Let’s Plan a Vegan Picnic!

With a few simple steps and tasty vegan recipes, you can plan a delicious meal with a variety of healthy, plant-based foods that will leave you feeling refreshed and well nourished.

Black Bean Salad with Avocado-Lime Dressing

Black Bean Salad with Avocado-Lime Dressing opens in a new tab

What could be more fun than a gorgeous picnic on a glorious day? Yet, all too often the typical, heavy picnic fare of hamburgers, hotdogs, white flour buns, mayo-laden salads and sugary sweets can leave you feeling stuffed, bloated and generally zapped of energy.  

So, what’s the fix? A vegan picnic! With a few simple steps, you can plan a delicious meal with a variety of healthy, plant-based foods that will leave you feeling refreshed and well nourished. Simply follow these four steps:

  1. Decide on fresh and simple recipes so you don’t have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

  2. Take along a cold beverage such as Peach Berry Iced Tea opens in a new tab, Blueberry Herb Lemonade Punch opens in a new tab or Strawberry-Lemon Soda opens in a new tab.

  3. Plan to serve fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and legumes, or easy-to-pack sandwiches and a healthy, sweet treat.

  4. Round out the menu with Sunny Hummus with Dippers opens in a new tab or organic corn chips with either Superfast Guac opens in a new tab or Simply Delicious Homemade Hummus opens in a new tab for dipping.

Red, White and Blue Fruit Salad

Red, White and Blue Fruit Salad opens in a new tab

Fruits & Veggies
A summer picnic isn’t a picnic without fresh fruit! Bring along berries, sliced stone fruit, melons or a fruit salad tossed with a little lemon or lime juice to reduce browning from oxidation. Ideas for dishes with fruit include:

Add a platter of baby carrots, cucumbers and bell peppers or a leafy green salad with light vinaigrette. Both Strawberry Balsamic Dressing opens in a new tab and No-Oil Balsamic Dressing opens in a new tab are wonderful on salads or used as a dip for fresh-cut or lightly steamed veggies.

Sunny Hummus with Dippers

Sunny Hummus with Dippers opens in a new tab

Legumes
Legumes provide quality plant protein and fiber:

Whole Grains
Whole grains, including pasta and corn, are good on their own, or blended with legumes. Easy ideas include:

Carrot-Oat Cake

Carrot-Oat Cake opens in a new tab

Sweet Treats
Healthier cookies and cakes are easy to pack and can offer nutritious ingredients. How about Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies opens in a new tab, Thumbprint Cookies opens in a new tab and No-Bake Thumbprint Cookies opens in a new tab, Maple Oat Cookies opens in a new tab or Carrot Oat Cake opens in a new tab?

Time-saving shortcuts: Canned lentils and beans, quick-cooking couscous and frozen, thawed corn, brown rice and quinoa are perfect for portable salads. Find recipe inspiration opens in a new tab online.  

Have you planned a vegan picnic? What do you like to bring along? Let me know.

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