Picnic Recipe Ideas for Earth Day

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Picnic-Recipe-Ideas-for-Earth-Day-2012-Giveaway-Cookin-Canuck

Picnic Recipe Ideas for Earth Day

Each year, the whole family makes a trip to the annual plant sale held by a local non-profit group called Wasatch Community Gardens. While I contribute recipes to their monthly newsletters, focusing on seasonal produce, and am always happy to connect with the staff and see the dedicated workers in action, the real excitement lies in picking out the vegetables and herbs for our raised planters. There are the stand-bys that make an appearance in our garden each year…zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes and a wide variety of herbs. But we don’t stop there.

The fun comes when our boys set off to pick out their special vegetable to plant for the year. For the 7-year old (T), the task is a slam dunk. He heads straight to the tomato section (he would happily eat them by the bucketful) and picks out the funkiest looking heirloom tomato plant of the bunch. The 10-year old (M) takes a little more time to make his choice. Sometimes he ends up with a plant that promises to produce deep violet eggplants and other times it may be a spicy pepper (as long as I promise to make salsa).

Picnic for Planet Collage Garden

Of course, the lesson doesn’t really lie in the specific vegetables that fill our garden. Rather, it comes in setting the plant into the soil, in tending and nurturing it and, finally, in harvesting and eating food that grew in our own backyard. It gives my husband and I joy to see them run straight into the backyard after school to check on the plants, and to see their excited faces as they run to the door with a ripe specimen in their hands.

I will admit that we are unlikely to raise chickens in our backyard or to stop buying bananas which have traveled thousand of miles to reach our grocery store. However, I hope we can teach our kids to ask questions about where their food came from, to eat locally as much as possible and to encourage them to support growers who raise and grow food in a sustainable manner.

Earth Day is just around the corner. Several years ago, The Nature Conservancy introduced Picnic for the Planet, a fun event to encourage people to enjoy food and their loved ones while educating them about the benefits of eating sustainably raised and grown food. The Picnic for the Planet event encourages people to consider five things: Eat Local, Eat Smart, Eat Sustainably, Eat Green and Eat Out. People all over the world enjoyed picnics with their family and friends to celebrate the day. This year, The Nature Conservancy is reaching for new heights in their attempt to set a world record for the most people picnicking in a 24-hour period.

Whether you plan to picnic on Earth Day or our planning to spread your gingham blanket on the grass later in the spring or summer, you will need some ideas for salads and sandwiches that are easy to pack and tote in your picnic basket. The recipes listed below are some of our favorites to take on picnics or camping trips.

Sandwiches:

Picnic for Planet Collage 1

Healthy Shrimp Wrap with Curry Yogurt & Spinach
Chicken Pinwheel Sandwich with Roasted Red Pepper, Kalamata Olives & Herb Yogurt
Pita Sandwich with Chicken, Hearts of Palm & Chimichurri Dressing

Pasta Salads:
Picnic for Planet Collage 2

Tortellini Pasta Salad with Bacon, Broccoli & Basil
Chicken BLT (or Bacon, Spinach & Tomato) Pasta Salad

Other Salads:

Picnic for Planet Collage 3

Salad Cups with Quinoa, Shrimp, Avocado & Lemon Dressing
Spaghetti Squash with Apples & Toasted Pecans
Asian Slaw with Cashews, Pear & Ginger Dressing

Picnic for Planet Collage 4

Potato Salad with Rosemary & Capers Dressing
Avocado, Tomato & Cotija Cheese Salad
Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Kalamata Olives & Mint

Disclosure: The Nature Conservancy provided a gift basket for a giveaway. All opinions are my own. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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Comments

  16. Jessen says

    Cute little bag! I love outdoor Picnics – Family – Friends – Volleyball- Football
    Brings me back to childhood, when we had picnics almost every weekend in the summer with my whole family (was 78 of us, but it’s since grown to way over 100)

    Reply

  27. Connie says

    Hi Dara, I follow you every way I can. We love gardening and we really love the basket!! Thanks for being you!!

    Reply

  41. Pam says

    Great giveaway! Already got my eye on a couple of your sandwich and salad recipes to tryout on my Bunco group this week!

    Reply

  53. Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says

    I always look forward to this time of year and getting those first garden plants into the freshly tilled soil. It helps revive my soul after the long winter. So glad to hear that you are teaching your children to have an appreciation of where they food comes from! Oh, and…nice giveaway, too 🙂

    Reply

  58. Babs says

    Have always supported The Nature Conservancy! The rest of the items in basket are wonderful opportunity to give them a try. Thanks.

    Reply

  82. Kimiko says

    Ahh, I LOVE this post, and I love picnics! Even if I don’t win the giveaway, I will definitely be using some of these recipes on a future picnic. Thanks!! 🙂

    Reply

  85. Cynthia Rathunde says

    For Earth Day, I am planning on installing a rain barrel for my flowers to help conserve water usage.

    Reply

  111. Saylor McLennan says

    I Follow Cookin’ Canuck on Facebook and Pinterest. Love your ideas and recipes. Looking forward to an Earth Day picinic this weekend.

    Reply

  120. Loretta says

    What a fun idea! We have been wanting to go on a picnic for a while now. This would be a great reason to finally do it!

    Reply

  122. Cassie Sue says

    Usually pasta salad is not my thing, but those looked so yummy I had to scroll back up and check them out. YUM! AND… I think I could even get the hubby on board with it too.

    Reply

  126. Esther T. says

    My grandson has a double header baseball weekend, so we will be doing our picnic before, during and after..will be a lovely weekend for Earth Day Picnic!

    Reply

  127. Ieasha Akins says

    Thanks so much for the recipes and this opportunity!!!!! I love Earth day! I normally go the Atlanta Botanical Gardens!

    Reply

  128. foodwanderings says

    Thx heavens I got you as my friend to remind me Earth day is around the corner. Lovely family activity and while I too won’t give up bananas I try to be aware and purchase locally and sustainable when possible. Forget the chicken in our yard, aside from country bylaws Jonathan vehemently would resist a coop. he worked with the chickens on a kibbutz.

    Reply

  139. jacquie says

    i don’t have a facebook or twitter account – can i get an extra entry becuase i’m a subscriber???? please.

    Reply

  170. shirley says

    This is a fantastic giveaway and i love the wraps. We used to picnic all the time living in Alaska. Now we live in NY and we don’t anymore. Maybe we should start again.

    Reply

  186. sara says

    We are going to a local earth day event as well. We started composting this year and they are having seminars to give us some pointers.

    Reply

  198. Romana Ds. says

    ooops I’m sorry, I didn’t leave separate comments for each of them and now I cannot delete my last comment! I hope you will still accept them!! I did all five of the optional entries, and this can count as my original one 🙁
    sorry about that!

    Reply

  201. Madeline says

    Dara, thanks so much for supporting The Nature Conservancy this Earth Day! What a lovely story about planting veggies with your sons. It’s so important to teach kiddos where their food comes from. Happy Earth Day!
    -Madeline, The Nature Conservancy

    Reply

  202. Amber Bledsoe says

    Everyday is Earth Day for me, but my mom and I are going on a picnic for Earth Day!

    I follow The Nature Conservancy on twitter and facebook!

    Reply

  222. Debbie C says

    This is a great picnic basket of goodies. I especially love the basket itself. Since it is collapsible, it would make a great market basket.

    chrisdeglen(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply

  231. Hermelinda says

    Information at: Spiritual Treasures Bonujs – Compressed file
    name = Spiritual_Treasures_Bonus. Roshal ARchive (RAR) files are archives
    consisting of muh larger files ompressed to save space
    and facilitatge easier transfer between computers. You cannot
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    Reply

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