Vegan Picnic Ideas! (Rainbow Tofu Spring Rolls, Sweet Potato Taco Pinwheels)

Step 1: Make super awesome friends to hang out with.

Step 2: Plan a picnic!

(aka explore the "picnic ideas" Internet rabbit hole, change your mind like 20 times, realize you also have to pack everything in 5 minutes, then have fun at your picnic!)

These recipes look like they include a lot of ingredients, but if you make extra of everything, you can meal prep different recipes for a whole week! Also, there's minimal stove/ oven use, so they are great to make on a hot day.

These lunch/ dinner ideas hold very well (everything is vegan (no meat/ dairy), so there's less chance of things spoiling). These are also portable and are great to pack for school / work!

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Rainbow Tofu Spring Rolls

Ingredients: (add any veggies you have & make things as colorful as possible!)

• Rice paper

• Rice noodles

• Red bell pepper

• Yellow bell pepper

• Cucumber

• Lettuce

• Spinach

• Grilled onion

• Toasted peanuts, chopped

• *Pickled carrot & daikon

• (Five-spice Braised Tofu)

• 1 block extra firm (14 oz) or super-firm (16 oz) tofu, pressed*

• 1/2 cup vegetable broth

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/4 cup low-sodium tamari

• 1 tbsp coconut sugar

• 1 tsp chinese five spice blend

• (Peanut Sauce)

• 1/2 cup Peanut butter

• 1/4 cup Vegetarian Hoisin Sauce

• Water (to adjust consistency)

Directions:

(Pickled Carrot / Daikon) This staple in Vietnamese cooking adds a nice crunch and acidity, and it's super easy to make! Peel carrots & a daikon (roughly equal amounts). Slice both into thin matchsticks using a mandolin. Mix together 1 portion water, 1 portion sugar, 1 portion of vinegar. Add everything to a jar and let it sit in the refrigerator (preferably overnight or a few days) to pickle.

(Prep) Slice all the veggies into thin strips (You can use a vegetable peeler for cucumbers or carrots).

(Five-spice Braised Tofu) Drain and press the tofu for 30 min. Mix together all of the ingredients for the marinade. Add the tofu & marinade to a pot and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes, allowing the marinade to reduce. Bake

Notes:

• Right after you make the spring rolls, make sure to wrap them in plastic wrap so they don't dry out. (If you group two of them together, then it's super easy to serve

• All of these ingredients can also make a great noodle salad! (lettuce bed w/ noodles & veggies on top with the peanut sauce

• A quick substitute

Source Recipe: From home :)

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Sweet Potato Taco Pinwheels

Ingredients: (same as my sweet potato taco recipe)

Directions: Make the filling according to the sweet potato taco recipe. The Cashew Cream & avocado slices are important for making pinwheels to make sure they don't fall apart.

Lay out the tortilla. Stagger the filling, spinach, avocado slices, cashew cream on the tortilla. Tightly roll the tortilla up

Source Recipe: Inspiration from Mina Rome!

*post for other snacks / desserts to bring coming soon!

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Packing List for other ideas

• Blanket (if there's no tables)

• Tablecloth (if there are tables)

• Water / Tea / Drinks

• Sunscreen

• Plates / Utensils

• Water balloons (fun activity!)

• Juggling balls (in case learning how to partner juggle is high on your to do list)

• Trash bags

• Cooler / Ice