Natural and Organic Picnic Foods!

I love picnics… mostly the idea of them. And the food!

We do get out on a true bring-your-basket-picnic several times a year. I’m always looking for interesting foods to try during our outdoor lunches and this summer, Whole Foods sent me a veritable “picnic basket” of goodies to test out! I have found so many of them are perfect for outdoor snacking.

Pole & Line Caught Tuna

This sustainable line of canned tuna fish will first off, charm you with the gorgeously illustrated packaging. Each can is signed by a fisherman. True! You can actually see the area where the fish in the can was caught listed on the can too! Pole and line fishing is the most sustainable fishing method available, so when you’re enjoying your tuna melt sandwich with these cans, you can rest assured they weren’t mass harvested.

Pole & Line tunas are gluten-free and MSC certified and come in Albacore with salt, Albacore without salt, Albacore in Oil, Skipjack with salt, and Skipjack without salt. I actually love a good tuna sandwich, and so I can tell the quality of this tuna is much different than I was used to. The taste is a bit stronger (not in a bad way, just different!), and the texture is very firm. All in all, different but delicious!

Scrumptious Pantry Heirloom Hot Sauce

You know you can put a little hot sauce on just about anything right? Why not picnic foods? I used the Chiltepin Pepper flavored hot sauce to make a great “buffalo chicken dip” that would be picnic-perfect. Made with heirloom peppers, these non-GMO hot sauces will add a spark to any dish – meat, veggies, eggs… how about tossing with nuts for a savory trail mix?

Go Raw Salad Snax

I keep trying to make my own kale chips, but I never like the results. However, even our baby loves the crunchy-chewy texture of Go Raw Salad Snax. Healthy, on-the-go packaged raw dehydrated kale, lettuce, carrots, cabbage, and other veggies with seasoning in your favorite salad dressing flavor like 1000 Island, Original Vinagraitte, or Ranch. Who needs a soggy salad on their picnic, when you can be munching on these treats?

Tiny But Mighty Heirloom Popcorn

We love to end our picnics leisurely munching on a bag of chips. But why not swap it out for a bag of teeny popcorn? I was amused at the petite little popcorns in these bags, but the taste? Outstanding. Light and crispy, and hull-less so you don’t get those nasty gobs stuck in your teeth like regular popcorn. Tiny But Mighty is grown by a family of farmers with heirloom seeds, so it’s an all-natural popcorn you can enjoy without the worry of GMOs. Naturally gluten-free, these tiny kernals pack a terrific taste-punch. Try flavors like butter, sea salt, and kettle corn!

Nutiva O’Coconut Bars

I love to keep life easy on a picnic, so getting a store-bought treat for dessert is usually the way I go (or fresh fruit!). Nutiva O’Coconut Bars are small cookie-like bites of coconut, reminiscent of that familiar almond candy bar that brings joy! I’m jumping for joy that this treat is made with all-organic, clean ingredients. So you won’t mind if I have two, right? (At 60 calories each, it’s okay!). Try Classic Lightly Sweetened Coconut or my favorite Hemp & Chia.

Which of these would you pack in your picnic basket? 

When I go to Whole Foods, I expect to see cutting edge grocery items like these to try out – the surprise of finding a new favorite is one reason I love to visit our local WFM to see what pops up next!

PS: Next up we’ll be growing our own sprouts with High Mowing Organic Home Sprouting Seeds, and getting international with Sky Valley Taco and Mole sauces!

Thanks to Whole Foods Market for providing media samples for our use and review. All opinions are my own.