NOW, Shenzhen, like most parts of China, is being blessed with fantastic weather — bright sunshine, blue skies, little fluffy clouds — it’s a perfect time for picnics. Whether it’s at the beach or in the woods, people love to picnic in summer. Eating al fresco is such fun. Kicking back with friends and family and getting all the benefits of fresh air and sunshine, what better way to eat can you think of?

    But, there is no need for it to be a day of inflammatory junk food! There are other things to eat on a picnic besides plastic wrapped gluten and sugary crisps and snacks. A picnic can be a perfect occasion to eat fresh and seasonal food, to nourish your body and keep your health on track.

    The standard picnic of sandwiches, quiches, crisps and pies can be a bit of a nightmare if you want to eat healthy, so you’d better go well prepared. And, you can always be a little more adventurous than humus, crisps and carrot sticks.

    Instead of sugary sodas, make up bottles of fruit and herb filled sparkling water or take handy small cartons of coconut water. If you are indulging in booze, then make sure you keep hydrated, so don’t forget water.

    Be careful how you pack your picnic. Naturally you need ice packs to keep everything cool and fresh, but seeping, sweating plastic or aluminum foil are far from ideal ways to pack your food — both are known to leach their toxic chemicals into the foods they cover. So where you can, use greaseproof paper or glass containers to keep food fresh.

    Here’s an example of what you can pack this weekend.

    Spicy harissa chickpeas

    Ingredients: 1 glass jar of organic chickpeas, thoroughly rinsed, drained and dried, 2 teaspoons of harissa powder or paste, 2 teaspoons of coconut oil

    Method:

    1. Mix all together in a bowl and ensure all the chickpeas are covered well.

    2. Spread onto a baking tray and bake at 150 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes, giving the tray a shake every so often.

    The chickpeas should be crunchy all the way through when they are ready — if they are soggy, put them back in for a few more minutes.

    Lettuce wraps

    Lettuce wraps are another healthy picnic essential. They are simple to assemble on the picnic rug and everyone can help themselves to the different fillings. Using larger lettuce leaves means you can wrap them up like a burrito.

    Vegetable ribbons with

    a cashew nut, chilli

    and lime dressing

    Ingredients: Courgette, carrot, onion and pepper ribbons (all made using a spiralizer)

    For the dressing: Chopped cashew nuts, chilli, garlic, lime, olive oil

    Method:

    1. Make your vegetable ribbons and blanch in hot water for 1-2 minutes, cool under cold water and dry.

    2. Mix in with any other vegetables you have. This works really well with prawns or chicken too.

    3. Make your dressing to take in a separate bottle to pour over when you serve.

    Dessert

    For a little sweet something, you can make some dark chocolate dipped raspberries and strawberries. Simply melt some good quality dark chocolate in a pan then dip the strawberry tips in and place on a baking tray. For the raspberries, use wooden toothpicks to dip them. Lay all on a baking tray and pop in the fridge to cool.

    So with your healthy hampers ready, see you in the park!(SD-Agencies)