Picnic food: 5 healthy recipes for eating out

Away from home you can also eat healthy and balanced, the secret is to plan and prepare appetizing menus. Add color and variety to your dishes and enjoy your picnic.

No matter how healthy the gastronomic offer of the world of catering is becoming, nothing is more beneficial than preparing your own food and taking it to work, or wherever. Here we propose ideal recipes to eat a healthy picnic.

HOW TO PREPARE HEALTHY PICNIC FOOD

Here are some tips to make it more comfortable for you to do so.

• The key is organization. Planning daily menus based on pantry, energy needs and season is essential and helps make the shopping list with fresh and dry ingredients. You can do it once a week. It can also be very useful to dedicate a day to prepare food that serves as a refrigerator background and then easily compose dishes all week.
• A balanced menu. One of the great benefits of taking the lunch box to work is that it allows you to guarantee the body all the daily nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. Try to promote foods of plant origin, include more often legumes and whole grains and accompany them with vegetables. Complement your dishes with seaweed, seeds and fermented. Also add fresh fruit and nuts as a snack.
• Avoid boredom Your take-to-work dishes should sport at least three colors and a diversity of flavors and cooking styles. Avoid boredom, great enemy of balanced and healthy eating. Don’t settle for improvising and eating anything either. b
• At home, too Even if your work activity allows you to eat at home, try to organize the menu, because cooking hungry increases the chances of ending up eating unhealthy and balanced fast food. It is already known that “in a hurry and well, there is no one”.

5 DIFFERENT RECIPES FOR A PICNIC AWAY FROM HOME

RED LENTIL MUFFINS WITH SPICED CRUMBLE AND PUMPKIN MARINATED IN KOMBUCHA

Ingredients (for 4 people):

For muffins

• 500 g red lentils, soaked the night before
• 1 tablespoon ground flax
• 1 tablespoon ground green anise
• 1/<> teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/<> teaspoons garam masala powder
• 10 g chemical yeast
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 75 ml ghee (clarified butter)
• 80 ml rice drink
• 4 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 dried tomatoes, chopped

For the crumble:

• 5 tablespoons red lentils
• 45 ml ghee
• 10 g garam masala
• 5 g pink Himalayan salt

For the marinade

• 1/2 small pumpkin
• 30 ml lemon juice
• 45 ml sour apple juice
• 100 ml kombucha with ginger
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons raw tahini
• 1 teaspoon roasted sesame oil
• pink salt and pepper

Preparation (90′):

For the marinade:

1. Make pumpkin strips with a peeler. In a bowl mix the juices, sugar and salt, add the kombucha and dip the pumpkin strips. Cover with a cloth and let macerate for 45 minutes.
2. Drain the strips and emulsify the liquid in another bowl with the tahini and oil. Season the pumpkin with pink and black pepper to taste.
3. When going to eat, pour the tahini sauce. You can add roasted pumpkin seeds with tamari.

For muffins:

1. Mix the lentils with the rest, except parsley and tomatoes. Beat to a homogeneous dough and add them. Distribute in molds.
2. In a bowl mix the ingredients of the crumble and spread over the muffins. Bake at 185º, top and bottom, half oven, 25-30 min.
3. Remove and let cool before unmolding. You can accompany this recipe with a cauliflower pate with white tahini.

TEMPEH CANNELLONI WITH ALMOND SAUCE AND ARUGULA AND ORANGE SALAD WITH SEEDS

Ingredients (for 4 people):

For cannelloni:

• 6 sheets of pasta for lasagna
• 3 white onions
• 4 garlic
• 1 carrot
• 200 g tempeh
• 50 ml white wine
• 3/4 cup tomato sauce and 1 tablespoon concentrated tomato puree
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 100 g raw and peeled almonds, soaked the day before
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon white shiro miso
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• olive oil and salt

For the salad:

• 2 blood oranges
• 50 g arugula
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup peeled hemp seeds
• 1/4 cup toasted black sesame
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sweet mustard
• orange juice
• salt and pink pepper

Preparation (60′):

1. Chop an onion, garlic and carrot. Sauté for five minutes and put the crumbled tempeh. Sauté and grate with white wine. Add all the tomato and cover it with the broth. Cook until almost consumed. Season with tamari, cinnamon and paprika. Mix and turn off heat.
2. Place the tempeh filling on the lasagna slices cooked al dente and make the cannelloni. Reservation.
3. Cut the remaining onion into julienne and sauté it with a little oil, water and salt until softened.
4. Wash the soaked almonds and beat with onion, yeast, miso and water. Cover the cannelloni and gratin with this sauce.
5. Assemble the salad with the arugula, nuts, seeds and orange segments, and season emulsifying the oil with mustard, two tablespoons of orange juice, salt and pink pepper.

SEED SANDWICH WITH GREEN HUMMUS AND POMEGRANATE SALAD WITH MUSHROOMS

Ingredients (for 4 people):

For the sandwich:

• German pumpernickle whole wheat seed bread
• 1 cup chickpea hummus
• 1/2 cup green olives
• 5 g wakame seaweed
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup basil
• 1/4 cup chopped chives or fresh cilantro
• Green cabbage sauerkraut

For the salad:

• 1/2 cup pomegranate grains
• 100 g assorted mushrooms
• 1 handful endive
• 6 radishes
• 2 tablespoons umeboshi vinegar

For raspberry vinaigrette:

• 2 tablespoons raspberry puree
• 6 tablespoons EVOO
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon cold water

Preparation (30′):

1. Chop the olives and seaweed, which you will have drained after leaving it to soak for 10 minutes. Mix it all with hummus and herbs. Spread the slices of bread with the hummus (keep the leftover in the fridge) and spread a tablespoon of sauerkraut on top.
2. Tip and cut the radishes into slices, mix them with umeboshi vinegar and let macerate for about 25 minutes.
3. Chop the endive with your hands and mix it with the pomegranate kernels, marinated radishes and sautéed mushrooms with a little oil, salt, garlic and parsley.
4. For the vinaigrette, emulsify all the ingredients to form a fluid and thick sauce, if necessary, add more water.
5. Cut the sandwich in half and serve the salad accompanied by the vinaigrette, added at the time of taking it.

AROMATIC AZUKIS STEW WITH CHESTNUTS, MISO AND HAZELNUTS

Ingredients (for 4 people):

• 250 g cooked azukis
• 150 g whole chestnuts, cooked and peeled
• 750 ml vegetable broth
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 parsnip
• 1 carrot
• 3 turnips
• 3 tender garlic
• rosemary, thyme and parsley
• 1 tablespoon brown rice miso (Genmai)
• 1 tablespoon ginger juice
• virgin olive oil
• Piparras in vinegar
• 1/2 cup toasted chopped hazelnuts

Preparation (45′):

1. Cut the sweet potato, parsnip, carrot and turnips, previously peeled, into medium cubes and the sliced garlic. Sauté the young garlic in a saucepan with a little salt and a tablespoon of oil. Add all the vegetables, another pinch of salt and sauté. Cover the vegetables with the broth, cover the pot and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are al dente.
2. Add the azukis, the chestnuts already cooked, four tablespoons of rosemary, a sprig of thyme and some more broth. Stir and recap the casserole. Cook another five minutes over low heat.
3. Dilute the miso with a little broth and pour it into the pot, already out of the heat. Stir, cover and let stand for five minutes.
4. Place a handful of parsley leaves in the blender glass along with the ginger juice and cover with olive oil. Beat, filter and reserve this green oil.
5. Toast the pumpkin seeds lightly in a pan, but without oil, and set aside.
6. Serve the stew with a little green oil on top and accompany it with a pickled piparra. To complement the dish, add a little hazelnut chopped right when you go to eat.

SPINACH WITH CAVIAR AND COCONUT LENTILS, SWEET POTATO PARMENTIER AND KIMCHI

Ingredients (for 4 people):

• 200 g cooked caviar lentils (or belugas)
• 300 g spinach
• 3 tender garlic
• 1 sweet onion
• 200 ml coconut milk (70% fat)
• coconut oil or ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 bay leaf
• fresh cilantro or parsley
• Tamari
• 400 g roasted sweet potato pulp
• 100 ml cashew cream
• nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast powder
• 3 tablespoons chopped kimchi
• salt and black pepper
• Seed mix
• Salad sprouts
• cherry tomatoes

Preparation (30′):

1. Cut the onion into eighths and the young garlic into slices to sauté for eight minutes in a pot with a tablespoon of coconut or ghee oil and a pinch of salt. Pour some water to reduce the temperature.
2. Add the cooked lentils, bay leaf and another pinch of salt. Sauté another couple of minutes and add the washed spinach leaves. Keep sautéing and finally incorporate the coconut milk. Let it cook over low heat for about five minutes, give or take.
3. Crush the pulp of the roasted sweet potato with a fork and mix it with the cashew cream, a tablespoon of coconut or ghee oil, nutritional yeast, nutmeg, salt and freshly ground black pepper to your liking.
4. For plating, separate into three parts.
   1. On the one hand the lentils, seasoned with olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice, and adding the seeds when you go to eat so that they are crispy.
   1. Then the parmentier, placing on top a little chopped kimchi.
   1. And finally, a portion of sprout salad with cherry tomatoes.

DON’T FORGET THE DRESSING

• Olive oil. The dressing par excellence should be stored in an airtight jar.
• Salt or herbs. If you can’t take salt, replace it with more aromatic herbs.
• Pepper. There are containers that allow you to grind it at the moment enhancing its advantages.
• Tamari. Enrich your dishes with soy proteins.
• Apple cider vinegar. It promotes digestion and gives a unique flavor to salads.