Fourth of July is never celebrated exactly the same for me, but it always makes me nostalgic for my New England childhood roots. I am a sea and sand girl at heart, but on Independence Day there is something nice about celebrating on a blanket spread on bright green grass, by a band playing classic Americana, with a picnic. Boston has the Commons, Washington DC has the Mall and LA has Americafest. Although I have to admit it is not something I think about enough, I do feel lucky to be an American; and the reason we are celebrating should be thought about as much as the festivities that go along with it. In honor, I’m packing a red, white and blue picnic, replete with delicious and healthful fixins’ to savor the day. While taste and health is foremost in my planning, you’ll notice the picnic is all about the preparation and the recipes are casual – you don’t need to measure or stress over the oven. Set yourself up for fun by spending a few minutes planning and you can relax the whole day long. Join me in spirit, wherever you are in the country, and lay back on your blanket as we oooh and aaah to the fireworks.

Picnic supply list:

• Picnic blanket
• Hand sanitizer and wipes
• Sunscreen
• Water
• Frisbee, balls, playing cards, books/magazines, water guns
• Paper towels/napkins
• Paper plates, forks, serving spoons, spoons and cups
• Bag for trash
• Hats

For the cooler:

• Patriotic Fruit salad – Red (raspberries or strawberries) White (apples) Blue (blueberries). I like to add a splash of fresh lemon to really bring out the flavors and keep it fresh.
• Freedom Greens* – Salad made with Arugula, red cherry tomatoes, red potatoes, red onions, sliced thin, white hard boiled eggs, Nicoise olives, grilled asparagus and albacore tuna (look for the pouches that do not need to be drained or refrigerated), blue dried blueberries, lemon wedges.
• 4^th of July Pie (see recipe)
• Water
• Seltzer

* For the freedom greens, I bring the ingredients deconstructed and let guests assemble their own salad on their plates. This lunch is delicious and super healthy. It also stays in the cooler for a longer amount of time than most entrees, so you don’t have to stress about food safety as much. You can play with it: add artichokes, avocado or your favorite salad ingredients. Dress with lemon.

For the picnic basket:

• Firecracker spiced nuts (see recipe)
• Independence appetizer – Blue and white tortilla chips (choose organic, low sodium) and red (tomato) salsa.  You can make your own chips by baking corn tortillas the night before. For this appetizer, play on the red, white and blue theme with other things to dip in your salsa – for example jicima and fennel are white and more healthful than the chips; or go for blue chips, chips such as Food Should Taste Good blue corn tortilla chips. Blue foods are hard to find, so be creative!

Recipes:

Firecracker Spiced Nuts

Time: 5 active minutes, 50 minutes total

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tablespoons Orange Juice
• 2 Tablespoons 5 Spice Chinese Powder*
• ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 2 cups raw nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios, peanuts or any combination)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine orange juice, Chinese powder and salt in a large bowl and add the nuts. Toss to coat them well. Spread on a rimmed cookie sheet to make an even layer
3. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes until they are dry. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

* Chinese powder is a combination of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns. Find it in the spice isle at the supermarket.

4^th of July Pie

Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 4 oz crème fraiche
• 4 oz fat free sour cream
• 16 oz low fat strawberry yogurt
• 1 pint Strawberries, sliced lengthwise
• Blueberries
• 4 clear cups

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the crème fraiche, sour cream and yogurt together. For the picnic, store in an airtight container in your cooler until you are ready to serve.
2. When you are ready to serve, layer the yogurt mixture, the strawberries, the yogurt, the blueberries in the cups to make a beautiful parfait. Garnish with a few extra berries.

Don’t forget to set your playlist with America the Beautiful, Yankee Doodle and the Star Spangled Banner. Have a happy 4^th of July, my fellow patriots. I hope your whole day is firecracker-tastic.

Fourth of July is never celebrated exactly the same for me, but it always makes me nostalgic for my New England childhood roots. I am a sea and sand girl at heart, but on Independence Day there is something nice about celebrating on a blanket spread on bright green grass, by a band playing classic Americana, with a picnic. Boston has the Commons, Washington DC has the Mall and LA has Americafest. Although I have to admit it is not something I think about enough, I do feel lucky to be an American; and the reason we are celebrating should be thought about as much as the festivities that go along with it. In honor, I’m packing a red, white and blue picnic, replete with delicious and healthful fixins’ to savor the day. While taste and health is foremost in my planning, you’ll notice the picnic is all about the preparation and the recipes are casual – you don’t need to measure or stress over the oven. Set yourself up for fun by spending a few minutes planning and you can relax the whole day long. Join me in spirit, wherever you are in the country, and lay back on your blanket as we oooh and aaah to the fireworks.

Picnic supply list:

• Picnic blanket
• Hand sanitizer and wipes
• Sunscreen
• Water
• Frisbee, balls, playing cards, books/magazines, water guns
• Paper towels/napkins
• Paper plates, forks, serving spoons, spoons and cups
• Bag for trash
• Hats

For the cooler:

• Patriotic Fruit salad – Red (raspberries or strawberries) White (apples) Blue (blueberries). I like to add a splash of fresh lemon to really bring out the flavors and keep it fresh.
• Freedom Greens* – Salad made with Arugula, red cherry tomatoes, red potatoes, red onions, sliced thin, white hard boiled eggs, Nicoise olives, grilled asparagus and albacore tuna (look for the pouches that do not need to be drained or refrigerated), blue dried blueberries, lemon wedges.
• 4^th of July Pie (see recipe)
• Water
• Seltzer

* For the freedom greens, I bring the ingredients deconstructed and let guests assemble their own salad on their plates. This lunch is delicious and super healthy. It also stays in the cooler for a longer amount of time than most entrees, so you don’t have to stress about food safety as much. You can play with it: add artichokes, avocado or your favorite salad ingredients. Dress with lemon.

For the picnic basket:

• Firecracker spiced nuts (see recipe)
• Independence appetizer – Blue and white tortilla chips (choose organic, low sodium) and red (tomato) salsa.  You can make your own chips by baking corn tortillas the night before. For this appetizer, play on the red, white and blue theme with other things to dip in your salsa – for example jicima and fennel are white and more healthful than the chips; or go for blue chips, chips such as Food Should Taste Good blue corn tortilla chips. Blue foods are hard to find, so be creative!

Recipes:

Firecracker Spiced Nuts

Time: 5 active minutes, 50 minutes total

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tablespoons Orange Juice
• 2 Tablespoons 5 Spice Chinese Powder*
• ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 2 cups raw nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios, peanuts or any combination)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine orange juice, Chinese powder and salt in a large bowl and add the nuts. Toss to coat them well. Spread on a rimmed cookie sheet to make an even layer
3. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes until they are dry. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

* Chinese powder is a combination of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns. Find it in the spice isle at the supermarket.

4^th of July Pie

Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 4 oz crème fraiche
• 4 oz fat free sour cream
• 16 oz low fat strawberry yogurt
• 1 pint Strawberries, sliced lengthwise
• Blueberries
• 4 clear cups

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the crème fraiche, sour cream and yogurt together. For the picnic, store in an airtight container in your cooler until you are ready to serve.
2. When you are ready to serve, layer the yogurt mixture, the strawberries, the yogurt, the blueberries in the cups to make a beautiful parfait. Garnish with a few extra berries.

Don’t forget to set your playlist with America the Beautiful, Yankee Doodle and the Star Spangled Banner. Have a happy 4^th of July, my fellow patriots. I hope your whole day is firecracker-tastic.

INGREDIENTS

Dressing:

• 2 Tbsp fat-free plain yogurt
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped, shelled, raw pistachios
• 1 Tbsp steeped green tea, cooled to room temperature
• 1 Tbsp thinly sliced green onion
• 1 tsp finely chopped parsley
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• ½ tsp minced garlic
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad:

• ¾ cup frozen, shelled edamame
• ½ cup celery, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts
• ¼ cup thinly sliced radishes

DIRECTIONS

1. To make the dressing: Place the yogurt, pistachios, tea, onion, parsley, vinegar, and garlic in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. To make the salad: Defrost the edamame in the microwave according to the package directions. Let it cool to room temperature.
3. Toss the edamame, celery, artichoke hearts, and radishes with the dressing and serve.

Why we love this recipe:
This beautiful salad is like a perfect summer day with all its shades of green. Not only is it full of powerful vitamins and minerals with antioxidant power, but the edamame supplies a healthy dose of protein. Even if you are not vegan or vegetarian, we recommend a few veggie meals per week. This is a good healthy habit for you and the environment. The yogurt and nuts in the dressing supply protein while the green tea adds a dose of antioxidant power that just may protect your heart and your skin from the sun. Fiber packed artichokes and crunchy celery and radishes help to make this not only super tasty but wonderfully filling.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp fig vinegar
• ¼ cup steeped green tea, cooled to room temperature
• ½ tsp minced ginger
• ½ tsp honey
• ½ tsp olive oil
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped shallots
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 oz cod fillet (about ¾” thick), cut into 4 uniform cubes
• 1/3 cup cooked or canned lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 cup baby spinach
• 2 tsp dried currants
• 1 bamboo skewer, 8” long

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the lemon juice, vinegar, tea, ginger, honey, oil, mustard, and 2 tablespoons of the shallots in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade to use as a dressing, and set aside.
3. Place the fish in the bowl with the remaining marinade. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes.
4. While the fish marinates, soak the bamboo skewer in water.
5. Lightly mist a grill pan or medium nonstick skillet with canola oil cooking spray and place it over medium heat.
6. Thread the fish onto the skewer. Cook for 5 minutes or until the fish is opaque, using a spatula to carefully flip the skewer halfway through.
7. Toss the lentils, spinach, currants, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of shallots with 1 tablespoon of the dressing. Place the skewer on top of the salad and drizzle the remaining dressing on top of the fish. Serve immediately.

Makes 1 serving.

Why we love this recipe:

Not everyone likes to guzzle green tea like we do, and if you relate to this, using green tea as a marinade can be a great way to incorporate this antioxidant-packed super food into your diet. The lemon in this recipe gives you a splash of vitamin C while the ginger offers its anti-inflammatory properties. Honey, even in small quantity here, has some unique properties. As a natural humectant, it keeps all the water you’re drinking in the right places while providing antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. Some of the bigger players here are the lentils, providing lean protein, and fiber helps you stay… full! Add to this the heart healthy omega 3’s of cod and the green goodness of spinach and you have a dish so good and so good for you, you might even be tempted to eat the bamboo skewers.