When requested what his best day outdoor could be, Ibraheem Basir hardly skips a beat: He desires of the solar and surf, and time with the folks he loves most.
“I reside in Los Angeles with my spouse and two younger daughters, a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old,” he says. “A weekend on the seashore is one in every of our frequent actions that we do collectively.”
Basir’s love of household is mirrored in each facet of A Dozen Cousins, the heat-and-eat meals model of which he’s each founder and CEO. The packages of seasoned and refried beans or bone-broth-cooked rice develop into a fast aspect dish or a simple most important in a few minute, both heated over a camp range or within the microwave. The recipes are impressed by the Creole, Latin American and Caribbean meals that stuffed his childhood residence, and the corporate goals to supply a simple means for busy households to take pleasure in reasonably priced, high-quality, wholesome meals with out spending a fortune (or hours over a range). He selected the corporate’s identify as a nod to the 11 cousins his first daughter had when she was born, celebrating his cherished kin and the importance that meals has at all times had for them.
Past that, Basir can also be looking for a special form of “household”: Yearly, A Dozen Cousins awards an annual grant together with volunteer help to nonprofit organizations which might be addressing the well being disparities that exist throughout socioeconomic traces in the USA.
We not too long ago requested Basir to point out us what he at all times packs for household outings. Right here, he shares a few of the issues he and his household can’t go away residence with out, together with gear suggestions for a seashore picnic of your personal.
Pop-Up Shelter
In the hunt for a solar shelter that’s each mild to hold and straightforward to arrange, Basir and his household use a pop-up shelter tent from Ikea. “You don’t want any poles or strings or something. You simply form of throw it out, and it opens itself out,” he says. The household makes use of the tent as their seashore basecamp, the place they maintain their luggage, snacks and different gear. “The youngsters know the place they’ll come again to in the event that they go play within the sand or throw round a ball or no matter. They’ve that residence base.”
Get Outdoors Like Ibraheem: A light-weight pop-up shelter is a should for super-sunny days, and it presents youngsters a visual landmark in addition to a spot to sit back inside eyeshot of the waves. Unzip the entrance door on the Veer Basecamp Shelter to let in a breeze, or snap on the rain fly to guard from drizzle. After the day’s enjoyable is completed, the Basecamp folds down and cinches up like an umbrella and is definitely moveable with its connected carrying strap. $189 Purchase right here.
Mushy Cooler Bag
After organising a sandy residence base, the subsequent logical factor to do is have a snack, after all. Basir packs his household’s favorites in a YETI Hopper M30 Mushy Cooler. “It virtually looks like magic, to be sincere,” he says. “It retains stuff sizzling very properly but additionally very chilly. I’ve used it in each contexts relying on what the menu was.” Basir says the YETI will maintain the whole lot from freshly cooked rooster and rice to ice-cold cans of juice, and it’s simple to tote alongside even with youngsters in tow. “We’re a small household, so we don’t often have event for a full laborious cooler, however this one is nice as a result of I can simply throw it on my shoulder and form of use it as I would like. $350 Purchase right here.
Water Jug
Being near the water doesn’t depend as getting hydrated, so Basir packs loads of H2O for his crew to drink in the course of the day. “I like chilly water. That’s like one in every of my—properly, I don’t know if I’d name water a vice, however I don’t like room-temperature or heat water,” he says with a smile. “To me, an ice-cold glass of water is nice.” He fills a half-gallon jug from the model RTIC within the morning, and it carries him by way of the day or by way of his time exterior. Everybody in his household has their very own water bottle, and he likes one with a deal with that’s simple to hold.
Get Outdoors Like Ibraheem: Whether or not you want water cool or icy, the half-gallon Stanley IceFlow vacuum water jug will probably be your go-to hydration station for a day exterior. Its double-wall vacuum insulation can maintain water chilly for as much as 14 hours and maintain ice in water for a most of two.5 days. Its physique accommodates recycled plastic materials from fishing nets and is free from BPA. Plus, a leakproof flip straw makes for straightforward sipping. $52 Purchase right here.
Sturdy Puffy Blanket
What’s a picnic and not using a blanket? Basir says the Buffy Puffer Blanket his household brings alongside for his or her picnic does double responsibility: “We generally put it in entrance of the tent in order that my 1-year-old has a bit extra space to crawl and play with out getting within the sand. She’s nonetheless at an age the place she’ll eat the sand, so it’s good to have a bit little bit of buffer.”
Get Outdoors Like Ibraheem: The Rumpl Authentic Puffy blanket is the right puffer buffer for curious kiddos. Slightly than getting caught between the fibers on a seashore towel, sand simply flies off a puffy blanket with a fast shake. It’s additionally weather-resistant and may be thrown right into a front-loading washer—two massive bonuses with youngsters. $125 Purchase right here.
The Excellent Snack
For Basir’s household, a seashore picnic wouldn’t be full with out one thing scrumptious from A Dozen Cousins to snack on. Basir’s model creates nutrition-packed, heat-and-eat plant-based proteins and rice following recipes that draw from Caribbean, Creole and Latin American foodways. Trini Chickpea Curry, Creole Pink Beans or Bone Broth Rice simply develop into a meal, whereas Refried Black or Pinto Beans is usually a fast dip for tortilla chips. “I heat it up upfront, put it within the YETI cooler bag and have it as a lunch that’s absolutely able to go,” Basir says. $3.95 Purchase right here.
