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15 Healthy Picnic Recipes for a Gorgeous Summer Spread

From fresh salads and dips to guilt-free desserts, these are the best picnic recipes for healthy outdoor eating
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Best Picnic Recipes: Fiery Greek Yogurt Roll Ups
Picnic recipes don't get simpler than this appetizer, which offers spice, crunch and creaminess -- guilt-free. Inspired by Mediterranean cooking, this is picnic food for those who love fresh flavors.

Ingredients (serves 6):
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 quart Greek yogurt
1 avocado, halved, scooped and mashed
1 tablespoon fresh herbs, finely chopped (such as chives, tarragon or cilantro)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 Habanero pepper, thinly sliced
6 baby cucumbers, or 1 large seedless cucumber, cut into slices with a peeler and patted dry with paper towels

Directions:
The day before your picnic, add sea salt to Greek yogurt and let drain in the fridge for 24 hours. Next day, combine 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt, avocado, herbs and lime juice in a medium bowl until smooth. Spoon into a plastic zip lock bag. Cut bag at the corner to make a half-inch opening. Squeeze mixture lengthwise onto cucumber slices. Roll up like a pinwheel. Top with a small slice of pepper.

Recipe courtesy of Little Rusted Ladle

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Best Picnic Recipes: Pesto Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs are a classic American picnic food, but this summer recipe incorporates pesto for an unexpected Italian twist.

Pesto Ingredients:
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon pine nuts
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Deviled Egg Ingredients (serves 6):
6 hard-boiled eggs, shells removed
1 1/2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh chives
Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Directions:
For pesto, combine basil leaves and lemon juice in a food processor -- pulse three to four times on high. Add cheese and pine nuts, and pulse five to six times, until everything appears finely minced. On high speed, drizzle in olive oil until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Hard boil the eggs, wait until cool, then remove the shells. Cut eggs in half long ways, and place cooked yolks in a large bowl. Add yogurt to the bowl of yolks, and mix with a whisk until smooth. Add 1/2 tablespoons pesto, then chill in the fridge until cool. Once cool, add mixture to a piping bag, and squeeze a dollop into each hard-boiled egg half (or scoop with a spoon). Garnish by adding a drop of the remaining pure pesto to each deviled egg, and sprinkle fresh chopped chives on top.

Recipe courtesy of Easy Homemade Meals

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Best Picnic Recipes: Grilled Pineapple Grain Salad
Satisfy all your picnic guests with a heaping bowlful of this sweet but filling island-inspired salad. The combination of farro and pineapple proves that salad recipes don't have to be boring.

Ingredients:
6 ounces farro
1 pineapple, sliced and grilled
1 or 2 yellow squash or zucchini, cubed
1 medium yellow or red bell pepper, diced
1 avocado, cubed
Parsley
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
Goat cheese (optional)
Olive oil
Vinegar

Directions:
Cook farro according to package directions, drain and let cool. Once cooled, spoon farro into large serving bowl. Cut grilled pineapple into bite-size chunks, and add to a large bowl with farro. Toss in squash or zucchini, pepper and avocado. Add parsley leaves, a pinch of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Give the salad a good toss. Top with goat cheese, oil and vinegar.

Recipe courtesy of My Man's Belly

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Best Picnic Recipes: Ham, Brie and Apple Sandwiches
This sophisticated take on the traditional ham and cheese sammie takes just five minutes and five ingredients. If you're all out of picnic ideas, this is one picnic food that can't go wrong.

Ingredients:
Thinly sliced ham
Sliced Brie cheese
Thinly sliced Granny Smith apple
Mango chutney (or the chutney of your choice)
Sliced whole grain bread

Directions:
Spread mango chutney on bread slices. Layer ham, cheese and apple on first slice, and top with second.

Recipe courtesy of Framed Cooks

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Best Picnic Recipes: Southwestern Red Potato Salad
It's not quite a picnic without potato salad. This colorful recipe incorporates red potatoes, corn and cilantro for a colorful, photogenic finish.

Salad Ingredients:
8 medium-sized red potatoes
3 ears corn on the cob with husks removed (or 2⁄3 cup corn kernels, cooked)
1 cup celery, diced
1⁄2 cup green onions
1⁄2 cup red onion, diced
1⁄2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil (for brushing the potatoes)

Dressing Ingredients:
1⁄2 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons Mexican seasoning

Directions:
Fully submerge corn in a shallow dish of water. Place the potatoes in a large pot; add water until potatoes are covered. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Drain water from potatoes. Allow potatoes to cool, until they can safely be handled.

Heat the grill. Cut potatoes in half and brush with olive oil. Remove corn from the water. Place corn and potatoes on the hot grill. Cook potatoes for 5 minutes on each side. Cook corn for 15 minutes, flipping once so both sides are evenly cooked.

Once potatoes and corn are cool to the touch, chop potatoes into small, bite-sized pieces. Using a knife, remove the corn kernels from the cob. In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, corn, celery, green onions, red onion and cilantro. Pour dressing over the salad, and gently toss.

Recipe courtesy of Simply Organic

One of the best things about summer: eating outdoors (preferably in the park, on a blanket, with a chilled bottle of wine). Summer is picnic season, and while classic picnic fare is fine for an impromptu gathering, we prefer our picnic dishes to be next-level, Instagram-worthy affairs. Anyone can slap together a basic cheese plate, but these easy, healthy recipes are the kind that taste as lovely as they look against a checkered blanket. Want to put your fellow picnickers to shame without blowing your summer diet? From inventive new recipes to nutritious takes on traditional picnic cuisine, these are all the picnic food ideas you need to have the best summer spread on social media.
BY AMANDA MONTELL | JUL 27, 2015 | SHARES
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