Guide to summer dining: Food for parties, BBQs and picnics

Your body is buffed and bronzed the organic way, you’ve found the perfect vintage party dress and shoes and you’ve made the guest list of all the people you love the most. Now you’ve just got to get the food. Don’t skimp on ethical food sources this Summer, and get ready for dining alfresco with a conscience. Here’s our pick of the best organic, natural and ethical party food.

Picnics

Sandwiches are a picnic staple, but you need to keep the fillings fresh and fun, so stick with a mixture of sweet and savoury to keep everyone happy For sweet, honey all goes down a treat. Rowse honey comes in exotic flavours such as Eucalyptus and Orange Blossom and their organic range is growing all of the time.

Liven up cheese or salad sandwiches with relishes and pickles such as those from Tracklement, which is a family-run company from the UK. Particularly delicious is the Organic Plum Chutney, £3.45, and the Organic Lemon or Honey Mustards, £2.10, which have whole seeds in giving you a satisfying crunch.

One cheese that will satisfy all ages is Primula spreads. Suitable for vegetarians and using no added colours or preservatives, the Deli Soft Cheese with black pepper, £1.99, goes well with most salad sandwich, or even in jacket potatoes when it gets late.

What goes better with a sandwich than crisps? Red Sky is a new luxury brand which contains 100% natural ingredients, and for every bag bought, 10 feet of rain forest will be saved by the company through its work with Cool Earth. Even the packaging is recycled and FSC-approved. Blimey, who thought crisps could be so good! Red Sky are £1.99 from most supermarkets.

The alternative to bread and crisps for those watching their waistlines, Amisa do some great organic garlic and peppercorn Crispbreads, £2.69 and poppy seed Spelt Snacks, £2.29 from Ocado. Do to them what you’d do to bread, but without the bloated feeling which leaves your belt feeling a bit tight.

The Vege Table has some lovely vegetarian picnic recipe ideas.

Next page: Delicious, eco-friendly BBQ food

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