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 summer BBQ indulgence is definitely potato salad – not always the healthiest dish, but so delicious!
For a healthy dish to bring – my go to is grilled corn on the cob with some seasonings – easy to prepare and healthy!
I like to bring fruit salads or a vegetable and grain salad along with me! I always hope for a good salad and fish at summer cookouts since I don’t eat red meat or poultry
That “ice cream” looks so delicious! My current ice cream obsession right now is the Ben & Jerry’s core. OMG it is heaven on a spoon! Back to being healthy though. Summertime equals grilling in my opinion, Salmon kababobs with sliced lemon, grilled shrimp & any kind of vegetable grilled is delicious.
I can’t get enough of fruit and veggie salads. Summertime is all about seedless watermelon, and snacking on carrots and celery with hummus. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
I’m totally with you on the chips and dip. Give me some Ruffles and French Onion Dip and I’m a happy girl. However, I like to make a pasta salad for bbq’s that uses pesto and veggies instead of mayo, to lighten things up a bit. It tastes delicious and is incredibly easy to make!
I love the snacks and appetizers! I also really like grilled peaches or pineapple especially on a burger of sorts.
I LOVE having a day out on the boat, spearing fish (laying on the deck and catching some rays) then coming home and having a delicious fish cookout! Mikes Hard Lemonade is my guilty pleasure drink, always brings me back to summer days laying poolside!
I love BBQ’s and cooking outside in the summer. Saves my kitchen from being messy!! I recently found a corn, tomato and avocado salad that is very light. You could eat it with chips as a salsa but it’s really just as good as a side dish and much healthier with out the chips!
My boyfriend makes an awesome gazpacho soup that’s always a hit at bbqs! I’m always on the lookout for non-meat options (vegetarian) so I like to make sure I bring one for the other vegetarians to enjoy too 🙂
I love a good BBQ!! We get fresh meat from our local farmers market (the flavors are insane), marinade it and we just put it on the grill. Cooks slowly and the outcome is superb!
For my healthy dish we do ‘Kachumbari’ which is basically tomatoes, green peppers, lemon, avocado, cilantro and onions. Chopped up and mixed together to go with the meat.
I love just about everything at BBQ’s! Grilled fruit as a dessert is great. I usually take a side dish…shredded carrots, sliced apples, feta cheese, chives make a lovely salad.
I love making a healthy guacamole to bring to summer BBQs. I’ve tweaked a recipe by Dr. Oz and it’s always a crowd-pleaser. Who doesn’t love guac!
The sangria recipe with mike’s lite looks yummy. Can’t wait to try it!
I can never get enough quinoa salad. I love anything quinoa!
These recipes all sound delicious! I love different kinds of fruit salads in the summertime! I could easily fill my plate with just that 🙂 I like to make chunky salsas, like a black bean and corn salsa, for cookouts. Its an easy way to sneak in some extra veggies!
The dish I look most forward to at a BBQ is potatoe salad. For some reason I never make it myself so I’m always excited when it’s served as a side.
My favorite dish to bring is fresh salsa made with ingrediants from my garden.
I love any grilled food, especially hot dogs! Always a treat because we don’t eat them often.
I make a side dish with corn, zucchini, and fresh mint. It’s light, delicious and always a big hit!
My husband and i love grilling out in the summer! Kabobs are always my favorite because they can easily be personalized without any extra effort!
You can’t go wrong with BLT and corn on the cob! Yum!
As a vegetarian I love a good veggie burger at a barbecue. Watermelon is awesome too!
I love a thick, juicy hamburger cooked outside on the grill. For a healthy dish, I like a black bean/tomato/corn/avocado salad that my MIL makes. Yum!
My favorite is grilled romaine lettuce and grilled peaches.
I love to take a big Mediterranean orzo pasta salad to cookouts.
I love to bring strawberries, apple slices, and my favorite fruit dip! For the fruit dip I use: low fat cream cheese, cool whip free, stevia, and vanilla extract! It is always a hit!
I love pasta salad in the summer! It’s so easy to make and you can whip it up in no time!
My favorite thing to bring to a cookout is a a dessert! One thing that’s often forgotten that everyone appreciates. Healthy spin: veggie kabobs. Grilled bring out an awesome sweet flavor
I usually take a bunch of fruit- mangoes, berries, and nothing screams summer BBQ more than watermelon!!
I go to cook outs constantly in the summer. The weather here in Charlotte warms up early and stays into the fall so the cooks go through football season. I like to bring something that is healthy and delish so I know there is a healthy option. i also do greek yogurt and others fruit and veggie dips. I also like veggie side dishes, salads, and veggie pasta salads, along with healthified deserts. I sometimes don’t tell the ingredient until AFTER everyone has liked the dish/dessert! 🙂
I LOVE pulled pork and grilled pineapple!!!
I definitely love a Mediterranean quinoa salad! The flavor combinations are amazing to me!
I always bring my Dad’s Greek salad since it is always such a crowd pleaser!
I like to make fresh homemade salsa!
I love pasta salad!
My favorite is a black bean and corn salsa – with avocado it’s even better!
What is your favorite dish to enjoy at a summer cookout?
I love devouring veggie platters and hummus!
What healthy dish do you like to bring to a summertime barbeque?
I tend to bring kabobs, my favorite is grilled shrimp and veggie kabobs!
I love bringing a summer veggie salad! Usually corn, black beans, tomatoes and cucumbers in a light vinagrette! So refreshing
I love corn on the cob!
I love chips and queso, being a true Texas girl! My favorite healthy snack to bring is definitely salsa of any kind!
My favorite cookout dish is local, organic strawberries!!
I have never been a big chip fan but I LOVE. a good burger… As for the healthy dishes I love to bring my fave lite is to bring a “group sized” version of a Berry and Lite Cool Whiop parfait with cubes of angel food cake. It’s a favorite from when my grandparents used to have cookouts on their property and it’s fairly healthy!
My favorite food is a burger so I love to enjoy them at a summer BBQ! And your turkey burger recipe looks amazing and I am def going to try it! And my favorite thing to bring to a BBQ is a healthy pasta salad that ha whole wheat pasta and more veggies in it then pasta! Everyone loves it and makes you get your veggies without realizing it!
My favorite at a cookout ….baked beans.
I love cold pasta salads and also the good Amish potato and macaroni salads (the ones with mustard in them!)
My favorite thing to nosh on is probably guacamole — and I normally try to bring fruit salads to BBQs to counter-act all of the tortilla chips!
(Side-note: I love how the terms people use for “barbecues” or “cookouts” varies regionally. I’m from L.A. and I call it a “barbecue” (never a cook-out) but I know most people are the EXACT opposite. Had to comment on that! #wordnerd
My favorite dish to enjoy is corn on the cob and I like to bring healthy cokie dough dip with graham crackers!
anything on the grill!
My favorite summertime dishes are light, fresh salads! I love all the produce that is available in PA in the summertime and use it to make huge, colorful salads every chance I get.
One of my favorite dishes to bring to a summer picnic is a cold spiral pasta salad with pears, strawberries, celery, and lemon poppyseed dressing. It sounds like a strange combination at first but the flavors all go really well together, especially when made a day in advance and everything gets a chance to meld in the fridge. Light and refreshing!
I love grilled corn for a super easy and healthy summer side dish. If I am feeling more ambitious I will make my own veggie burgers.
I am all about quinoa, salads, and shrimp during the summer months. Light and tasty. I also love shish kabobs hot off the grill with a variety of chunky veggies.
I am a burger lover, but I also love grilling up a huge batch of veggies for a healthier side.
I love grilled food and pulled chicken sandwiches at BBQ”s!! If I’m going to bring something I like to bring tortilla chips (weak spot for me!!) and some sort of fruit salad or veggie tray, so those dips will be great this summer! I have made a similar “ice cream” before and was curious for your recipe how many servings you get out of that??
These dishes look amazing- Thanks for sharing! (especially the sangria! )
My faborite dish at a bbq would definitely have to be pasta salad and a nice juicy burger! A Healthy dish I bring to all bbq’s i attend is a 7 layer greek dip that includes seasoned greek yogurt with dill added, hummus, low fat feta cheese, diced cucumbers, diced tomatoes, and calameta olives. You can serve this with carrots, celery, or my favortie- Pita chips! Its a huge hit!