Labor Day is the day off that many of us spend outside, marking the end of summer and making the Monday holiday a big day to just relax & soak up the sun. With 2020 being the year of change, we’re going to keep that theme going with our Labor Day picnic ideas.
Pack Your Picnic
Pack up a picnic, go to the beach or the park, or picnic in your backyard. You can stay safe, keep your social distance, and get fresh air. Have a special day with these unique dishes.
- Picnic salad doesn’t have to be a standard mix of veggies, or full of carbs (sorry potatoes & pasta). Layer your salad, pack your veggies & toppings separately for an interactive family activity, and make a variety of cold healthy treats, like lentil salad, chick pea salad, or the favorite of those with a sweet tooth, carrot & raisin salad (try it with broccoli, too). Here’s a couple of salads you can make & pack for your picnic:
- Use your organic carrots, celery & onions to make this Lentil Salad recipe from Eat Your Greens.
- Make a layered picnic salad that looks as fun to eat as it actually is!
2. When we were looking to go beyond sandwiches, we found the British seem to know how to be creative with picnics.
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- How does Picnic Pie sound? There’s many different ways to do this, whether it’s all veggies, or with a sausage or meat, the alliterative term just sounds so fun! To start, try this one from Time to Cook Online.
- Make a picnic loaf. Picnic loaf can be an easy way to make all sandwiches at once, baked from scratch, or using hollowed out bread, like this Picnic Loaf .
3. New England also has some really cool & easy Italian inspired make ahead picnic snacks, using some fresh dough.
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- Stromboli. Roll out your dough like pizza, then top it with your favorite pizza toppings. Next, roll it all up like a jelly roll & pop it in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350°. Leave the tomato sauce out, and use it for dipping instead. Slice it up & pack for your picnic.
- When you ask for spinach pie in New England, you won’t get Spanikopita. This Rhode Island favorite is also made with fresh dough. Saute 2 pounds of spinach leaves in at least 4 tablespoons of olive oil with 3-4 cloves of garlic, a can of sliced black olives and a good amount of salt & pepper. You can make one big spinach pie & slice it to serve, or divide the dough into 2, 4, or 6 parts. Once you have your dough divided as you choose, roll it out & top with the spinach mixture. Then fold in half and pinch the edges to seal. Brush with a little olive oil & bake at 425° until golden brown. These are good cold and perfect for the beach.
4. Bring your fruit. You can pre slice, make a quick fruit salad, or have some fun with these ideas.
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- Make fruit kabob style, like these marinated fruit kabobs.
- Take with you apple cinnamon smoothies. Blend 1/2 cup of apple cider, 2 apples 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 3/4 cup of vanilla yogurt, or bananas. Pack in the cooler & you’re good to go!
Have fun with these suggestions & have a safe holiday!