Healthy snacks like this power smoothie and other summer recipes. With kids around, you might be knee-high in candy land, with homemade rice crispy treats, cookies, pretty cupcakes etc. everywhere. Where are the healthy snacks and healthy dinner recipes that every mom need ??!!
Fortunately, Mother Nature is helping us to keep the balance this summer. She is giving us an abundance of delicious fresh fruit and summer vegetables. Somehow, Mother Nature’s summer food is usually pretty as well as healthy, so use her enticing gifts from nature: a line-up of healthy snacks and meals!
This short list of delicious healthy snacks, healthy recipes and summer dinner ideas is to help you to stay focused on keeping your whole family healthy, while enjoying summer along with the kids as well as friends visiting your home.
All these healthy recipes here are homemade gourmet food, bound to leave you 100% satisfied in terms of flavor and good looks. It’s because they make the most of your just-picked vegetables and add surprising ingredients for unusual taste twists.
Healthy Snacks for Summer Breakfast
Aka… healthy snacks for breakfast, mid-morning snack or brunch.
1. Blueberry Banana Smoothie
A simple healthy snack that would work for me through any summer day. Just add bananas, blueberries and mix.
The strawberry in the picture is just for decoration. Photo credit: Springfield Clinic.
2. Slammin’ Sunrise Smoothie
A power smoothie with 2-3 cups organic spinach 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1-2 cups frozen strawberries, 1 cup frozen blueberries, 1/2 frozen banana, 2 tablespoons flaxseeds, 2 scoops of protein powder. Now that will wake you up and get you going. A 10 out of 10 healthy snack. Photo credit: hellifignaw.com
3. Lemon Ricotta Waffles w. Poppy Seeds
Last but not least, another healthy dessert/sweet treat, with unusual ingredients: ricotta and poppy seeds. If you have never made Belgian waffles, now is the time to begin. Look for a waffle maker at this Saturday’s flee market. Also department stores carry them. Or you can order a Belgium waffle maker
Healthy Summer Lunch Recipes
4. Roasted Chickpea Salad
5. Tomato Mozzarella Tarte
This is a perfect picnic dish. Prepare them by the dozen and take along. Delicious and kid-friendly.
6. Feta Lemon Dip
Some eat this dish every day for summer. I think it’s a splendid dip for summer roasted vegetables. How to roast veggies? Pop long chunks of carrots, red peppers, eggplant, zucchini, etc on the oven tray. Drizzle over oil and roast lightly. Serve warm or cold. This recipe is by Fanny, a French girl turned London pastry chef and friend: Fanny used to blog at strawberrymilk.com. It is super simple.
Lemon and feta dip (4 servings)
200g feta cheese, crumbled (soaked 2x in water to get rid of the saltiness)
juice and zest from one lemon
1 clove garlic, chopped
80g olive oil
olive oil, extra for serving
fresh thyme, for sprinkling
Blitz the feta, lemon zest and juice, garlic, and olive oil in a blender until smooth. Scrape into a bowl and drizzle with a olive oil, and sprinkle with thyme. Serve with grilled vegetables and grilled pita bread. Or even on top of pasta for a fresh sauce.
7. Candied Pecan, Craisin, Feta Salad
This looks just amazing. In fact, I am getting hungry. This is a healthy summer dish after my own heart.
8. Prosciutto-wrapped Asparagus
Party perfect asparagus spears.
Now I don’t know where you live, but asparagus are not necessarily in season all summer long. Here they are in late Spring/early Summer only. Nonetheless, they are a perfectly healthy snack. Or added this to your library of healthy dinner recipes.
Healthy Dinner Recipes for Summer
9. Pizza with Eggplant & Parmesan
A perfect anti-pasta, or a picnic take-away dish. Or Sunday afternoon treat. Or a Saturday eve’s dinner party appetizer. You get the picture: homemade pizza is pretty much an always welcomed treat.
10. One-pan Farro with Tomatoes
Get away from white flour and enjoy this simple and healthy Summer evening meal.
11. Sweet Potatoes Stuffed w. Chipotle Blackbean Corn Salad
Another one of those wonderful summer dishes that can prepared well ahead of time.
12. Mayo Clinic Diet : Fish Never Looked so Good
This is just one of the 00’s of Mayo Clinic Diet Recipes. You can search their healthy (summer) recipes by ingredients, course, type of diet (e.g. low-carb, low-sodium and high-fiber plans) .
Healthy Desserts for Summer
13. Sparkling Peach Thyme Sorbet
Ouuuhhh, soo good.. This peach recipe comes with a surprising ingredient: thyme. Goes together amazingly well. Great way to use some of the lemon thyme I have growing,
14. Abricot Coconut Balls
Again, a great fruit-full summer treat that can easily be shared at summer parties and picnics. Kids will love you if you make them, or rather, if you let the kids make them. Wonderfully sweet and healthy option. All you’ll need is:
- 4 handfuls of dried apricots (approx 500g)
- two handfuls of almonds or any other nuts you like – cashews or macadamias would be delish (approx 250g)
- a pinch of salt
- 1 cup of dessicated coconut
- a few spoons of water
Superb Healthy Summer Recipes
I hope you enjoyed this round up of amazing healthy summer recipes and that it will inspire you and your family to eat healthier also. Healthy does not mean boring, and I think that the photos of these summer recipes makes you want to go either to the kitchen, or to shop for some healthy food!
Enjoy Summer!
