Celebrating Earth Day with a Picnic for the Planet | Picnic Basket Giveaway

Is there any better way to spend a beautiful spring day than to set out a blanket, open up a basket-full of food, and pour a crisp glass of lemonade while soaking in the sun?

These days we rarely make the time to sit on a blanket in the grass, to talk and laugh with friends and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us.

Something magical happens when you combine good food, good company and fresh air.  The feeling of the warm sun on your skin makes you a little sleepy and more inclined to lounge unhurriedly for hours while filling up on food and washing it all down with cold glasses of wine.

Whether you’re planning a picnic to celebrate a special occasion or just enjoy a beautiful afternoon here are a few tips to make the day even better:

Picnic Tips:

The Location:

Picnics can be anywhere; a grassy park, the beach or even your own backyard, be creative.

The Essentials:

Remember to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.  Have one cooler for cold items, one for hot items and a picnic basket for everything else.

Pack your cooler in reverse order so that what you want to eat first is at the top.

Use frozen bottles of water to save space and keep the food cool along with ice packs.

Use cloth napkins and re-usable plates to reduce waste.

The Food:

Choose foods that are easy to eat and travel well.

Prepare just a few main items and pick up some olives, vegetables, fruit and cheese to compliment.

On a chilly day bring hot soup in a thermos.

For a no-mayo potato salad try these Potatoes with Crème Fraiche.

Honey Ginger Lemonade makes a refreshing drink.

Bite sized Fruit and Nut Truffles are a good choice for dessert.

More picnic friendly recipes:

Flax Seed Crackers

Marinated Olives

Watermelon and Tomato Salad

Please join me and a group of friends and fellow bloggers in celebrating Earth Day this year by having a picnic for the planet.  What better way to celebrate the Earth Day than with a picnic?

That’s just what The Nature Conservancy is planning with Picnic for the Planet, and everyone’s invited to join. Picnic for the Planet is a celebration of the Earth, the food it provides and the importance of making meaningful choices that are healthy for us and good for the planet.  All you have to do is have a picnic, somewhere in the world, on April 22nd.

And to celebrate the occasion we are each giving away a filled Picnic Basket (ARV $75)

Basket contains the following items: Collapsible Coleman canvas basket lined with gingham fabric, Picnic for the Planet water bottle, tee, blanket, and temporary tattoo, Reusable bamboo utensil set by To-Go Ware, Popchips, Peeled Snacks organic dried fruit, Green and Black chocolate bar, Back to Nature crackers and cookies, Burt's Bees chapstick.

HOW TO ENTER:
Required Entry: For a chance to win leave a comment here, whatever you’d like. For example, tell me what your favorite picnic food is.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

The winner is Krissy Minter.  Congrats Krissy!

The required entry must be done otherwise any extra entries will not count.

WANT MORE CHANCES TO WIN?
Extra Entries:

1. “Like” Gourmande in the Kitchen on Facebook.*

2. Follow @gourmandeinthek on Twitter and tweet the following : Celebrate Earth Day w/ a Picnic & #Win a Filled Picnic Basket Worth $75 from @nature_org & @gourmandeinthek http://bit.ly/picnic12 #picnic12

3. Like The Nature Conservancy on Facebook.

4. Follow @nature_org on Twitter.

5. Follow Sylvie | Gourmande in the Kitchen on Pinterest. *

6. Subscribe to Gourmande in the Kitchen updates by email, or subscribe to my RSS feed.*

PLEASE REMEMBER: Leave a separate comment for EACH of your entries or only one entry will be counted.

*If you already follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest and/or already subscribe to Gourmande in the Kitchen let me know as well, since this counts as an entry.
Giveaway starts on 4/16/2012 and will run until 4/22/2012 at 11:59 pm PST.

FOR EVEN MORE CHANCES TO WIN DON'T FORGET TO VISIT:

• All Day I Dream About Food
• A Spicy Perspective
• Cookin Canuck
• Created By Diane
• Dine & Dish
• Food for My Family
• Gourmande in the Kitchen
• I am Baker
• Jeanette's Healthy Living
• The Little Kitchen
• Tidy Mom

who are also giving away baskets this week.

Official Rules:
To enter leave a comment.
One winner  with a valid entries will be selected at random. I will email the winner and they will have up to 3 days to claim their prize or another winner will be selected.
One winner will be selected at random to receive one Filled Picnic Basket a $75 value.
The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
Sponsors are as follows: http://www.nature.org
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY, VOID WHERE PROHIBITED
For more information about Picnic for the Planet and to host your own picnic please visit http://earthday.nature.org.

Sylvie

Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.