-Summertime means more time spent outdoors taking in the sun. A staple for the summer is enjoying meals outside. Picnics are a great way to ensure that everyone gets outside and takes in the fresh air. However, it can sometimes be difficult to meal plan for such events. After all, your food not only needs to be portable but it also needs to last up through the journey to the picnic area. For those who love meal planning but aren’t quite sure how to transfer it to a picnic, this article will offer a few tips just for you. 

1) Spring Salsa

-One idea that you might want to include on your picnic is a spring salsa. By using glass jars, you can bring both tortilla chips and salsa to the picnic. The chips are safely protected in the jar. This makes them easily portable and safe from being crunched up during the transit. With your salsa in its own jar, your family can easily grab a chip and dig right into the salsa without needing a plate.

2) Roasted Green Bean, Apple and Sandwiches

-A perfect combination of a hot and cold meal, the roasted green bean, apple and sandwich is a tasty option for everyone. You can either have each sandwich assembled already or have each ingredient in its own jar and let everyone build their own sandwich. The best part is you can utilize any leftovers. 

3) Blackberry-Peach Cobbler Bars

-For those who love a good dessert at their picnic, you should try a blackberry-peach cobbler bar. This makes for a great meal planning and prep recipe because it can be made in bulk. If you don’t happen to eat all of the bars at the picnic, then you can have the bars as a snack to get you through your work week. In addition, they’re also highly portable which makes them great for picnics.

-Each bar can be easily wrapped in a clingwrap for quick delivery. To add just a bit of crunch to your blackberry-peach cobbler bar, you can glaze some pecans with toffee and put them on top. While it does only take about 20 minutes to prepare this yummy dessert, the actual time it takes to bake sits around 2 hours, so be sure you set time aside for this tasty treat. 

-Dear internet users, please your taste buds as so many times you want to indulge in little splurges to spoil yourself. These are not dishes that should be eaten every day, but sometimes they are useful for romantic or friendly meetings.

-Anne-Vasthi