Next weekend marks the first true holiday weekend of summer. Here in Canada it’s Canada Day Weekend, and for my US friends it is 4th of July Weekend – and both typically involve picnics, barbecues and fun in the sun. When you are trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle, these gathering can cause a lot of tension and stress if you are worrying about how to eat well, but still have fun. But eating healthfully and enjoying a family barbecue shouldn’t be two separate things. There are lots of healthy summer dishes you can take along with you to ensure you are getting some healthy nutrition (to go along with your hot dogs and s’mores!) and you never know, you might just spark one of your friends or family members to start moving in a healthier direction too!

I think the problem is that we think that healthy = boring and drab, unhealthy = tasty and delicious. So today I’ve partnered with Snapware  to share with you some fun, different twists on summertime classics that are maybe a bit healthier, and can encourage your friends and family to look at healthy eating in a new way!

Snapware makes some great pieces for summer entertaining. In today’s post I am using the Entertain-a-Bowls

which are spill-proof serve and store bowls that come in fun summer colours, and the Fruit & Veggie-tainer

which is a 4-piece Colander/Bowl set includes one 25.3-cup bowl with matching spill proof cover, removable colander and covered dip container. But I’ll talk a little bit more about those in a few minutes.

What I’ve tried to do is take some classic potluck/summer staples and put a twist on them to make them a little bit healthier or different. The first is one of my favourite salads – Kale Caesar.

The reason I really like the kale caesar is because the tangy Caesar salad dressing helps to break down the tough fibres of the kale making it more tender and less “kale-y”. And because kale is such a hardy green, you can dress the salad before your get together (I recommend dressing it at lest 20 minutes before serving) and it will still be perfect. Though I always wait until the last-minute to add the croutons so they don’t get soggy.

I like to make my own Caesar salad dressing, but store-bought will work too.  Since I’m not big on fish, using anchovies freaks me out a bit so I use capers instead which give a very similar taste.

Caesar Salad Dressing

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Ingredients

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 Tbsp capers, minced
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 Tbsp mayo
• 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

After mincing the garlic and cloves I take the side of my knife and scrap along the cutting board to start and create a paste of the two ingredients. You don't have to be terribly fussy here, I normally only take a few passes to break down the garlic and capers a bit more and get some of their juices to release. Then transfer mixture directly to empty salad bowl.

Add mayo, dijon, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Mix with fork or small whisk to combine.

 

This is a great “starter” salad for converting people to eating kale. It really is fantastic, and if they already like Caesar salad, I can’t imagine them not enjoying the kale version!

Another summer staple is pasta – or macaroni – salad. I’ve never been a fan of the typical store-bought macaroni salad in the creamy sauce, but love a homemade version. I adore rotini with fresh veggies and ranch dressing, but today I’m sharing a more recent creation – tortellini pasta salad!

I first discovered this idea a few years ago when working on a summer salads post, but keep coming back to it. The general idea is to cook your tortellini, then toss with some extra virgin olive oil to keep it from sticking. Then I added some spices (in this case, sun-dried tomato epicure dip mix), chopped olives, sun-dried tomatoes and a few fresh grape tomatoes. But really you can make this with any veggies and spices you like – make it your own!

And my third summer salad is one that might seem a bit weird if you haven’t tried it – Watermelon Feta salad with Balsamic Vinegar.

If you enjoy sweet and salty combos you will definitely enjoy this one. And it is as simple as it sounds: chopped watermelon and feta, with Balsamic Vinegar drizzled over the top. That’s it!

All of the above salads are shown in the Snapware Entertain-a-Bowls. The Caesar Salad is in the Turquoise 5 Quart Entertain-a-Bowl, while the pasta and watermelon feta salads are in the Yellow & Pink value pack Entertain-a-Bowls. What’s really nice about the Entertain-a-Bowls is that the lidded bowls nest together for easy storage (you’ll never have to search for the lids!), they are both dishwasher and microwave safe and the lids attach easily and securely. I don’t know about you, but I am so tired of lids that just don’t seem to attach properly. That’s why I love snapware!

I also really like that the inside of the bowls are white, as they make it easier to see the food inside, and are more attractive when set out at a potluck.  It’s also nice that you can stack them on top of the other and carry them all at once (with ease) by their handles without worrying about them falling apart. So great!

Another classic summer (and year round) staple is the veggie tray. As a kid my favourite part of the veggie tray was the dip. Who am I kidding? It still is! So I’ve taken my favourite dip recipe from when I was a kid, and switched it up a bit (switched it up = removed all the cooking oil and sugar) to make it a bet healthier.

Veggie DIp

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Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp prepared mustard

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients together and let chill for 1 hour. Taste after mixing and add more ingredients as needed to suit your tastes.

I’ve also used all greek yogurt to omit the mayo entirely, and have made it using all sour cream as well. I opted for greek yogurt today because that’s what I had, and because it adds a bit of protein.

I used the Fruit & Veggie-tainer from Snapware for my veggie tray which not only comes with another spill proof cover, but has a built-in removable colander and covered dip container. It too is microwave and dishwasher safe, and is BPA free. If you don’t need the veggie divider, the Fruit & Veggie-tainer can be removed to give you a large salad bowl. When inserted, there is enough room left between the bowl and the veggie divider that you can pack ice or ice packs  inside to keep food fresh and crisp. Because my photos don’t really do justice to all the Fruit & Veggie-tainer can do here is a short video that explains it all a bit better.

One last main dish item I made were these fun skewers of tomato, basil, bocconcini and a prosciutto salami. These couldn’t be easier. I took a wooden skewer, cut it in half and then added one grape tomato, a sprig of fresh basil, bocconcini and one slice of meat. The end.

So simple, so pretty, so tasty!

Once the main dish is over, it’s time for dessert! I’ve seen this idea on Facebook and Pinterest so decided to give it a try – Watermelon Pizzas!

I’ve seen a number of ways to make the “sauce” but I mixed plain greek yogurt with softened cream cheese (about 2/3 cup yogurt to 1/3 cup cream cheese) and added the zest of one lemon. This is a fun dessert you can let everyone make as they are ready. Just have the watermelon pre-cut, the yogurt and cream cheese mixture pre-made and the toppings ready to go. When someone is ready for dessert they can take a watermelon “crust” top with the yogurt and cream cheese mixture and then add the toppings of their choice.

If you are wondering if they are as good as they look – they are. Fresh and delicious on a hot summer day, these will be certain to please any crowd! These will most certainly be made again here this summer. Yum.

[Tweet “Easy Healthy Summer Entertaining Ideas from @suziconfesses & #snapware @WorldKitchenLLC”]

I hope this post has helped you think of some new ways you can make your summer gathering a little bit healthier without having to give-up on taste. And adding snapware products to your next get together is a no brainer!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for World Kitchen/Snapware, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

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