Early Spring Got You Hungry for Picnics? Make Sure Yours Is Diet-Friendly!

by Joanne Eglash

As a child, I eagerly awaited that magical time every March when my mother would declare, “Picnic season has arrived!” My mother hailed from Tennessee and North Carolina, and she never abandoned her views of the foods that constitute a “proper picnic.” Big fat hot dogs, soft white hot dog buns, mayonnaise, sour cream’n’onion soup mix dip for the traditional corn and potato chips. And of course, the crowning glory: marshmallows, which would be toasted, then pressed between chocolate bars layered with graham crackers.

When Grandma Sara accompanied us, she insisted on bringing “something healthy,” which usually meant soggy carrot sticks and limp celery stalks wilting under the weight of garlic salt. Those raw veggies always sat on their own little paper plate throughout the picnic, with only the occasional guest politely attempting to nibble on one of so-called appetizers (appetizing they weren’t!).

This year, as you begin to dream of picnics and barbecues, take a tip or two from the experts. We went to the American Culinary Institute (ACI), an organization famed for its “best taste” awards. The judging process involves a panel of accredited chefs using their taste buds to sleuth out the cream of the crop in all categories of foods.

For your picnic this year, here are some suggestions using ACI winners to make your picnics both healthy and flavorful!

• For a main course, use canned or pouched tuna or salmon. Chicken of the Sea was rated the winning brand by the ACI, and an informal home taste test agreed. Combine the tuna or salmon with chopped celery, scallions or green onions, and serve on Atkins high-fiber, low-carb rye bread with lettuce for a delish fish treat.
• Or, if you’re longing for hot dogs or hamburgers but want to venture into the brave world of non-meat substitutes, try another ACI winner: Kellogg's/Morningstar Farms’s Veggie Burgers. Serve with lettuce, fresh tomato, and a pickle (try Kraft Foods/Claussen pickles for the best), and even the Golden Arches fans among you will be impressed.
• For a sugar-free dessert that tastes like a treat, not a punishment, go for the gold: Kraft’s Snackwell sugar-free lemon creme sandwich cookies! Nibble these buttery, creamy, lemon-rich delicious treasures and you’ll agree with the ACI panel that these are the best! I conducted my own informal taste test panel with these cookies, which add up to only 130 calories for a generous serving of three cookies. My neighbor, Dan the Car Man, who boasts that he has never tasted a “nasty diet food product” that he liked, sampled one of the sugar-free Snackwells. “Oh, now THESE must be crammed with sugar - these are GOOD!" he declared. When I told him the sweet sugarless truth: “In that case, I'll take a couple more," surrendered Dan the Car Man, taking one sugar-free Snackwell in each hand.
• As an alternate to snacking on cookies, “have some microwave popcorn on hand or some cut-up vegetables to snack on. Ready Pac makes a great line of pre-cut vegetables that you can have in your refrigerator for a quick and convenient snack without any cutting, slicing or dicing,” says Michael Wille, American Culinary Institute Master Taster, San Francisco, CA.
• Thirsty? Skip that sugary punch and “drink lots of water and green tea throughout the day. Green tea is full of anti-oxidants, and lowers total cholesterol levels, while improving the ration of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol. To insure you get enough hydration and daily Vitamin C, try drinking Langer’s cranberry juice. Available in both white and red cranberry flavor, Langer’s can be a sweet yet tart beverage alternative,” adds Mary Ladd, American Culinary Institute Master Taster, San Francisco, CA.
• And to finish off that healthy picnic in the winner’s circle, Wille suggests taking time for fun in the sun. “Be certain to get some exercise in your routine. A summer picnic is a great excuse to chase after a Frisbee, go for a swim, or play ball.”