Our Summer Goal is to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Whether it’s the beach, the park, or the porch, we love finding a pretty locale to post up. But then what? Maybe we’ll do leisurely out-of-office things like breathe fresh air and talk about life — but first, we feast.
A summer picnic is the ultimate low-maintenance feel-good summer social activity, and we’re sharing a healthy seasonal picnic menu from integrative nutritionist, Jennie Miremadi. Her lineup is light enough for a hot day, easy to prep and well-balanced on the nutrition-front. Get inspired and scoop up a few original recipes to impress your blanket’s guests…
When summer rolls around, there’s nothing more fun than picnicking at outdoor concerts and movies. But if you’ve ever bought a pre-made picnic box, you probably know that it can be hard to find one that’s both healthy and delicious. The good news is that it’s actually really easy to create your own gourmet spread, and I’m excited to show you how with this healthy summer picnic menu.
Every item on the menu is delicious, made from real food ingredients and is completely free of dairy, gluten and refined sugar — so you’ll love the taste of it, but you won’t be left feeling unwell after you eat it. And the best part is that this menu is super easy to throw together. It includes several foods where the only effort required on your part is to pick up the items at your organic grocery store. The few simple recipes the menu does include are quick and easy to prepare. So the next time you’re picnicking at an outdoor event, skip the done-for-you picnic boxes and try making your own healthy version instead:
For Starters:
Castelvetrano olives
Marcona almonds
Miyoko’s Organic Aged English Smoked Farmhouse Vegan Cheese
Mary’s Gone Crackers Organic Herb Crackers
For The Meal:
Pre-cooked, organic rotisserie chicken served with Chimichurri Sauce*
(Get the recipe Monday!)
Bibb lettuce, peach, heirloom tomato & roasted chickpea salad with peach balsamic vinaigrette
For Dessert:
Fresh figs
Mason jar mini cherry almond lucuma crumble
(gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free)
Bibb Lettuce, Peach, Heirloom Tomato & Roasted Chickpea Salad with Peach Balsamic Vinaigrette
Serves 2
Ingredients:
For the salad:
4 cups bibb lettuce, torn into pieces
1/2 cup sliced fresh peaches
1/2 cup roasted chickpeas
1/4 of a red onion, sliced
1/4 cup sliced heirloom tomatoes
Himalayan pink salt to taste
peach balsamic vinaigrette
For the roasted chickpeas:
1 15.5 oz can organic chickpeas (rinsed, drained and patted dry)
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Himalayan pink salt to taste
For the vinaigrette:
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped overripe peaches
Himalayan pink salt to taste
Directions:
For the salad:
In a large salad bowl, combine lettuce, peaches, chickpeas, onion and tomatoes.
Toss salad with enough peach balsamic vinaigrette to coat.
Adjust salt to taste.
Serve and enjoy!
For the roasted chickpeas:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Toss ingredients on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Roast for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly golden.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Set aside 1/2 cup for salad and reserve the rest for later use.
For the vinaigrette:
Add ingredients to Vitamix or other high-speed blender and blend until ingredients are emulsified.
Adjust salt to taste.
Serve with bibb lettuce, peach, heirloom tomato and roasted chickpea salad and enjoy!
Mason Jar Mini Cherry Almond Lucuma Crumble
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the jars:
16 oz frozen organic dark sweet cherries
2 Tbsp purified water
1 Tbsp lucuma powder
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp honey
1 tsp arrowroot powder
crumble
For the crumble:
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 cup almond flour
2 Tbsp arrowroot powder
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Nutiva organic coconut oil with butter flavor, melted
6 Tbsp coconut sugar
2 Tbsp lucuma
1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
Directions:
For the jars:
Add cherries, water, lucuma, almond extract and honey to a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently for approximately 7-10 minutes, or until liquid from the cherries is released in the saucepan and has come to a boil.
Once cherry liquid is boiling, reduce heat to low. Remove 2 tablespoons of cherry liquid from the saucepan and mix with 1 teaspoon of arrow root powder in a small bowl until arrowroot powder is completely dissolved.
Add cherry-arrowroot mixture back into the saucepan with the cherries and cook over low heat, stirring frequently and making sure that the cherry liquid does not come to a boil.
When cherry liquid is thick and coats the back of a spoon, turn off heat.
Divide cherry mixture evenly among four 8 ounce mason jars and allow to cool until mixture is warm but no longer hot.
Top each cherry jar with 3 heaping tablespoons of crumble.
Serve cherry jars either warm or at room temperature and enjoy!
For the crumble:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add almonds, almond flour, arrowroot flour, coconut sugar, lucuma and salt to a mixing bowl and mix to combine.
Drizzle coconut oil over almond flour mixture and stir until mixture resembles a crumble.
Transfer crumble to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 12-15 minutes or until crumble is fragrant and lightly golden.
Remove from oven and set aside for use with cherry jars.
