Plant Based Picnics and Pool Snacks
Your guide to packing the perfect plant based picnic spread and pool snacks!
It’s August, a month synonymous with beach/pool/lake time, and savoring the summer-iest time of the year. So, get out those picnic baskets and coolers and pack some food to enjoy al fresco before September hits. My approach to packing picnic type food and snacks is mostly to keep things simple, satisfying and relatively healthy, so you won’t find any elaborate spreads here. This is real life! The point is to get outside and eat something good with your favorite people, not spend days fussing over a Pinterest-worthy display of picnic perfection.
Whether you’re looking to pack a full meal (picnics) or just some snacks (pool/beach/lake), here are my favorite picks for packable eats:
Sandwiches are the obvious choice - my favorites are chickpea salad on ciabatta or a whole grain wrap with the fixins (my favorites are crunchy romaine or baby spinach, sliced pickled banana peppers and sprouts), baked tofu and smashed avocado on sprouted grain or sourdough bread, tempeh BLAT (tempeh bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato) on rye, or peanut butter and banana with a sprinkle of hemp seeds (and a drizzle of maple syrup, perhaps?) on whole wheat.
If sandwiches aren’t your thing, or you just want to make your lunch as nutrient dense as possible, I love grain salads. I usually mix cooked brown rice or quinoa with a bean of choice (usually chickpeas, black lentils or kidney beans), some finely chopped raw kale and/or red cabbage, thinly sliced scallions or finely chopped red onion, pepitas or sunflower seeds, fresh herbs, extra virgin olive oil and vinegar. You can also sub in cubed baked tofu or tempeh for the beans, and mix up the raw veggies (I often add carrot, cucumber, celery and/or bell pepper, too).
You can easily turn this into a cold pasta salad by subbing cooked whole wheat or gluten free rotini or penne for the rice/quinoa. If you have some on hand, vegan pesto would be wonderful in place of the olive oil and vinegar.
Alongside your “main”, fresh fruit is a great choice. My picks that travel well for a picnic are fresh cherries, apples, pears, nectarines, peaches, melon, grapes and clementines. Of course, raw veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, bell pepper, carrots, cucumber, celery, cherry tomatoes) are a perennial favorite, especially when paired with a great hummus or dip (store-bought or homemade; this edamame hummus looks so good and provides a nice protein hit).
Having a delicious, wholesome home baked goodie tucked in your basket is always a very good idea. Some of my favorites are these black bean brownies (do NOT knock until you try, they are ridiculously good) and these oatmeal peanut butter cookies, which I make all the time at home.
While I try to avoid processed foods, I do occasionally make exceptions for picnics and beach/pool days. My kids love Hippeas, and I’m a big fan of Unique Snacks Splits Pretzels, both for their yummy flavor/texture and short ingredient list. If you’re going the potato chip route, Siete makes really good kettle-style chips that are non-GMO and fried in Avocado oil, making them a better choice than conventional chips.
For more super-quick pool/beach snack ideas, my family loves Larabars (Apple Pie, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Mint Chip Brownie are our favorite flavors), GoMacro bars, trail mix, air popped popcorn, Lundberg Thin Brown Rice Stackers with nut butter, and dry roasted edamame.
To drink, reusable water bottles filled with filtered water and plenty of ice is standard, but I also love unsweetened iced teas (green or black, sometimes with mint and fresh citrus) and homemade lemonade (this recipe looks so good!). Canned flavored sparkling seltzer is also great, and I’m recently really into these minimally naturally sweetened sparkling teas from Trader Joe’s. Just make sure to pack plenty of ice and/or reusable ice packs so everything stays nice and cold.
We usually pack everything into a cooler or backpack cooler (we have this one) and sit on an extra large Turkish towel (I own this one; it’s great and comes in lots of colors). Bring your favorite bluetooth speaker and a good Spotify playlist and you’re good to go for a perfect summer day outside!