Easy Healthy Picnic Foods

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via healthy-eating Feed by Olga Aura on 9/18/08

 

Mother Nature beckons us into the sun and we go skipping down the beach, gliding on the shimmering surfboard, sitting quietly on a high rock. Being in nature is almost timeless, magical — and then we get hungry. Picnics allow for a long day out of the house without spending extra cash on fast food. It’s all about preparing ahead while keeping it easy, healthy and quick. As you pack your picnic basket think about balancing these three food classes:

- Chlorophyll: green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, celery, parsley, kale and sprouts.

- Fats: avocados, olives, nuts, seeds, coconuts, unheated olive and seed oils.

- Sweet fruits: apples, peaches, pears, grapes and watermelon with seeds.

Notice that animal flesh and dairy products are not recommended because of their dense, slow-metabolizing quality; they also decay quickly in the sun. Instead, highly nutritious organic plant-based food is encouraged.

Chlorophyll, also known as “liquid sunshine,” is the blood of plants; it keeps the entire planet alive and well, and it will revitalize you, too. The plants absorb and organize the sunlight; eating plant food transfers the vital sun energy directly to you, undiminished. Green leafy vegetables are overall the best source of iron and heal anemia; they alkalize your blood and boost immunity, while detoxifying the liver of heavy metals and pollution.

Get the summer glow — eat unheated plant fats for beauty. Raw plant fats optimize your brain function, lubricate your joints, make your skin and hair shine, and allow for a longer-lasting high energy level. Yes, you want them! The craze against fats applies mostly to cooked fats. When oil is heated it breaks down into a carcinogenic molecular structure that cannot be absorbed by the body, leading to weight gain. In contrast, eating avocados, olives, and fresh coconut flesh can help a person lose weight because these fats contain lipase enzymes, which allow body fat to be burned.

Sweet fruit is a summertime favorite; it is the optimal fuel for our sparkly brains and cognition. Choose fruits with seeds. Seedless fruits such as bananas, grapes, oranges and watermelon are bred for certain genetics and thus are hybrid foods that confuse the body’s metabolic process. It’s important to eat this quickly-digestible fruit alone or before the denser slowly-digestible foods such as nuts, breads, and animal products to avoid gas, bloating and constipation.

“Better than a Sandwich” Picnic Wraps

1 bunch romaine lettuce, 1 avocado, 1 tomato

1 cucumber, 1 box of sprouts, tamari or soy sauce

Layer sliced veggies on a romaine leaf topped with sprouts, drizzled with tamari sauce. Roll it up. Breathe and bite in!