Picnic on produce to save on carbs

Bountiful picnic baskets, a common sight as the weather warms, are often are jammed with sandwiches, potato salads, chips and cookies. In other words, lots of carbs.

Adding some equally portable produce is the best way to bring some dietary balance to your picnic.

Fresh fruit -- especially those that travel well, such as apples, pears, peaches, plums and bananas -- is an easy choice. As are low-fat cheeses, which contain plenty of hunger-quenching protein.

For snacking, pack lots of cut, fresh veggies. Crunchy carrots and celery sticks are filling and usually appeal even to children.

Salads also are a fine way fill up with nutritious foods without adding heaps of calories. Of course, that theory only holds if those salads aren't heavy on the pasta or doused with mayonnaise.

These easy-to-prepare salads take only minutes to make and can be packed in resealable plastic containers for outdoor dining. Each uses ingredients that are high in flavor but low in fat and calories.

Crunchy jicama, which has a sweet, nutty flavor, gets a zesty dusting of chili powder and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Look for jicama in most grocers alongside other exotic fruits and vegetables.

Just a small amount of toasty-flavored sesame oil gives an Asian taste to thinly sliced fresh cucumber.

Or for more of an adventure in flavors, try the tangy, pungent beet salad, which is made with jarred pickled beets and prepared horseradish. Make this a day or so in advance so that even the red onion slices get a good pickling.

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SPICY JICAMA SALAD

Start to finish: 5 minutes

Servings: 4

1 small jicama

Chili powder, to taste

3 tablespoons chopped scallions

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

Peel the jicama and cut into 1/2-inch sticks. In a medium bowl, toss the jicama with the chili powder, scallions and salt. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over the top.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 122 calories; 3 calories from fat; 0 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 29 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein; 15 g fiber; 161 mg sodium.

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SESAME CUCUMBER SALAD

Start to finish: 5 minutes

Servings: 4

1 large or 2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons black sesame seeds (optional)

In a bowl, toss the cucumbers with the sesame oil and salt. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds, if using.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 41 calories; 31 calories from fat; 4 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 3 g carbohydrate; 0 g protein; 0 g fiber; 147 mg sodium.

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PICKLED BEET SALAD

Start to finish: 5 minutes

Servings: 4

16-ounce jar sliced pickled beets, drained

1 small onion red onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

In a small bowl, toss together all ingredients.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 61 calories; 1 calories from fat; 0 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrate; 1 g protein; 2 g fiber; 58 mg sodium.