Its picnic season, beautiful days spent in nature with loved ones. Which means its barbecuing season, and that means one thing, your meals are about to get a lot heavier. Here are my picks for three healthy dishes every picnic should include.
Grilled Salad
Put away the usual picnic appetizers of chips and mixed nuts loaded with salt and bring out the veggies. Raw vegetables are great, but you must try grilled vegetables. Try grilling bell peppers, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and lettuce (yes, I said lettuce – it’s amazing grilled).
Ingredients:
4 hearts romaine lettuce
2 cups large cherry tomatoes
2 large yellow bell peppers, largely cubed
500g shrimp
Olive oil and salt
2 cups chopped cucumbers
For the dressing:
Half an avocado
Quarter cup of yogurt
Half a cup of water
1 cup cilantro
1 small garlic clove
Half a lemon, juiced
Half a teaspoon of salt
Method:
Make the dressing at home by adding the avocado, yogurt, cilantro, garlic, lemon, salt and water to a blender and mixing them to a smooth consistency; add more water if needed.
Heat the grill to medium-high heat. Wash and dry the romaine, cut in half lengthwise keeping the stem intact, and brush with olive oil and salt. Put the shrimp and tomatoes and cubed bell peppers onto skewers for easy grilling. Brush with olive oil and salt. Grill everything for 5 minutes.
Cut off the stem of the romaine and loosely chop it up. Toss everything together with the dressing.
Grilled Tuna Kebabs
Decrease the red meats and increase the fish!
Ingredients:
1 kg tuna steaks
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 small onion
6-8 large button mushrooms
For marinade:
Half a cup of olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
Half a teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves
Method:
Cut all the fish and veggies into similar-sized pieces; this helps everything lay flat when on the grill.
To make the marinade, purée the onion, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil while puréeing, continue to purée until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
Coat the tuna and veggies in the marinade. Set in the fridge for at least an hour and up to overnight.
Skewer the tuna and vegetables.
Grill on high, direct heat. Don’t move them until the fish pieces are well browned on one side, about 3-6 minutes.
Halloumi and watermelon skewers
The best summertime treats! Amazing both fresh or grilled.
Only 2 ingredients:
Halloumi Cheese
Watermelon
Method:
Cut the halloumi and watermelon into similar-sized cubes.
Enjoy fresh or grilled!
