7 Tips for a Healthy Green Picnic

Picnics are my favorite way to spend a sunny summer day with good friends or family, especially when it is spontaneous!

It can be in a park, by the lake, sea or riverside, or even in a backyard.

It is more than just fun; our bodies and whole beings are nourished from the earth, the sky, and the clean air.

7 tips to make it really work

1. Start with Great Healthy Recipes:

Here are a couple of my favorites. They are of course without sugar and encourage smart carbs instead of dumb carbs.

Healthy Potato Salad: For some people a picnic is not a picnic without potato salad. Here is a healthy vegan one: Potato Salad
Avocado Vegetable Dip: Much fresher and better than the grocery store dips: Avocado Vegetable Dip

2. Don’t Get Sick:

People can get food poisoning when they go on picnics. There is no reason to suffer if you take a few simple precautions. Much food safety is related to meat so if you eliminate meat like I do then there is one less thing to think about.

Wash your hands before preparing food and right on site. You can set up a water container with a spigot and soap to wash with hands. As a very last resort, waterless hand sanitizers or disposable hand wipes can be used. I always carry a sanitizer made with safe natural ingredients so I don’t pollute myself and the environment with chemicals.

Wash those filthy watermelons skins! The skins of thick, firm skin fruits and vegetables transport bacteria from all over the world. Scrub them well before cutting so as not to transfer bacteria to the inside of the fruit or vegetable.

Keep food cold. Potato and pasta salads should be kept cold until serving. Mayonnaise is not the main problem with these salads. Potatoes, eggs, and pasta can produce harmful bacteria; chill them before combining to make the salad. Keep the salads and all fresh foods cold until serving and after serving.

3. Don’t Get Stung (naturally):

It might be debatable whether DEET, the main ingredient in most mosquito repellents, is harmful to your health at suggested dosages BUT NO ONE would try to argue that it is GOOD for your health.

Why then should we be using valuable earth resources to manufacture and transport something that in the long run is questionable for individual health and negative to the environment?

The most common alternative to DEET formulas are those with citronella. This doesn’t last as long but may be more than adequate for a picnic.

Many people use essential oils as repellents. These generally are even less effective on the mosquito or fly side but are actually good for your health.

I just found a good one I like called Citronella Outdoor Lotion that has citronella, eucalyptus, and tea tree oil in it.

What is your favorite natural repellent?

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Valentina R.

9:02AM PDT on Jul 17, 2012

Excellent tips & article.

July 17
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Joe R.

2:11PM PDT on Apr 15, 2012

Great tips. Thanks.

April 15
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Past Member .

9:10PM PDT on Apr 14, 2012

You're right... simpler is better! A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, (and a frisbee), and thou beside me, right?

April 14
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12:55PM PDT on Mar 26, 2012

Great tips.

March 26
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4:29PM PST on Nov 10, 2011

thanks

November 10
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Paula H.

12:28PM PDT on Aug 17, 2011

Learned lots of new things with this article, thanks! And I do love a good picnic!

August 17
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heather g.

12:46AM PDT on Aug 14, 2011

There's nothing better than the social aspect of sharing salads with others. I often try something different that I wouldn't prepare unless it was for a special occasion.