Your guide to planning a healthy picnic

If the word "picnic" is synonymous in your mind with overstuffed sandwiches, potato salad and chips, this is for you. Here are some healthy ways to ensure that dining al fresco doesn't translate as dining al fatso!

Eating outside in the sun, with the crash of waves on the beach or the wind through the trees as your musical accompaniment, makes any meal taste better. That's why picnics should feature in your healthy-eating master plan.

• Turkey or chicken breast sandwiches with low-fat cheese, sandwich pickles, tomatoes and spinach leaves.
• Hummus stuffed into whole-wheat pita bread with bean sprouts, diced tomatoes and sliced grapes.
• A green salad topped with grilled chicken. Pack the dressing separately.
• Whole-wheat wraps with smoked salmon, capers, tomato, avocado, hummus, spinach and grated carrots.
• Cumin, black-eyed bean and corn salad: Rinse and drain a can of black-eyed beans and a can of corn. Mix together with a drizzle of olive oil, 15 millilitres (one tablespoon) of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of cumin.
• Ricotta, spinach and Parmesan whole-wheat wrap: Place about 120 grams (four ounces) of loosely packed raw spinach leaves in a food processor and grind. Mix in 125 grams (four ounces) or so of low-fat ricotta and 15 millilitres (one tablespoon) of Parmesan cheese, and wrap the mix in a whole-wheat flour tortilla.
• Mediterranean tomato salad in whole-wheat pita: Dice fresh tomato and cucumber, mix with a thinly sliced red onion and black olives, drizzle with a little olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and stuff into a pita pocket.

• Brush boneless, skinless chicken thighs with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake (180°C/350°F) until the juices run clear – about 45 to 60 minutes.
• Prepare the day before your picnic and chill overnight.
• For something as deliciously messy as fried chicken, mix the juice of a lemon with 15 millilitres (one tablespoon) of Dijon mustard, 1/3 cup (85 millilitres) of honey, a pinch of curry powder and a pinch of salt.
• Coat skinless chicken drumsticks in the mixture and bake until done (180°C/350°F) – about 45 to 60 minutes.

• Microwave two boxes of whole-wheat couscous (put boiling water in a heat resistant measuring cup, add the couscous, cover with a plate and let it steam) and add fresh or roasted vegetables, a can of chickpeas, a sprinkling of feta cheese and sliced black olives and a drizzle of olive oil.

Now you've got a gorgeous Mediterranean salad that's great for a picnic.

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