Summer is the perfect time to picnic. The trees are at their greenest and the sun’s warmth is coziest under the shade. Picnicking is an all-time favorite leisure activity. Grab a blanket, some homemade delicious treats, beverages and bring your good spirits.
Recently, I took up a new leisure activity: Picnicking.
The balmy weather and the cool breeze made me think about eating lunch outside. Sure, I’ve picnicked plenty of times before, but I had never picnicked just to have lunch.
Now, my lunches are elevated.
A routine lunch activity, sometimes just a quick bite of something in the fridge from last night’s dinner, has become a ritual. It has now become a mini-celebration away from the comforts of home, away from a table and into the lush of the grass blades and freshness of the outdoors.
Make it a special day
Planning is key to having a beautiful day out in the open. For me, picnics are best during the weekend because that means there is more time to prepare and gather everything that is needed. So, I make sure to pencil in my picnic on a Saturday or Sunday. Having the date set makes it feel like a festivity of sorts that is coming up soon. This gets you into the right mindset and in a proper mood. You feel joy, excited and you’re hit with a lot of positive emotions. You have already set yourself up for greatness. Attitude is everything.
Change it up— Skip the planning and have an impromptu lunch outdoors. Call up a close one and invite them to lunch outside. Lunch isn’t meant to be mundane. Have yourself a different kind of midday meal. Go all out and enjoy a fancy meal on your picnic blanket. Leave the let-me-microwave-the-leftover lunches for busy days and let the (gasp!) how-about-I-skip-lunch-today thoughts be a thing of the past.
Homemade food is best
Yes, it will take some time to make some food, but you can do this.
Make sure to plan way ahead what you would like to eat during your outing. Remember, this is a special day, not just a lunch picnic. Make a delicious sandwich. Blend up a nutritious smoothie. Make a pavlova cake (extra points if you eat pavlova on a picnic!).
While it is easier to buy ready-to-eat meals these days, it’s not always the most nutritious and it’s lacking that extra ingredient “homemade love”. So skip the fast food and forget the microwavable foods. Make something fresh, something delicious and satisfying.
Change it up— Become a sandwich artisan. The best thing about creating my own sandwich is that I can double up or triple up on whatever ingredients I want. An extra layer of tomatoes? No problem. A few more onion slices? Sure. Avocado on the side? But of course, only the ripest! Creating your own sandwich means extra anything-you-want without any reservations.
Solo or no?
The great thing about picnics is that you can go it alone or go with your family or friends.
Going in a big group is merrier, but going alone on a picnic or with a few pals has its benefits as well.
Change it up— There’s something about picnicking alone. It does require courage and commitment to go freely by yourself. After all, most of us are so accustomed to always having someone or everyone around, that doing things by ourselves can be a little bit or way out of our comfort zone. But, going on a picnic by yourself takes your picnic experience to another level. You can bring a book, you can have some “me time“, you can bring a journal and write, or you can meditate. You can enjoy the quiet, the calm. Going solo means that you can mindfully connect to yourself and to nature.
Stay and enjoy
Enjoy and relish the moment. Most of the time, we quickly begin thinking about “the next thing”. If you’re picnicking you might start to wonder about the things you’ll need to do as soon as you get home— all the extra dishes you will have to wash, the phone calls you have to make. Or while on your picnic you might start to think about the bugs outside!
Pump the brakes. Bring it back to the present. Think of all the beauty surrounding you, all the years those trees have lived, the fresh air. Shake off your endless to-do list and never mind the bugs. Be in the moment.
Here is to enjoying – more lunches- outdoors in nature.
Stay happy, stay healthy.
