When requested what his preferrred day outside could be, Ibraheem Basir hardly skips a beat: He goals of the solar and surf, and time with the folks he loves most.
“I dwell 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 seaside is one in all our widespread actions that we do collectively.”
Basir’s love of household is mirrored in each side 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 straightforward 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 crammed his childhood house, and the corporate goals to offer a straightforward method for busy households to take pleasure in inexpensive, 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 family and the importance that meals has all the time had for them.
Past that, Basir can also be looking for a unique sort of “household”: Yearly, A Dozen Cousins awards an annual grant together with volunteer assist to nonprofit organizations which might be addressing the well being disparities that exist throughout socioeconomic traces in the USA.
We lately requested Basir to indicate us what he all the time packs for household outings. Right here, he shares a few of the issues he and his household can’t depart house with out, together with gear suggestions for a seaside picnic of your personal.
Pop-Up Shelter
Searching for a solar shelter that’s each gentle to hold and simple 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 sort of throw it out, and it opens itself out,” he says. The household makes use of the tent as their seaside basecamp, the place they maintain their luggage, snacks and different gear. “The children know the place they will come again to in the event that they go play within the sand or throw round a ball or no matter. They’ve that house base.”
Get Outdoors Like Ibraheem: A light-weight pop-up shelter is a should for super-sunny days, and it presents children a visual landmark in addition to a spot to relax 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 finished, the Basecamp folds down and cinches up like an umbrella and is definitely moveable with its connected carrying strap. $189 Purchase right here.
Gentle Cooler Bag
After establishing a sandy house base, the subsequent logical factor to do is have a snack, after all. Basir packs his household’s favorites in a YETI Hopper M30 Gentle Cooler. “It nearly seems like magic, to be sincere,” he says. “It retains stuff scorching very nicely but additionally very chilly. I’ve used it in each contexts relying on what the menu was.” Basir says the YETI will maintain every thing from freshly cooked hen and rice to ice-cold cans of juice, and it’s simple to tote alongside even with children in tow. “We’re a small household, so we don’t often have event for a full exhausting cooler, however this one is nice as a result of I can simply throw it on my shoulder and sort of use it as I need. $350 Purchase right here.
Water Jug
Being near the water doesn’t rely as getting hydrated, so Basir packs loads of H2O for his crew to drink in the course of the day. “I really like chilly water. That’s like one in all my—nicely, 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 means of the day or by means of his time outdoors. 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 outdoors. 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 comprises 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 obligation: “We generally put it in entrance of the tent in order that my 1-year-old has somewhat more room 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 somewhat little bit of buffer.”
Get Outdoors Like Ibraheem: The Rumpl Authentic Puffy blanket is the proper puffer buffer for curious kiddos. Reasonably than getting caught between the fibers on a seaside towel, sand simply flies off a puffy blanket with a fast shake. It’s additionally weather-resistant and might be thrown right into a front-loading washer—two massive bonuses with children. $125 Purchase right here.
The Excellent Snack
For Basir’s household, a seaside 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 Crimson Beans or Bone Broth Rice simply develop into a meal, whereas Refried Black or Pinto Beans could be 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 totally able to go,” Basir says. $3.95 Purchase right here.
