rigorously peel them slows you down and means you’ll have extra time to savour the flavour of each mouthful.
Plus, prawns present a raft of important vitamins, together with the energising b-group vitamin niacin, vitamin B12 for wholesome blood and even a lift of bone-strengthening calcium.
2. Kombucha
Sugary tender drinks and alcoholic bevvies is perhaps tasty, however they add an entire lot of pointless kilojoules to your picnic unfold.
Kombucha, then again, is a tasty, effervescent refreshment with far much less kilojoules – and it’d even be good to your intestine due to the probiotics it comprises. In the event you’re not into kombucha, you may strive soda water flavoured with citrus, contemporary herbs and berries, or experiment with zero-alcohol wines or spirits.
3. Berries
Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries – no matter is in season, I all the time pack a punnet in my picnic basket. Candy and juicy berries are wealthy in vitamin C to assist a wholesome immune system, present hunger-busting fibre for a wholesome digestive system and pack a punch when it comes to disease-fighting antioxidants.
They’re an exquisite option to fulfill a candy tooth with out choosing added sugar, and once more are tremendous low in energy so are very exhausting to overeat. A whole 250-gram punnet of strawberries, for instance, comprises simply 65 energy.
4. Veggie sticks
Child cucumbers and cherry tomatoes are my go to – however something from carrot sticks to sliced radishes to child capsicums are a go.
Whereas I don’t count on anybody to go to a picnic and simply eat veggie sticks (how boring!), having them out there is a clever thought to stability out historically heavy picnic meals. Swapping just some crackers with dip or mouthfuls of cheese for veggies is an easy option to lighten the load and increase the goodness of your picnic unfold.
5. Cheese
A picnic isn’t a picnic with out cheese… so in fact cheese is on my important picnic checklist! You’ll be happy to listen to that cheese is definitely very meals for you in my books – it’s jam-packed with bone-strengthening calcium and hunger-busting protein.
I *love* cheese and haven’t any disgrace in selecting no matter tickles my fancy for a picnic – often one thing wealthy and creamy like camembert. As a substitute of digging into the entire wheel, nonetheless, I attempt to eat slowly and mindfully, and alternate wedges of cheese with fruit or veggies to stability out the meal.
Melissa Meier is a Sydney-based accredited practising dietitian. You possibly can join together with her on Instagram @honest_nutrition.
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