Recipes

Warm weather + outdoor eats = picnic

It’s as easy as that.

Well, after you’ve planned the picnic fare that is. Don’t stress out here, it’s all in the planning. You might think that picking up some grab and go options is good enough, but you can easily whip up some incredible, crowd-pleasing offerings that won’t break the bank or your brain. 

With a summer full of outings, road trips and cottage visits, smart snacking is a part of everyone’s to-do this summer. I’ve got some great suggestions of what to include in your snack bag for wherever you go.

Key criteria for smart snacks include:

• High in fibre and low in sugar.
• Colourful fruits and veggies are a must.
• Choose wisely with packaged foods and read your labels.

Kefir (proununced ke-fear) is a new-ish product found in the supermarket chiller cabinet near yogurt and other dairy products. It has been tucked in with butter and yogurt at most health food stores for years and actually dates to 1885 in Russia, way before refrigeration. Adding kefir grains to milk is what produces kefir. The grains are composed of lactic acid bacteria, yeast and polysaccharides. The grains culture the milk, infusing it with healthy organisms or probiotics. The result is a tangy, slightly effervescent drink similar to yogurt.

Can you guess what the most-consumed fermented food is? Yogurt. Fermented from milk and live bacterial culture (like the probiotic acidophilus), yogurt is well tolerated by those sensitive to most dairy products, especially lactose. Lactose is used or eaten up by the bacteria as it proliferates and turns to yogurt. Some yogurts tout their health benefits better than others. When I read the ingredients of some brands, the list seems way too long for a product that is made from milk and bacteria.