Think outside the picnic basket with these 3 recipes

Tired of boring sandwiches and chips in the picnic basket? Think outside the traditional picnic foods and add some freshness to your meals.

Shanti Appello, a registered dietician with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, shares three recipes to try on your next picnic outing:

Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• 16 oz. large, cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Rice paper
• 1 head romaine or butter lettuce
• 1 bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 cucumber, cut into strips
• 2 sprigs cilantro
• 2 sprigs green onions
• 1 avocado, cut to thin slices
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp. Low-sodium soy sauce
• ¼ cup warm water
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• ½ lime, juiced
• 1 Tbsp. ginger, minced
• 2 tsp. sesame oil (can substitute with other oil)
• Optional toppings: crushed peanuts and red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Chop and assemble ingredients.
2. Soak rice paper in warm water for 5-10 seconds. Soaking it for too short of time will make the paper crack while soaking it for too long will make the paper mushy and break.
3. Apply ingredients (3 shrimp, a little lettuce, bell pepper strips, cucumber strips, cilantro, green onion and avocado) on two opposite sides of the rice paper, folding at the top over the first bunch of ingredients, then fold in on both sides and continue rolling. 
4. In a bowl, combine peanut butter, soy sauce, warm water, minced garlic, lime juice, ginger and oil. Mix until well combined then top with crushed peanuts and red pepper flakes if desired.
5. Dip spring rolls in peanut sauce.
6. Store with parchment paper separating the rolls to prevent them from sticking to each other.

Corn Salsa Dip

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 ears of corn or 1 can corn, drained
• 6 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 to 2 jalapeños, ribs removed, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 orange bell pepper, diced
• ½ red onion, diced
• 1 avocado, diced
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 cup Italian dressing

Instructions

1. Prepare ingredients by chopping and dicing the vegetables.
2. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until well-combined. 
3. Serve with whole wheat crackers or baked chips.

Watermelon “Fries” with Lime Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 watermelon, seedless
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice plus zest from 1 lime

Instructions

1. Cut watermelon into 4 by ½ inch sprigs or “fries.” Use a crinkle cutter if you have one.
2. In a bowl, mix Greek yogurt with vanilla extract, honey and lime juice. Mix half of the lime zest into the sauce. Once mixed, top the sauce with additional zest.
3. Dip watermelon “fries” in yogurt dip. Enjoy!

For recipes and more, visit ahealthiermichigan.org.

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