September is the ideal time to go on a picnic. This is the time of the year when you’d like to go outdoors and enjoy the sun. But whenever we think of spending some time outdoors, we have to worry about the food that we eat. Because fast foods like hot dogs, chips, ice-cream and fast food fill our taste buds but tend to overfill the calorie tank but lack the required nutrition. A healthy lunch for picnic is a good option.
Here are some healthy food items for a picnic lunch:
1. Sandwiches
Sandwiches are the best choice for picnics, but you need to take care to choose the right kind of sandwich. First level of concern would be the bread. Avoid regular white bread. Choose whole wheat breads or multi-grain or omega 3 or flax bread. These kind of breads are packed with a lot of whole grains which provide a rich source of fiber, vitamins, and anti-oxidants. If you want to try something offbeat, use a whole wheat tortilla to make a wrap on a on a traditional sandwich. Now for the filling. The packed and/or processed meat have very high sodium and fat content. Instead try using some chicken breasts or salmon. You can always opt for the classic peanut butter and jelly. Do not to overdo it with peanut butter however, cause as it is, any kind of butter is a concentrated source of fat. The size of one serving should be one level tablespoon.
2. Salads, fruits, and dips
Salads are low in calories and simple to prepare. Choose your favorite low fat dips from the supermarket or if you make it yourself at home, make sure to low fat ingredients to prepare the dip. Start with a good selection of veggies which can be prepared easily for dipping: celery and carrot sticks are perfect, cherry tomatoes too are good. Try fruits like apples, bananas,grapes and berries. Low fat sour cream, hummus are good for the veggie dip, they’re tasty as well as low in trans-fat. Low fat yogurt is pretty good as a fruit dip.
3. Desserts
The most important thing if you are taking kids along. Fruits are not enough to satisfy the kids’ sweet tooth. Try some home-made trail mixes made with nuts, dried fruits like apricots, raisins and prunes with some crunchy whole grain cereal. This mix is nutrient rich and a treat for the tongue. However, the serving size should be small. And avoid condensed milk, they are a concentrated source of fat and calories.
4. Beverages
Besides water, beverages are must to keep you hydrated. Juices have high sugar content giving them high calorific values. If you have to take juice try natural fruit juice instead of packed fruit juices which contain artificial ingredients and sugar, not to mention preservatives. Avoid “fruit drinks”. 100% real fruit juices are available in the market too. Soy milk too is a good option. You can also make your own beverage at home, e.g., smoothies etc. Use honey instead of sugar, it will give a good smooth taste as well as cut off some extra calories.
Finally, you can also opt for diabetic desserts made with artificial sweeteners instead of sugar, they are lower in calorific values but are good enough to satisfy the sweet tooth. We generally do not carry ice-creams, for obvious reasons that it will melt! But if you can find an ice-cream vendor and you really want to go for it, try ice-milk or low fat ice-cream or sorbets instead of regular high in fat ice cream. If you are looking for bread spreads try to replace butter with margarine, yes, it does kill the taste to some extent but nothing a little pepper can’t fix! Avoid red meat on your day out. Red meat has the tendency to drain your body of water, stay hydrated and drink a lot of water or glucose.