When planning a picnic, don’t settle for plain, boring food. Get creative with side dishes like sweet potato salad, fruit salad, and goat cheese stuffed cherry tomatoes to add flavor and excitement to your meal.
Planning a picnic is all about food. In addition to the basic necessities of plates, napkins, cups, cutlery and a blanket, you must have something to eat, even plenty. However, when planning a picnic, it’s easy to fall into the trap of carrying plain, boring food. It’s easy to bring prepackaged items. With just a little extra effort, you can easily spice up your picnic side dishes and breathe new life into your food!
For example, while the traditional choice of serving hamburgers and hot dogs is always nice, simple, and easy, serving chips and baked beans as your picnic side dishes can result in a tired, done-there meal. However, there are ways to wake up to the tried-and-true method of burgers and hot dogs without getting stressed out. Get creative with your side dishes!
One of the most popular picnic side dishes is potato salad. A new take on this crowd pleasing is a sweet potato salad. The spicy side dish will surprise and delight the picnic-goer.
To make sweet potato salad, dice three sweet potatoes and boil them in water for eight to ten minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together two tablespoons (29.5 mL) olive oil, three tablespoons (44.3 mL) lime juice, one tablespoon (14.8 mL) ketchup, 1.5 tsp ( 7.4 mL) sugar, one clove of minced garlic, one tablespoon (14.8 mL) Dijon mustard, hot pepper sauce with three dashes, and Worcestershire sauce with two dashes.
Drain the boiled potatoes, mix with the dressing and add 1 diced red pepper, one diced yellow pepper, a small diced red onion and three tablespoons of whole cumin seeds (for extra flavour, toast the cumin seeds in a pan dry until lightly browned). Let the dressing and potatoes cool to room temperature, then add 1/4 cup (59.1 mL) chopped cilantro and two cups (473.2 mL) coarsely chopped greens (such as spinach and Boston lettuce).
Another simple yet delicious choice for a picnic side dish is a fruit salad. As the fruit turns brown when cut, a picnic-prepared salad will look prettier on the table. Simply pack bananas, plums, strawberries, oranges, mangoes and any other fruit you like, a large bowl, some sugar and a knife and prepare your salad on the spot.
Another great and tasty picnic side dish option that is sure to please your picnic crowd is goat cheese stuffed cherry tomatoes. At home, mash the goat cheese and a drizzle of milk until creamy, then add the finely chopped mint leaves, salt, and pepper. Still at home, cut the cherry tomatoes in half and remove the insides from both halves. Transport the two elements separately, on ice, in airtight containers. At the picnic, fill the tomato halves with the goat cheese mixture and serve.
While the picnic isn’t all about the food, side dishes are one of the most important foods to bring. Fun new picnic side dishes will add spice to your meal, but will also be available for snacking throughout the day.
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