Picnic Planning Guide

I so enjoy picnic's and this time of year is picnic time so before summer is over I thought I would do a post dedicated to picnic food and picnic planning!

A picnic is a moveable feast, and being able to leave the table, television and fast food drive-through in your rearview mirror is one thing that makes an al fresco meal so special. If you're planning a walk to the park, afternoon on the beach or scenic drive, take along a few classic picnic foods or a few new spins on the classic picnic foods that will satisfy your palate while celebrating the luxury of eating in the open air.

Top 10 Classic Picnic Foods:

1. Potato Salad
2. Fried Chicken - Or you could pick up a free range Roasted Chicken from the market!
3. Watermelon OR if you are tight on space you could take some dehydrated Watermelon!
4. Pasta Salad
5. Pinwheel Sandwiches
6. Bread, Cheese and sliced meats - A French baguette, Italian bread or a Kaiser roll makes a delicious foundation for your favourite sliced meat and aged cheese. 
7. Deviled eggs
8. Ready to Grill items - A hot picnic entree like classic grilled burgers, brats or chicken adds a new dimension to a simple basket meal.
9. Lemonaide
10. Fruit Salad

A few Picnic ideas I like:

• Croissant Sandwich (check out Free People blog for a recipe)

Salad in a cup (as shown from 24/7 low carb diner blog)

Cheese Cake Jars (photo below from the My Bakingaddiction blog)

Veggie Skewers (use cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers)

Fruit Skewers (strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, raspberries, grapes etc.)

To get you started, consider the 5 W’s of picnicking:

1. Who will be attending the picnic?
2. What is the occasion?
3. Where is the location?
4. Why are you having a picnic?
5. When is your picnic taking place?

Think about your company as you plan the menu. Do they have any favorite foods and/or any dietary restrictions? Kids or just adults?

 Is it a special celebration that might require a cake, or is it a spur of the moment cheese and bread kind of picnic? Is this an occasion for a nice wine or a few juice boxes and bottled water?

 A picnic can be had anywhere, really, from the front yard to a roof top, to a nearby park or beach. Perhaps you’ve planned a canoe ride, or a hike to some scenic view? Wherever you decide to go, be sure to consider factors like:

A. Weather: if there’s any chance of rain be sure to bring an umbrella.

B. Distance: How far away is the picnic site? Will you have any perisable items? If so, pack them on ice.

C. Ammenities: are there washrooms nearby? Is there fresh drinking water on site? Consider the general accesibility, particularily if mobility is an issue for older folks.

No matter what the occasion may be, picnics are a relaxing, casual way to be with friends, family and loved ones while enjoying fresh air and a memorable meal.

Remember to keep it simple; it should be easy to transport and require minimal clean-up.

Bon appetite!

Tangy Lemon Bar

I love lemon bars but I'm pretty particular about them.  I sought out yesterday afternoon to play around with creating a Healthy Lemon Bar recipe, figuring that it would take several tries before it tasted any good.

Asher and I got busy making the crust, then the filling and he waited patiently to try the finished product once out of the oven and cooling.  Instead of processed white sugar, we used organic cane sugar for the crust and honey for the filling.  We also used whole wheat flour for the crust.

When I tried it I was truly expecting that I would need to tweak it and try again but I was surprised that it was just right for my personal lemon bar preferences.

Now my Father in Law absolutely loves lemon bars and lemon meringue pie as well, so we took a piece over to him and here is what he had to say via text:

Him "Lemon bar is fantastically lemony"
Me: "lol it's tangy! I like it that way tho!"
Him: "Me too! And great base. Not soggy. Good job!!!"

I'll take that as a win!

This is the recipe we used for our Tangy Lemon Bars.

Lemon Bar Crust

1/2 cup butter
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 TBSP Corn Starch
Pinch of sea salt

Mix all ingredients with the food processor until it's crumbly and coming together.  Then press into a square 8x8 inch pan with a piece of wax paper.  Or get your little helper to do that job for you!

Bake the crust at 350 for about 15 minutes.

While the crust bakes you can prepare the filling for your lemon bars.

Lemon Bar Filling

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups honey
Zest of one Large Lemon or 2 small lemons
1/2 - 1 cup lemon juice or the zest of two Large or 4 small lemons
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP Corn Starch

Wisk the honey and the eggs together until you can't feel the honey sticking to the bottom any more.  Then grate your lemon rind into the mixture and add the lemon juice.  Wisk in the Vanilla extract and corn starch making sure you whisk until the corn starch isn't lumpy, you don't want white spots on the top of your lemon bar.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the sides of the lemon bar start to turn golden brown and the middle starts to thicken.

Take your lemon bar out of the oven to cool, and sprinkle with a little icing sugar is you like. Once it reaches room temperature you can either eat it at room temperature or chill in the refrigerator.

I preferred them chilled to room temperature.

Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana Bites

In the summer I'm less likely to want to turn on the oven to bake a loaf of banana bread or banana muffins when I have a couple bananas that are ready to go.  But this simple snack uses them up in a yummy way that doesn't require an oven!

Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana Bites

3-4 bananas (depends on how many you want  )
1 bag ENJOY LIFE chocolate chunks-dairy/soy/gluten free
Top with whatever: coconut, almonds, even add in peanut butter if you want.

Cut up the banana's into bite sized pieces, put onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and pop into the freezer for about 30 minutes (optional you can just cover them and then freeze them too).

Melt the chocolate in a bowl. 

Dip each frozen banana in the chocolate and cover completely. Place back on the parchment paper. When all the banana bites are covered and on the parchment paper, put the cookie sheet into the freezer for about an hour. Remove the pieces and place in a freezer safe plastic storage bag if you want to enjoy them over the course of the next week!

Seriously this is the perfect evening sweet treat..for me i don't need a TON to be satisfied...just need 1-2 and I feel like it helps me cure that sweet tooth without the guilt cause I don't know if i'm the only who likes an evening snack 

I would certainly consider making these for an appetizer at a healthy party!

Whole Wheat Yam and Feta Quesadilla - A healthy lunch idea

This Quesadilla is easy and quick to prepare and tastes amazing! I knew it was going to be good before I tried it and boy was I right. This is a tasty and healthy lunch idea that can be made the night before an eaten cold or reheated.

I was in search of a quick, healthy and satisfying lunch this afternoon and came up with this Yam and Feta Quesadilla. 

First I peeled and sliced up a whole yam. 

Then I put a splash of organic olive oil into my big frying pan and cooked the sliced yams for about 5 minutes until tender. 

While the yams were cooking I spread a layer of organic cream cheese onto my wrap and ran out to the garden for a bit of green onion. Chopped then sprinkled the green onion over the cream cheese. 

Once the yams were tender I removed them from the pan and transferred them onto the wrap. 

Next I spead fresh feta onto the tops of the yams and transferred the wrap to the frying pan. 

Then I put a second wrap onto the top and squished it down slightly to spear the feta more then baked it until heated through and golden brown. 

The saltiness and creaminess of the feta with the sweetness of the yams and savoury of the onions was the perfect combination. 

I can think of a few friends who would love this one. And Asher even tried and liked it too! He ate my last slice after stealing several bites of mine :) I better go buy some more feta!!

I'll be adding this to my list of healthy lunch ideas that's for sure! I'm headed back to work in a few months after over a year of Maternity leave so I'll be looking for some healthy lunch ideas for work.  This one will be perfect. 

Heavenly Whole Wheat Apricot Ginger Scones

This fruit scone combination is seriously good! I love making scones and muffins for quick and healthy week day breakfasts and I'm looking forward to tomorrow mornings cup of coffee with one of these tasty scones to go with!

I used my go to fruit scone recipe and added in chopped dried Apricots and chopped candied ginger! Mmmmmmm! 

Whole wheat Apricot Ginger Scones Recipe

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp sea salt

10 chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup chopped candied ginger

3/4 cup of butter

1/2 cup whole milk or cream

1 large or two small eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup honey

Top with a sprinkle of organic coconut palm sugar.

Makes 12 small- medium scones

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl with chopped apricots and ginger. With a pastry blender cut in butter. 

In a small measuring cup mix together milk, egg, vanilla and honey. Pour into flour mixture and stir until the dough comes together. transfer 1/3 of the dough to floured surface (using only 1/3 of the dough makes it easier to handle). Kneed and make sure the sides are not sticky. Form ball into flat circle shape by patting to down then cut into 4 triangles. Do this 3 times with the rest of the dough. 

Place the scones onto a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with coconut palm sugar. 

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. 

Another healthy breakfast idea to add to the list. 

Enjoy! 

Organic Apple Nachos

I finally made apple nachos! 

I had purchased this amazing organic white chocolate from bulk barn this week! 

I don't even really like white chocolate but I made a batch of raspberry scones this week and threw in some left over white chocolate I had, man were they good! 

Gord requested another batch so I decided to try these organic couvertures. I also found some organic dark chocolate chips while we were there. 

Anyways back to the nachos! 

I started with two organic apples,sliced them up and fanned them out on a plate. 

Next I melted some homemade peanut butter with a few of the white chocolate couvertures and drizzled it on top! 

The next drizzle was the organic Dark chocolate. 

Then came a sprinkle of organic coconut flakes. 

And finally a few crushed up organic pecans! 

You can too these with just about anything you like they are a quick and easy and pretty healthy treat! 

Comment below what you like to put on your apple nachos! 

Happy Munchies Organic baby food and snacks

So I'm not a walmart shopper unless I'm looking for toys or TP but I stumbled upon these organic finger foods for babies a few weeks ago when looking for some healthier puffs for Fraser for our camping trip! 

I've gotta say I'm impressed! 

Happy Munchies Organic puffs Ingredients:

Organic brown rice flour

Organic white rice flour

Organic apple juice

Calcium carbonate

Organic spinach powder

Organic kale powder

Sodium bicarbonate

Mixed tocopherols and iron. 

Vs

Gerber Puffs

Rice Flour

Whole wheat flour

wheat starch

whole grain oat flour

sugar

dried apple puree

Tri and Dicalcium phosphate

natural blueberry vanilla flavour

mixed tocopherols

Soy and Sunflower lecithin

zinc Sulphate

Electrolytic iron

I went and purchased a few more finger food items for Fraser of this brand tonight and was very happy with the ingredients in each of their products.  I like that the puffs are gluten and sugar free (big bonus)!!

Unfortunately we have a quinoa allergy in our family so i'm holding off giving him the granola bar that they had but otherwise I would have scooped that up too!