August 2, 2025, 6:31 am | Read time: 8 minutes
What would summer be without barbecues or a picnic in the park? While vegetable skewers are increasingly finding their place next to steak and company on the grill, typical picnic recipes that are high in fat and sugar can also be made in a lighter version. FITBOOK explains which calorie bombs lurk at a classic picnic and what figure-friendly alternatives are available–including delicious recipe suggestions.
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The Biggest Calorie Traps at a Picnic
A look into the picnic basket often doesn’t align with the desire for a defined silhouette or a bikini body: Alongside meatballs, pasta salad, baguette, and muffins, other sweet and fatty calorie traps are often found. While there’s nothing wrong with sampling a few, your daily calorie needs are quickly met if you indulge in cake, sausages, and the like–especially if there’s also beer, soft drinks, or red wine.
Our top 5 biggest picnic sins should be replaced more often with the appropriate five alternatives. We’ve also prepared suggestions for that.
Calorie Trap: Meatballs and Sausages
These meaty snacks are packed with extra salt, saturated fat, calories, and cholesterol, which can quickly upset your stomach in the summer heat. If the meat “on top” comes from conventional farming, it often contains antibiotics and other questionable residues that have no place in a healthy picnic.
Figure-Friendly Alternative
Replace ground meat for Bavarian “Fleischpflanzerl,” Berlin meatballs, or hamburger patties with green spelt groats cooked in vegetable broth. It sounds very healthy–and it is, thanks to fiber, essential amino acids, and micronutrients–but green spelt patties also taste truly delicious when prepared similarly to the original. The recipe can be found below in the recipe section of this article.
Calorie Trap: Potato and Pasta Salad
A classic pasta salad provides plenty of starch from wheat flour, which is first converted into sugar in the body and then into body fat. Additionally, pasta and potato salads contain plenty of saturated fat and cholesterol from mayonnaise.
Lower-Calorie Alternative
A figure-friendly alternative is a potato salad with thin slices of cucumber and a dressing made from plain yogurt, salt, pepper, a little olive oil, and plenty of chives. Additionally, a bit of pickle juice, finely chopped pickles, and a few tablespoons of feta or cow’s milk cheese provide an extra aromatic surprise for picnickers. For a vegan option, simply use soy yogurt instead–it works just as well.
Also interesting: Is porridge healthier than oatmeal with milk?
Calorie Trap: Baguette or Flatbread
Both types of bread made from white flour with empty calories are often found in the picnic basket. Even though a small piece surely doesn’t hurt, many tend to break off a large piece now and then–in addition to sausages, potato salad, and the like. If the bread is then dipped into our following top 4, it creates a calorie bomb of starch or sugar and an extra portion of fat!
Figure-Friendly Alternative
Homemade tortilla flatbreads from whole spelt flour, which also succeed with a few drops of olive oil. What many don’t know: Ready-made tortillas from wheat or corn flour for wraps and the like are super thin but contain plenty of fat alongside starch and artificial additives.
Tip: First, spread the DIY flatbreads with a little guacamole, then top with lamb’s lettuce, arugula, diced tomatoes, and chopped mozzarella, season with salt and pepper, roll up tightly–and delicious wraps à la Bella Italia are ready for the picnic.
Alternatively–for those who want a quick yet healthier option to baguette or flatbread–you can instead opt for a fiber-rich whole spelt bread or a crispy rye crispbread and pack it in the picnic basket as well.
Calorie Trap: Herb Butter and Sauces
There’s nothing wrong with a small portion of homemade herb butter from organic butter with lots of fresh herbs, garlic, chili flakes, and turmeric, but larger amounts stand in the way of a figure-friendly “come together” in the park. While ready-made sauces like remoulade and the like contain plenty of fat, they also often have additives like artificial flavors and emulsifiers, and classic ketchup is a real sugar bomb.
Low-Sugar Alternative
For homemade ketchup, here’s a picnic recipe: Sauté diced garlic and red onion in a little olive oil until translucent, add plenty of tomato paste and basil leaves, briefly sauté, deglaze with a little orange juice, and puree. Then, depending on the desired consistency, add a bit more orange juice or water, season with salt and pepper, and refine with a little liquid honey or erythritol.
Calorie Trap: Soft Drinks and Juice
If sugary soda, cola, iced tea, or juice is served with meatballs, pasta salad, and the like, the calorie count quickly explodes. Since sufficient fluids are essential in high temperatures, make sure to pack enough mineral water or one of the following refreshing drinks in the cooler.
Low-Sugar Alternative
A homemade apple spritzer made from one part naturally cloudy apple juice and two parts mineral water is refreshing and contains plenty of electrolytes, making it a perfect refreshment for a summer picnic.
For an iced tea with plenty of antioxidants, brew green or black tea, let it cool, refine with a little apple or orange juice and a splash of liquid honey or erythritol, add fresh mint or lemon balm, let it steep overnight in the fridge, and cool with frozen raspberries as ice cubes before heading to the picnic. A recipe for summer fusion water–naturally flavored water–is available below in the recipe section.
Figure-Friendly Picnic Recipes with Flavor
The following recipes are easy to prepare for a picnic and provide an extra dose of nutrients. To keep the dishes fresh and pleasantly cool during the picnic in high temperatures, a cooler or an insulated cooler bag with frozen ice packs is ideal.
Zero-Waste Tip
To enjoy the recipes at the picnic with a clear conscience, here are a few tips to avoid waste. All snacks can be packed in reusable containers to consistently avoid plastic cutlery and disposable tableware. Additionally, there is a wide range of picnic tableware available. Or simply opt for shatterproof children’s tableware. While wooden cutlery is also an option, there are plates made from recyclable bamboo or palm leaves that can be used more than once!
Let’s get started with our recipes in savory and sweet interpretations, so there’s something for every picnic taste!
Delightfully Refreshing Summer Salad with Melon
Ingredients for 4 People
- Juice and some zest from 2 organic oranges
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 150 g feta, crumbled
- Salt and chili flakes
- 1 kg watermelon, cubed, chilled
- Cucumbers, diced, chilled
- 1 bunch arugula, roughly chopped
Preparation
- Mix the orange juice with the olive oil and feta in a large bowl, and season with salt and chili flakes.
- Add the remaining ingredients, fold in, taste again, and let it sit in the fridge until you’re ready to head to the picnic.
Tip: You can replace the arugula with fresh mint and the feta with mozzarella! For a vegan version, omit the feta or substitute with avocado.
Flavorful Green Spelt Patties
Ingredients for 4 People
- 150 g green spelt groats
- 200 ml vegetable broth
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 to 2 tsp mustard
- approx. 4 tbsp rolled oats
- Salt and pepper
- 1 to 2 tbsp canola oil
Preparation
- Combine the green spelt groats with the vegetable broth in a pot, bring to a boil, let simmer for about 5 minutes covered, and then let it swell for about 20 minutes on the turned-off stove with the lid on.
- Enhance the green spelt mixture with the other ingredients, mix everything well, and let it swell for another 10 minutes.
- Depending on the consistency, add a little more liquid or more rolled oats, season again to taste, and shape into 4 patties with wet hands.
- Then fry the green spelt patties in a non-stick pan for about 5 minutes on each side until crispy, let cool, and pack.
Summer Fusion Water
Ingredients for 2 People
- 1 liter cold water
- 1 small bunch of mint
- 1 handful of fresh raspberries or strawberries, coarsely chopped
- 2 handfuls of frozen raspberries or strawberries
Preparation
- Enhance the cold water with the mint and fresh berries. A special bottle or jug with an integrated strainer is best for this.
- Then let the water steep overnight in the refrigerator.
- Before heading out to the picnic, add the frozen berries as ice cubes.
Tip: The water can be replaced with green or black tea. Infusion water also tastes delicious with a mix of thinly sliced cucumber, blueberries, and orange slices.