A summer day in the park wouldn't be complete without a picnic lunch.
Here are some of my favourite tasty and healthy picnic recipes.
Ingredients (serves 4):
4 carrots
1/2 red cabbage
2 small red onions
handful of fresh mint and coriander leaves
handful of unsalted peanuts, chopped
For the dressing:
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame or other vegetable oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Equipment:
chopping board
knife
bowls
whisk
a fork and spoon or salad servers
What to do:
Ask an adult to help you cut the carrots into sticks, shred the cabbage and finely slice the onions.
Put them in a bowl and keep to one side.
In a separate bowl make the dressing by whisking together the vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce and garlic.
Pour the dressing over the salad and mix it well using a fork and a spoon.
Sprinkle the mint, coriander and peanuts on top.
Enjoy your sunshine salad with monkey nuts.
Be careful: Only use peanuts in this recipe if you know you are not allergic to nuts.
Ingredients (serves 4):
100g cous cous
1 reduced-salt vegetable stock cube
150g canned broad beans, canned in water, rinsed and drained
100g rocket leaves
4 black olives, sliced
20g feta cheese, cubed
a small bunch of coriander, chopped
For the dressing:
a few sprigs of fresh mint
juice of a lemon
2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
Equipment:
saucepan
bowls
whisk
a fork and spoon or salad servers
What to do:
Ask an adult to help you prepare the cous cous using the vegetable stock by following the instructions on the packet.
In a large bowl gently mix together the cous cous, broad beans, rocket leaves, olives, feta cheese and coriander using a fork and a spoon.
In a separate bowl make the dressing by whisking together the mint, lemon juice and vinegar.
Add the dressing to the salad and mix again.
Enjoy your summer cous cous salad.
Ingredients (serves 4):
400g wholemeal pasta
150g sugar snap peas
213g canned salmon, canned in water
100g rocket leaves
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
4 tablespoons reduced-fat crème fraîche
Equipment:
saucepan
colander
bowls
forks
whisk
What to do:
Ask an adult to help you cook the pasta by following the instructions on the packet.
Add the sugar snap peas to the water 2 minutes before the pasta is cooked.
When the pasta is ready, drain it using a colander, place it under cold running water to cool it down, then drain it again.
Put the pasta, sugar snap peas, salmon and rocket leaves in a large mixing bowl and mix together with two forks.
In a separate bowl make the dressing by mixing the zest and juice of a lemon with the crème fraîche.
Tip the dressing onto the pasta salad and gently mix the ingredients with the forks.
Enjoy your easy-peasy pasta salad.
There's more to cook in Cook it!
Ingredients (makes 16):
100ml sunflower oil
15g light soft brown sugar
150ml golden syrup
250g rolled oats
100g unsalted mixed seeds
60g mixed dried fruits
Equipment:
saucepan
wooden spoon
oven-proof paper
20cm square baking tin
knife
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4
What to do:
Put the oil, sugar and syrup into a pan and ask an adult to help you to heat it gently until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the oats, seeds and dried fruits and mix well using a wooden spoon.
Line the baking tin with the oven-proof paper and ask an adult to tip in the mixture.
Press down with the spoon to flatten it.
Put it in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until it is golden brown. Leave it to cool down for about 2 hours, then cut the mixture into 16 bars.
Enjoy your crunchy munchy bars.
Crunchy munchy bars are a great treat, but you shouldn't eat them every day. After all, a treat is something to have occasionally.