When mike’s LITE hard lemonade reached out to me about creating healthier takes on summer fare, I was more than up for the challenge! I decided to revamp two appetizers, one entrée and one dessert and did my best to make dishes made with wholesome, healthy ingredients that we can all feel good about eating!
And stay tuned at the bottom of this post (it’s a LONG one!) for an awesome giveaway!
Appetizers
For the appetizers, I created two different creamy dips that utilize Greek yogurt as the main ingredient: An almond butter and honey fruit dip and a savory veggie dip!
Both dips come together in a flash and can be made with ingredients you likely already have on hand. No fuss!
First up is the almond butter and honey fruit dip!
I served this dip with crunchy apples and sweet strawberries.
It was a hit!
Cinnamon Almond Fruit Dip
Ingredients
- 2 cups fat free Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup all-natural almond butter
- 2 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds (+ more for garnish, if desired)
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir together until completely combined
- Top with additional sliced almonds, if desired, and serve with fresh fruit
The veggie dip is super simple to make and only requires one mixing bowl, so dishes are minimal!
A quick note about this veggie dip: It’s also delicious as a sandwich spread! I love it on top of a whole wheat roll with avocado and turkey.
Savory Veggie Dip
Ingredients
- 1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh chopped scallions
- 1/4 teaspoon dried chives
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir together until completely combined
- Serve with fresh vegetables and enjoy
Entreé
When I set out to create a healthy entrée, I wanted to make a delicious burger. I decided to use lean ground turkey as a base and knew I needed to add a lot of spice and flavor to the turkey to kick it up a notch. The end result was a tasty southwest burger that Ryan and I thought was fantastic!
I made these burgers for the first time over Mother’s Day weekend and again during a casual cook out at our house in Ocala. They were a hit on both occasions!
A little sliced avocado on top of the burgers make them even better!
Southwest Turkey Burgers
Makes 4 burgers
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
- 3/4 packet reduced sodium taco seasoning
- 3 tablespoons salsa
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup chopped scallions
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 avocado, sliced
Directions
- Combine all ingredients except for the sliced avocado
- Using your hands, squish everything together and mold into four patties
- Coat a sauté pan with olive oil and bring to a medium-high heat
- Place the burgers in the pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on each side
- Top burgers with sliced avocado and desired toppings and enjoy
During our Sunday afternoon barbeque with friends, we all ate our burgers with the mike’s LITE hard black cherry lemonade. This flavor was new to me and I was excited to try it since I’ve enjoyed the original mike’s hard lemonade for years. (I’ve been using it to make an awesome sangria since college!)
After one sip of the mike’s LITE hard black cherry lemonade, I absolutely loved it! It’s sweet, refreshing and reminds me of the perfect poolside beverage.
It’s light and crisp and sweetened with a bit of honey which is right up my alley.
And here’s the quick and easy sangria recipe I’ve been making with mike’s hard lemonade for years, though I made it with mike’s LITE hard lemonade this time to stay with the “lightened up” theme of today’s post!
It’s incredibly easy to throw together in a flash and is a refreshing summertime sangria!
Lemonade Sangria
Ingredients
- 1 bottle white wine (Riesling or Moscato work well)
- 3 11.2-ounce bottles mikes LITE hard lemonade
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1 lime, sliced
- 1 pint fresh raspberries
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and refrigerate for approximately two hours.
- Pour into glasses, garnish with a lemon slice if desired and enjoy!
Note: You may also add lemon-lime soda or lemonade to taste for additional sweetness and lemon flavor.
Dessert
Dessert! My favorite course!
When I think of summertime desserts, ice cream immediately pops into my mind. I could easily eat a bowl of ice cream after every meal and never get sick of it, so that was the dessert I decided to tackle to try to make a little healthier. By using my favorite banana “soft serve” as a base, I added cacao powder and almond butter to the cold and creamy banana to make a dessert that only tasted indulgent!
Ryan and I both gobbled this up in no time at all and it definitely satisfied our sweet tooth in a healthier way!
Chocolate Almond Banana Soft Serve
Ingredients
- 5 frozen bananas, sliced (the riper the better!)
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 3 tablespoons cacao powder
- 3 tablespoons almond butter
Directions
- Place bananas and almond milk in a large food processor and blend until creamy, approximately 5 minutes
- Add cacao powder and almond butter and blend until combined
- Top with desired toppings and enjoy immediately
And now you’re hopefully all feeling a little hungry and ready to get cookin’ in the kitchen, so let’s move right along to the giveaway portion of this blog post!
Three PBF readers will win a $100 gift card to use at the grocery store to pick up the ingredients you will need to make your own lightened up version of your favorite summertime recipes.
Awesome, right!?
To enter this giveaway, simply comment on this post by answering one (or both!) of the following questions:
- What is your favorite dish to enjoy at a summer cookout?
- What healthy dish do you like to bring to a summertime barbeque?
I will randomly select a winner on Monday!
Good luck!!!
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My favorite dish to bring to a summer BBQ is a simple peach, basil, and red onion salad… it is amazing! I love grilling out chicken and veggie kabobs, which make for a healthy, satisfying meal!
I absolutely love when there’s a layered taco dip at barbecues, I could eat it all day! And a good brat on the grill is hard to beat.
My favorite dishes to eat at summertime BBQs are fruit salads with lots of berries! If I’m bringing a dish, I typically bring fresh fruit or salsas (mild for me, please! haha)
I love eating grilled corn at cookouts. So good!
I love a good burger at a cookout! As for a healthy dish, I always like to bring a watermelon feta salad! So refreshing.
My favorite dish to eat at a cookout is a nice cold fruit salad with cool whip and bananas and strawberries.
I enjoy grilled burgers and hot dogs!
I love love love fruit! Whether it’s grilled pineapple or a fresh fruit salad! Yummy!
Favorite dish would be some kind of dessert with tons of fruit!
Fruit salad with berries!
I love potato salad! My favorite go to to bring to a gathering during summer is fruit salad. It’s healthy and delicious 🙂
Corn on the cob! I also love love bringing fruit and dip! I will have to try yours out 🙂 looks delicious
I love pasta salad of any sort… It just reminds me of summer! I’ll have to try these recipes though, they all look wonderful!
I LOVE watermelon at a cookout – the riper, the better!
I like to bring fruit salad!
I love fresh corn on the cob on the grill! I always bring guacamole to BBQ’s.
My family lives on a farm in Kansas, and there is literally nothing better in the summer than running out back, picking from fresh corn, and throwing it on the grill! I even spice it up with cumin, etc. sometimes. But usually it’s so sweet it doesn’t need anything!
I love grilled chicken and veggie skewers and try to bring a fruit custard tart if the berries are lookin good 🙂
My favorite dish at a bbq is potato salad but I love to bring an orzo salad.
I LOVE turkey burgers and I always love to bring fruit kabobs or a fruit tray with dip!
I love grilling veggies and bringing fruit salad!
My favorite dish is always corn on the cob! I tend to bring some variation of a salad to bbq’s.
I like eating a fresh corn salad with basil, local heirloom tomatos ang grilled haloumi cheese! I like bringing a watermelon/mint (or basil!)/feta salad. Oh man I love summer!
I love to bring a cold bean salad or fresh fruit that I have cut up. I love to have homemade ice cream as long as someone else makes it!
My favorite is when someone brings cupcakes ! For a healthy item I like to bring some kind of dip..usually the carmelized onion dip from Hungry Girl !
I love fresh, local corn at a summer cookout. My favorite things to bring is a black bean salad!
I love guac and veggies!
Fav is pasta salads! Something healthy to bring a vege salad of any kind there are never enough veges!!
I love to bring a Mexican salsa…avocado tomato black bean and corn so good!
My favorite summer dish is anything off the grill! For healthy food I bring a delicious grilled corn salad.
My favorite dish has got to be just classic hamburgers. So good 😀
I’m with you…I love veggie and fruit dips and of course chips and guac! I can’t wait to try these new recipes!
I love to bring a fresh summer fruit salad!
I love to bring a lightened up dessert to a cookout! I love a sweet treat with fresh berries in the summer 🙂
I’m known in my group of friends as the dessert girl, so I usually try to bring some kind of healthy sweet treat 🙂
My favorite summtime dessert is healthy smores with organic graham crackers dark chocolate and marshmallows. I also love turkey burgers on the BBQ
I love bringing a health
y dessert to summer cookouts
FRESH CAPRESE QUINOA SALAD by Lee! http://fitfoodiefinds.com/2011/06/fresh-caprese-quinoa-salad/
I love corn on the cob with chili lime butter! To cookouts, I love to bring a fun quinoa dish. One of my favorites is quinoa, peas, strawberries, asparagus and leets with a lemon vinaigrette!
My favorite BBQ dish, hands down, is Nana’s potato salad. My favorite healthier dish is a cold rice and bean salad my family has been making for years.
You can’t go wrong with a big fresh fruit bowl!
My favorite summer cookout dish is probably a great burger! Oh or peach cobbler a la mode!
I love a good summer salad – spinach or mixed greens topped with fresh fruit and homemade dressing. I can’t resist a good burger either!
I love grilled peaches and asparagus! Those are my staple foods for summer dinners outside 🙂
My hubby and I actually cooked out tonight! We did shrimp kebabs and lobster. So yum! We always do healthy versions of kebabs with lots of veggies and light dressing.
I love grilling fruit during the summer as a healthy dessert.. Grilled peaches are wonderful!
I love grilled veggies at a cookout!!!
I loveee burgers and corn on the cob! I don’t eat burgers all that often, so I make sure to do so when I am at a cookout! 🙂
A summer fruit salad is my favorite.
Favorite is either a watermelon or a blackbean/corn salad
My favourite dish..is hard to choose. I just love anything grilled! I’d probably say burgers done the way I grew up with as a kid. Beef burgers with ketchup, garlic dill pickles, tomatoes, and lettuce. Simple and nostalgic for me! These days I usually bring a bowl of fresh berries and homemade coconut milk vanilla ice cream for dessert.