Summer (Indoor) Picnic Essentials for the Urban Dweller!

By: Finance Foodie

Ahhh summertime is just around the corner (in Boston, this means it's safe to go outdoors now without a heavy jacket). Time to hop into shorts, get out those sunnies, and go for a picnic in the park!

But if you are anything like me, outdoor picnics really mean ants, grass stains, and no AC (read: uncomfortable and inconvenient!). It also means limited food options -- every picnic in the park I've attended always consisted of the usual sandwiches, chips, and other items that don't need to be heated or kept in a freezer.

Unsure why anyone (meaning me mostly) would want to put themselves through bugs battles and limited grub options, I've devised my own way of ringing in the summertime -- an indoor picnic! With easy access to all the modern advances of the 20th century (oven, freezer, running water), this method totally gives you all the feelings of a picnic without all the hassles of being outdoors. (Now if you insist on getting some rays, you can always take a walk in the park after eating).

Most importantly, what goodies am I filling my picnic basket with? Well, here are my essential treats to pulling off a rocking indoor picnic party!

1. Fever Tree Ginger Beer -- This stuff is totally da' bomb! Unlike some of the other ginger beers on the market (*cough* Gosling's *cough*), Fever Tree's GB is all natural and contains no artificial flavors, preservatives or sweeteners -- in fact, you can see real bits of ginger floating in this non-alcoholic beer!

2. Evol Flatbread -- Another all natural product, this frozen gourmet flatbread made by Evol, who's probably best known for their frozen burritos, could totally pass for something that was prepared by hand (when secretly all it took was a quick pop into the oven ;). The flatbread comes in four flavors -- they are all excellent, but my favorite (by a hair of a margin) was the oh-so-flavorful BBQ chicken and mozzarella.

In addition to their burritos and flatbread, Evol has a line of all-natural frozen bowls inspired by their burritos. I'm not really a big fan of beans in general (and 3 out of the 4 bowl flavors include generous heaping of said ingredient), so I was really glad they had a bean-free teriyaki chicken flavor bowl. Also, just a pre-warning, the portion size for each bowl is pretty small, so you might want to "pack" two per person!

3. Farm Rich Stuffed Pretzel Bites -- I like my food bite sized and convenient (without tasting convenient!), so these new pretzel bites stuffed with cheddar cheese from Farm Rich totally fit the bill. Pop these frozen suckers in the oven for 10 minutes and you got yourself a quick and yummy warm treat. Farm Rich also produces a whole host of other awesome easy to prep frozen appetizers like mozzarella bites and mini Philly cheese steaks, so be sure to check those out as well!

4. Dove Ice Cream bars -- an excellent summertime favorite and a great way to cap off the picnic. The newest bar, the peanut butter swirl ice cream with a milk chocolate and peanut shell, is super sinfully sweet and super creative, but my favorite will always be the original (vanilla ice cream with a milk chocolate shell) that I used to have as a snack after getting home from high school!

5. Dove Ice Cream pints -- Who can resist ice cream topped with ganache? (Hint: not my guest nor me!)

6. Sour Patch Kids Chillerz -- Basically, the original Sour Patch with a minty after-bite -- this after-meal mint is a good alternative sweet ending for those watching their waistline. (Although given a choice between Dove ice cream and what is basically a mint, I'd totally go for the former! But it's good to have options for your guests :)

7. Arm & Hammer Spinbrush Globrush -- Because after eating all those treats, you definitely need to brush you teeth to keep them cavity free and pearly white! The color changing timer also makes brushing fun and, dare I say?...cool too.

So go all out for an fabulous picnic indoors! Happy Summertime to you all!

*****Giveaway********
Congrats Prize Pack #1 Winner #37 - Emily Eating
Congrats Prize Pack #2 Winner #96 - Anonymous

So the fine folks at Farm Rich and Evol want to help two of my readers have their own winning indoor picnic, so they are giving away two prize packs on financefoodie.com

Prize Pack #1

-Twenty five (25) free product coupons for Evol bowls

Prize Pack #2

-Three (3) free product coupons for Farm Rich products

You can enter up to THREE times:

1. REQUIRED: In my comments section, tell me what prize pack you want.

2. Follow Finance Foodie on Twitter (leave a separate comment telling me this)

3. Reblog / Retweet this giveaway (leave a separate comment telling me this)

Contest ended Thursday May 19 at 5pm EST. Winners will be chosen via random integer generator on random.org announced on the financefoodie.com site shortly afterwards that night!

[Full disclosure: giveaways provided by Evol and Farm Fresh]