Power Picnics

The weather in most of the Northern Hemisphere is getting warmer and that means one thing.

Picnics!

Now is the time to head to the beach ,park or mountains to soak up the sun and enjoy nature. It also means that being outdoors builds a healthy and hearty appetite. For that you're going to have to bring food.

What to bring on an excursion? Easy foods. Fun foods. Foods that can be messy or neat. Sandwiches are your best bet. They're easy to make and store along with being relatively mess free to eat. You can go wild with real or tofu cold cuts. If you're bringing the sandwiches in a cooler, don't hesitate to use mayo. Try the less threatening butter or margarine if you're bringing sandwiches in a backpack. For a different spin you can make heroes and drizzle oil and vinegar on a variety of meats and cheeses. Pack juice or soda . If you're planning on hiking, swimming or games, bring an energy drink like Fyxx Hybrid Water to give you a much needed boost. You may want to bring along veggies and dips or almonds for fun snack foods.

If you're looking for a more elegant "British" style picnic, think about bringing a whole cold chicken or pate. You can buy the chicken already roasted from your local supermarket and just store the entire bird in a cooler. The same with pate. With fancier food, you can serve a classic cucumber salad with either a sour cream or vinaigrette dressing. Add a potato salad and a jar of olives and you're set. With this type of picnic think about bringing sparkling cider or if it's allowed champagne or sparkling wine. Pack china picnic plates, good utensils and glasses instead of the usual paper and plastic. Foodie paradises like Williams and Sonoma sell traditional picnic hampers complete with plates along with forks and knives. The kits sometimes include cloth napkins and small glass tumblers .

What to do about a picnic dessert? The easiest one would be fruits of the season. Pick up strawberries or some cut melon. Cookies are another easy to tote dessert, providing you bring the indiviual snack packs . Don't pack any kind of cake or cupcake that has icing because the icing will get all over. Sliced pound or Bundt cake is a another "clean" way to end your picnic meal. If you want you can even bring a thermos of cold or warm coffee or tea. Also it doesn't hurt to throw in some toothpicks for after meal cleaning.

Get out with your favorite foods and enjoy all the warm sunshine and fresh Spring air. Ther'es nothing better than enjoying natures beauty combined with a picnic.


Easy Hero

1 Loaf Italian bread , sliced down the middle.
Oil and vinegar combined
5 slices ham.
5 slices pepperoni,
5 slices provolone
2 tomatoes sliced
oregano


Split bread in half and sprinkle with oil and vinegar. First layer the ham , then the pepperoni. Drizzle on more oil and vinegar and then add the cheese, tomatoes and liberal sprinklings of oregano. Wrap sandwich tightly in waxed paper for half and hour before you pack it up. You can pre cut the sandwich or cut it at your picknic. Serves four.