Healthy picnic lunch recipes
Succulent chicken salad, guilt-free coleslaw, light lemon cheesecake bars and baked chips, will not only satisfy your desire for a healthy, easy meal but will be huge hits with your kids too! For a more romantic picnic with just mom and dad, add some of these Champagne cupcakes, homemade chocolates and a bottle of wine!
Rosemary chicken salad sandwich
Serves 4
This lighter take on the picnic favorite uses low-fat Greek yogurt and lighter mayonnaise in place of full-fat mayonnaise to save calories and add a delicious tang to the sandwich!
Adapted from My Recipes
Ingredients:
- 2-1/2 cups chopped chicken breast, fully cooked
- 1/3 cup onions
- 1/4 cup chopped almonds
- 3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped celery
- 1/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped grapes or craisins
- 4 slices light sliced cheese
- 8 slices whole wheat or whole grain bread
Directions:
- Mix all the ingredients (except the bread) in a large bowl. Place about 2/3 cup chicken salad over 4 slices of bread. On the other 4 slices, place the cheese. Put bread together and enjoy!
Guilt-free coleslaw
Serves 6
This delectable recipe uses Greek yogurt and lemon to save calories and add zest and a fresh blast of citrus. To add a bit of spice as well, swap out the regular mustard for Dijon!
Ingredients:
- 4 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- 1 medium bell pepper, chopped (or sliced)
- 3/4 cup light Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Liberal dashes of salt and pepper
Directions:
- Toss cabbage with carrots and bell pepper. Add in Greek yogurt, vinegar, sugar, mustard, lemon juice and liberal dashes of salt and pepper. Mix well and enjoy!
Light lemon cheesecake bars
Serves 8
These bars are absolutely amazing and have half the fat and calories as traditional cheesecake! Since these are cut up and served as bars, they are much easier to eat on the go!
Recipe adapted from SheKnows
Ingredients:
For the crust:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup canola oil
For the filling:
- 1 (8 ounce) block of light cream cheese
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon zest
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch dish with cooking spray. To prepare the crust, mix flour, sugar and oil together until a moist crumble forms. Press the crumble down in the prepared dish to form a layer and bake for at least 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
- While crust bakes, prepare filling by mixing light cream cheese, sugars, vanilla and lemon zest together with a handheld mixer. Once mixed, stir in eggs, one at a time. Pour filling into prepared crust and bake an additional 15 - 20 minutes, or until the cheesecake is slightly golden brown. Chill for at least 1 to 2 hours. Cut into bars (once chilled) and enjoy!
Baked sweet potato chips
Serves 4
These chips are the perfect snack for any potato chip junkie in your family. Baked with olive oil, salt and pepper, these chips are not only healthier than the fried alternative, they are 100 times more delicious!
Ingredients:
- 4 sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/8-inch slices
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Liberal dashes of salt and pepper
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Pat potatoes dry to absorb extra moisture. Line potato chips on the cookie sheet, careful not to overlap (you may need more than one cookie sheet). Using a pastry brush, brush chips with olive oil until liberally coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until crispy and edges are golden brown.
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