picnic, outdoor eating, healthy recipes, cupcakes, salad, watercress, rice, grapefruit, chocolate, Mairlyn Smith, don't forget the chocolate, organic produce, reduced sodium, reduced fat, reduced sugar, carbohydrates, fibre ::

The Organic Picnic
by author Mairlyn Smith, PHEc

Eating alfresco surrounded by nature makes us realize how much we need to take care of our precious planet. We can start by packing an organic picnic—its positive impact can go much further than just the foods we choose.

Taking public transit where possible; riding our bikes; using washable napkins, reusable or biodegradable plates, and recyclable containers; packing up our garbage, compostables, and recyclables and taking them home—all help reduce our carbon footprint, making an organic picnic a tribute to Mother Earth.

Choose as many organic ingredients as possible when making these recipes.

Mairlyn’s essential dozen picnic tips

1: The number one rule for food safety is to keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. My trick for packing a picnic is to pack two sets of drinks packaged in Tetra Pak packaging. I freeze half of the drinks to act as the cold source to keep the picnic cold. The drinks thaw out by mid picnic and are icy cold in the late afternoon. Serve the unfrozen drinks at the start of the picnic.

2: Pack enough drinks so that each person can drink 1 cup (250 mL) per hour. That may sound like a lot, but in the summer heat drinking 1 cup (250 mL) per hour is recommended. Most picnics are all-day affairs, so pack at least four drinks per person.

3. Put all the food into the cooler, then place your cold source on top. Cold air falls, keeping the food on the bottom as cool as the stuff on the top.

4. Any food that does go into the cooler should be cold. Warm food will raise the temperature in the cooler, preventing optimal coldness. This is the biggest reason to never buy hot takeout before the picnic and place it in a cooler or worse, in the sun.

5. Never leave the cooler in the car. It gets mighty hot in there, and it won’t matter if the whole picnic is frozen beforehand, that much heat will melt anything. My rule of thumb—never leave kids, pets, or the cooler in the car.

6. I try to pack all of the food in non-breakable containers. There’s nothing worse than arriving at your picnic to discover the pickle jar broken and vinegar over everything.

7. Pack a picnic blanket. My official picnic blanket is an old quilt that I bought at a garage sale. I keep it in the trunk of my car most of the summer in case the picnic mood overtakes me on the way home from work.

8. Those cute wicker picnic baskets are for nonperishables, not food. I keep my wicker basket packed with nonbreakable dishes; cutlery; a face cloth in a plastic bag; a first aid kit; a roll of toilet paper; cloth napkins; bug spray; sun screen; and bags for garbage, compostables, and recycling.

9. Keep bugs at bay with leftover tuna. Simply save a bit of the fish in the bottom of the can, pack it in an airtight bag, and take it with you on your picnic. Leave the tin about 15 feet (5 metres) away from your picnic. The bugs are usually attracted to the strong tuna smell and will leave you alone.

10. If your picnic includes kids, pack a soccer ball, horseshoes, badminton rackets, water guns, or a baseball and gloves. Playing outside is fun and a great way to be active with the entire family.

11. When you arrive home, if the food in the cooler isn’t cold, throw it out. That old saying “when in doubt throw it out,” is true. You can’t see or smell bacteria, so be smart—don’t taste it, just pitch it.

12. Replenish your wicker basket so it’s ready for the next picnic.

Recipe rewrite

Diabetics and anyone on sugar, fat, and sodium restricted diets can modify recipes in simple ways. To cut down on sugar:

Use less sugar, honey, or syrup than the recipe calls for.
Make smaller portions (15 muffins instead of 12).
Don’t ice or glaze baked goods.

To cut down on fats

Don’t use hard margarine, shortening, or lard.
Substitute plain yogourt or nonfat sour cream for regular sour cream.
Reduce the amount of nuts called for in a recipe.
To cut down on sodium
Rinse canned beans or lentils before using them.
Eliminate salt-based seasonings such as garlic salt or onion salt.
Use less of condiments such as mustard and ketchup.

Mairlyn, who now lives in Toronto, was raised by avid picnickers. When she returns to Vancouver, she spends many a summer day at Stanley Park. mairlynsmith.com

Source: alive #322. August 2009

Mulch Time!
With the excitement of Christmas dying down, the avid gardener gazes out the window at the wintry scene, yearning for spring to arrive so he can get his hands in the dirt. Don't despair! There is a gardening chore that can be done at this time of year.

Indoor Winter Gardening
During the winter months, maintaining indoor plants can be as rewarding as outdoor gardening. The following are some rules to observe to help keep your houseplants healthy. Reduce fertilization. During the cooler temperatures and shorter days of the winter months, the growth rate of most houseplants slows.

Watching Weeds Grow
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Optimum Bone Health
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How To Raise Athletes Not Couch Potatoes
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Kids First
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Take Back Control
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Healthy Snacking
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Prepare for Your Garden Now!
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Growing Winter Greens
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Natural Gas Crisis
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Natural Sweets for School Treats
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Teen Tanks Need Heavy Fuel
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Worm Power Composting Made Easy
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Guerrilla Gardening
Gardeners are a resourceful and determined lot. Even with a small plot of soil, a patio, balcony or windowsill, you can create a tiny garden that will bring you beauty and food.

Combating The Childhood Obesity Crisis
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Nutrition for Today's Children
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Struggling at School?
Too often we label a child or teen with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), then prescribe Ritalin, a nervous-system stimulating drug th.

Nutritious Nibbles for Kids
It's that time of the year again. When our precious children head back to school, good whole food nutrition throughout the entire year will give them the essential building blocks for the brain to function well and for the whole body to stay alert and alive.

Year Of The Home Garden
Howard-Yana Shapiro, PhD, vice-president of agriculture for Seeds of Change, the largest certified organic seed company in the United States, says, "The key to the future of the world lies in gardening.

Companion Planting
When we fall in love, the phenomenon is referred to as "chemistry". So it is in the plant world. "Allelochemics" is a field of ecology that researches transmission of powerful chemical substances between plant species. Plant organisms "connect" and "communicate" either good vibes or bad.

Short On Gardening Space?
You want a garden, but your space is limited: a patio, balcony, window box, windowsill, hanging basket or just indoor pot.

Healthy Snacks for Kids
With the abundance of commercially processed, high sugar and brightly coloured foods available, it can be hard to teach kids about more natural, satisfying options. When preparing healthy snacks it's key to consider nutritional value along with fun presentation.

School's In: Time to Eat Right!
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An Appetite for Flowers
Pick the blossoms from the stems, removing the parts that contain the pollen. Rinse them in cold water, remove the petals, and pat dry.Snip chive blossoms into your favourite vinaigrette recipe for added punch to your salads and marinades..

Winning The Food Fight
Do your children refuse to eat their vegetables? Do they prefer sugary foods and drinks to fresh produce and whole-grain breads and pastas? If so, you're not alone. Many parents are frustrated by having to compete with slick advertising campaigns luring their children toward the next sugary treat or fast-food snack..

Cereal Killers Lurking in Your Home?
Let's examine a child's typical breakfast: Processed breakfast cereal (sugar) with milk (more sugar), toast and jam (even more sugar), served with a glass of fruit juice (still more sugar). All carbohydrates break down into sugars in the body.

Omega-3s and Children
Omega-3 fats are polyunsaturated fats that protect against heart disease, have anti-inflammatory properties, aid in proper retinal and brain development, and improve focus and behaviour in children.

Managing the Munchies
With an increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes in young people-so much so they don't even bother calling it "adult onset anymore-it's clear that eating habits play a major role in our health. But for many teens, snacking on high-sugar, high-fat food is as much a part of life as homework or driving lessons.

Summer Dreams
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When Food is Love
Although parents find it tempting to use junk food as rewards, this "food is love mentality can create a whole host of problems and set a child up for an eating disorder later in life.

The Gardener's Gold Rush
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Not Milk?
The best food for babies is their mothers' milk; it is perfectly adapted to their needs. For adults, however, lactose intolerance is just one reason to look for an alternative to cows' milk.

Earthly Delights
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Cultivating Beauty
We're surrounded by the pinks, yellows, and fragrant purples of summertime - and much of this comes courtesy of a green thumb. Unfortunately, that thumb might eventually sport a painful and unsightly callus or two.

Nag Me Not
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Bone Health for Children
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Soy Beverage
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School Lunch Recipes Your Kids Will Love
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Proper Protein Portions
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The Art of Wild Harvesting
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Starting Your Own Seeds
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Dazzle With Basil
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Prepare Your Soil Organically
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Take Some Thyme
Thyme grows well in most climates and prefers a light, sandy, well-drained, dry soil in full sun. It is one of the easiest herbs to grow in containers on an apartment balcony, but is quite susceptible to root rot and fungal disease if grown in soil that is too moist or heavy.

Tasty Tubers
Why bother growing potatoes when they are so cheap at the supermarket and they store so well? The best reason is that by harvesting potatoes from your own garden you safeguard your health. Potatoes may cany residues of any number of pesticides. Another reason is that many potatoes now being sold are genetically engineered to produce a soil bacteria that kills pests such as the Colorado Potato Beetle.

Nutrition Tips for Healthy Vegetarian Kids
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The Dirt on Soil
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Life in the Great Indoors
Winter can be a challenging time for the plants in our homes. Dry air, temperature fluctuations, and reduced lighting send some indoor plants into a state of semi-dormancy. Others thrive in winter's feeble light, adding vibrancy to the indoor landscape while purifying the air in our homes.

Lead by Example
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From Garbage to Gold
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Say Goodbye to Unwanted Garden Guests
Gardeners need a supply of remedies in case unwelcome guests get out of hand. Before heading off to the garden centre, though, look to your pantry for solutions. Organic gardeners have long used home-made preparations to ward off unwanted insects and diseases.

Pulp Mill Sludge
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We're Pregnant! Now What?
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Fruitful Fertilizers
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Teach Your Children Well
There are certain well-researched health and nutritional truths that can improve your children's health and overall well-being. Once implemented in your household, the following practices will optimize your children's health and wellness, both physically and mentally.

Baby Food Basics
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Healthy Lunches
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Eating Well-For Two
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Warming up means burning more

Tend your garden and your bones

To walk or to jog?

Digging a Deeper Hole

Fall Into Composting

Preparing Your Garden for the Growing Season
Preparing your garden in spring doesn't have to be complicated. Enjoy a sunny afternoon by donning your gardening gloves and taking these easy, basic steps for gardens big or small, perennial or vegetable. Your first step is to clear the clutter.

Homegrown Savoury and Sweet
In spring and summer, we enjoy the wealth of herbal diversity at our local produce market. Planting our own herbal gardens will not only provide us with fresh fodder for our summer meals but will also bless our home with aromatic scents.

Flourishing Florals
A tisket, a tasket, a beautiful hanging basket. Find these at your local nursery selling for top dollar or, with a little patience and imagination, you can create a fantastic arrangement of colours and scents to suit your garden decor.

Tilling Togetherness
Hot town! It's time to shake off the dust, bust out of your tiny-but-affordable apartment, and join the steamy chaos of summer in the city!

Going with the Flow
Watering is one of my least favourite garden chores. In the heat of summer, it is an interminable task, requiring hours of dedication and returning nothing but a day's reprieve from the constant threat of desertification.

September Spectacular
As the blooms of early summer fade, gardeners stave off shorter days and evening chills with warm floral displays. It can be the showiest time of year-when temperatures are less intense and the air is crisper.

What's for Lunch?
Encourage your children to take part in selecting the foods they want to find in their lunchboxes.

Sugar and Your Child
Many parents realize that sugar is not their friend when it comes to raising happy, healthy children. Childhood obesity and the accompanying health hazard of childhood diabetes are serious health concerns.

Gardening By the Moon
The idea of gardening by the moon may elicit images of dancing naked around your blueberry bushes, asking goddesses for special favours. In fact, lunar gardening is actually based upon the moon's gravitational effect on the flow of moisture in soil and plants.

Grooming Your Grounds
Natural lawn care is not simply a choice between good and bad gardening products. It is a philosophical shift to a new relationship with your lawn, working with, rather than against, the ecosystem of your garden.

Food Additives and Hyperactivity
If you take your children grocery shopping, you know the draw of brightly packaged food. It doesn't stop there: inside the packaging you'll often find additives and colouring to enhance flavour and fun.

Fall Garden Maintenance
As the days get shorter and the air develops a chillier nip, why do all the work yourself? Let Mother Nature help you take care of your garden.