Soak in summertime with a portable picnic. From jar meals to crunchy snacks, here are five tasty reasons to dine outdoors. Plus, discover how to dine outdoors sustainably with the greenest products around.
We’re at the height of summer, and these lazy days require ample time outside and plenty of seasonal food to come along for the ride. Picnics are the clear choice, allowing you to soak up the sun, enjoy the sounds of nature, and dine al fresco, wherever you may find yourself.
Cabin dwellers, beach goers, road trippers, park bench loungers, and backyard relaxers all require a little sustenance to get through the day. With days that seem to stretch into the night, summer calls for healthy picnic recipes that can be enjoyed at any hour, and for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Whether you pack this entire menu, full of sturdy salads that transport well, or stick to the simple snack, there are five great excuses to choose from to initiate your outdoor meal.
Healthy picnic recipes
Hoisin-Baked Tofu Ramen Salad
Kale Salad with Turkey Bacon, Pear, and Pine Nuts
Portable Mini Caprese Salad
Gravlax Salad Jars
Picnic GORP
Green picnic packaging
These products and companies make sustainable outdoor dining a breeze.
- Loliware Biodegr(edible) Cups: Cups that are fully edible, leaving nothing behind? They exist! Loliware is BPA free, plastic free, gelatin free, non-GMO, nontoxic, and FDA approved. These fun cups that double as a snack are made from seaweed, organic sweeteners, and flavours and colours derived from produce. Serve room temperature, chilled, or frozen drinks and desserts at your next outdoor meal, and leave nothing behind.
- Mason jars: Though heavier, Mason jars are a chic, reusable alternative to plastic cups.
- Duralex: Made in France since 1939, Duralex glasses and dishware are made from tempered, toughened glass. Surprisingly light and easy to stack, they’re a simple solution for a plastic-free picnic.
- Abeego Food Wrap: This Canadian company has created a beeswax-coated food wrap that looks good, feels good, smells good, packs easily, and allows living food to breathe. Easy to clean and reusable, you’ll want to use it beyond your picnic packing—and you can.
- Bamboo dishware: This solution to picnic plates, cups, utensils, and other tableware is now widely available. Look for brands that are organic and take care of their supply chain, such as Bambu.
- To-go containers: Vegware, a packaging made from plants, is a completely compostable alternative to plastic or cardboard food containers. A short-term solution to food packaging with long-lasting green appeal.
- Dishware rental: Big backyard or picnic barbecues, reunion picnics, and birthday parties can see a mound of plastic plates, forks, and cups in the trash. For these one-time uses, turn to your local dishware rental, which can outfit your event with everything you need.
