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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I love a good burger during the summer. I like to bring watermelon or a salad to a BBQ, that way I know there is one healthy thing for me to eat!
Those recipes look delicious!! My favorite dish to bring to cookouts is a roasted corn and black bean salad with a basil lime vinaigrette.
My favorite healthy summer dish to bring to a cookout is a chickpea salad. It’s super simple and only requires a few ingredients, but it’s delish!
I always go for turkey burgers, so definitely need to try your southwest version (which sounds delicious!). As far as bringing healthy snacks, lately I’ve made your Honey & Goat Cheese fruit dip which is always a hit 🙂
Grilled veggies! Especially corn on the cob 🙂
A healthy dish that I try and bring to summer bbq’s is a quinoa salad. Mixed with fresh veggies and some cilantro, its always seems to be a big hit!
Those burgers look amazing! We are having a little neighborhood bbq tomorrow and I’m definitely going to mix up some burgers. I also love veggies and any kind of kabob on the grill! Yay for summer 🙂
I like bringing veggies to grill.
WATERMELON! This is my answer for both questions 🙂 Love eating it at summer cookouts, and it’s also something I’d bring to one!
i like corn on the cob…..with lots of butter and salt 🙂
I love to bring either fruit skewers or fruit salad, Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, or homemade salsa and tortilla chips to summer get-togethers.
I love to bring an Asian broccoli slaw- light, crunchy, and so yummy!!
I love grilling my homemade bean and veggie burgers and topping them with grilled pineapple. So good!
I love to eat eggplant slices on the grill rolled up with goat cheese at a barbecue 🙂 so delicious! For a healthier side, I like to bring a cold quinoa salad with black beans, red peppers, corn, avocado and a cilantro-lime dressing. yum!
Guacamole with baby carrots for dipping (instead of chips)!
i love any grilled veggies, or foil packet grilled fish!
I always bring homemade sangria with fresh fruit and a veggie tray with ranch dip. I love summertime BBQs!
Just a simple fruit salad is my go to in the summer, but I want to try some of these!
My favorite summertime dish has to be watermelon and feta salad with arugula! I really enjoy the sweet and savory flavor combination 🙂 When going to BBQ’s I usually like to bring a homemade black bean and avocado salsa!
I love a good burger at a cookout — beef or turkey equally! And I always bring a veggie tray with some homemade hummus! People are impressed when I say I made it and its SUPER easy to throw together quickly.
I’m all about the fruit that’s in season in the summer here in NC… Watermelon, peaches and berries. Can’t get enough!
I love to eat grilled vegetables finished off with a little balsamic vinegar. So delicious. If I’m bringing something, it’s usually sangria and I’m definitely going to try your Mike’s recipe.
Hi Julie….Ice cream must be my all time favorite thing to have during the summer and your healthy take on the dessert option is right up my alley! Anytime we have a barbecue my family never skimps out on dessert! Thank you for sharing 🙂 Going to head to market today to pick up the ingredients
A light salad w/ mandarin oranges, pomegranates and a light poppyseed dressing – so delicious, fresh & light & so healthy!
My favorite is any dip. I could eat dips all day long! A healthy dish that I love and is so easy is a corn, bean , avocado salad. I am putting those burgers on my list…they look so tasty!
Broccoli slaw salad with home-made dressing, nuts and fruit is my favorite dish to bring to a summer BBQ!
I love grilled zucchini boats (making and eating! ;))
We have made grilled chicken and grilled corn a lot already this summer. I love the crunchiness of the grilled corn. We have experimented with many different grilled veggies. All followed, of course, by hommade ice cream!!
These all look so tasty! I can’t wait to try them! (Especially the sangria!) my favorite cookout food would definitely be grilled burgers, and my favorite to bring would be frozen fruit cups! 🙂
I love making a cucumber and tomato salad! Simple, easy, and healthy!
I always make a corn, cherry tomato, and feta salad to take with me to BBQ’s. It’s quick, easy, and everyone loves it!
I love Japanese salad at a summer cookout. Everyone loves it, yet we only seem to make it in the summer.
I love grilled kebabs! We get them from a deli down the street. I always bring a fruit basket made from a watermelon.
Hamburgers!!!!
My favorite dish at a BBQ is grilled corn on the cob! Mmm
I love pasta salads at any BBQ.
Quinoa Tabbouli or orzo salad. Sooo much yum!
I love making pasta salads!
My summer caprese salad-tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella, cucumbers, red onion, and balsamic! Sometimes even add freshly grilled corn.
we love just about anything on the grill! kabobs are fun and can be changed up all the time, and i love corn on the cob! we’re hoping to try it on the grill, possibly mexican corn. pinterest has so many clever ideas!
Shish kabobs for sure! Healthy AND delicious. Salmon, chicken or beef with veggies and brown rice. YUM! For a healthy dish I like to make a dip with some beans, chopped veggies and spices for some flavor.
My favorite thing to eat at a cookout is some grilled sweet corn. Yum! For a healthy side I love to bring some cowboy caviar, a corn, bean, tomato mixture that can be used as a salad or a dip! I’ll actually be bringing it to a World Cup cookout this weekend!
I love making a lightened up buffalo chicken burger! Delicious!
I really don’t think there’s anything better than a slice of watermelon on a hot day. If I’m at a picnic, that’s the first thing I look for! If I’m going to a cookout, I’ll bring a weight watchers friendly creamy lime pie made with jello and fat free whipped topping. It’s smooth and creamy and doesn’t taste light or diet.
I love kebobs at summer get togethers. Oh and the obvious S’MORES! (No idea how you’d lighten them up though)
I would have to say grilled corn and fresh watermelon are some of my summer favorites!
I love portobello mushroom burgers! mmmmm!
Bruschetta is my summertime favorite…. with fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden!
I love a cold pasta salad with veggies and cheese. Perfect on a hot summer day!
watermelon + feta