Here's an easy menu for a healthy and delicious summer party featuring a recipe for Kale Italia Summer Salad that is anything but boring!
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This conversation is sponsored by Earthbound Farm. The opinions and text are all mine.
Find more easy summer dinner recipes HERE.
I love summer for so many reasons. One of the biggest reasons is that our family slows down (mostly because COACH is out of school) and we have more time to spend with our friends and family. We try to be intentional about getting together for summer dinners with people we don't get to see as easily once football starts in August.
Summer Dinner Party Menu Ideas
When it's time to plan food for a summer get together, I often feel this tension in my mind between crowd-pleasing, typical summer menus (hot dogs, chips and dips...you get the idea) and the healthier foods I would really like to serve. So, I came up with some goals for my dinner such as:
- Avoid using the oven since it makes the house SUPER hot.
- Feed a large group without spending a ton money.
- Be delicious and crowd-pleasing.
- Avoid spending all my time in the kitchen while guests are at our house.
- Include a unique simple salad.
So here's what I came up with and it was a HUGE hit!
Easy & Healthy Summer Dinner Party Menu
- Main Course: Pat's Pulled Pork Tacos - When it comes to making main dishes in the high heat months, I try to avoid using my oven if at all possible. Instead of making these Pulled Pork Tacos in the oven, I put it all in my slow cooker on low for 9 hours. Perfection!! Serve with corn tortillas and flour tortillas, fresh salsa, corn salsa, shredded cabbage, cilantro, light sour cream and cheese.
- Side Dishes: Tortilla Chips & Fresh Guacamole - This guacamole recipe can be found HERE and is made with simple ingredients. It's one of the many easy recipes you'll find on my blog. It contains avocados, red onions, lime juice from 2 limes, and seasoning. Perfect for special occasions, dinner parties, or any time you need some comfort food.
- Kale Italia Summer Salad - See recipe below
- White Wine Refresher- You may already have your favorite refresher, but HERE is a recipe that looks delicious! Made with white wine, club soda, and fresh fruit, it's an easy warm weather beverage.
Why Family Gatherings Should Always Include Salad
Choosing a daily salad is one of the easiest way to help you achieve 7+ servings of fruits and vegetables. 2 cups of leafy greens equals one serving of vegetables. But if you pack your salad with lots of great toppings like fresh summer produce, it's easy to reach 2-3 total servings without even blinking. For your summer salads, think cherry tomatoes, snap peas, red pepper, fresh corn, etc.
So why aren't we all doing it? Well, I can't tell you how many times my clients have said to me, "I want to eat healthy but I don't want to eat a salad every day." And when it comes to summer pool parties, who wants to be the 'health nut' who brings salad? I totally get it.
We need to address the elephant in the room... Salads can be boring and blah, especially when you get in the rut of making them the same way. Well, I am here to equip you with some salad savvy to change all that forever! I partnered with EARTHBOUND FARM to bring you a new salad idea featuring their latest blend, KALE ITALIA . Starting a salad with a flavorful, unique base of greens is the foundation for a truly delicious salad.
Kale Italia features baby kale, baby arugula, baby mizuna, and ridichio. Baby greens are special because they have a more mild flavor than their mature, full-grown version, making them more appealing. A STUDY also found that they may have higher concentration of nutrients too.
To turn this delicious blend of greens in to a show-stopping salad, I've dressed it up with a simple lemon juice, pepper, and olive oil dressing. You just drizzle these right on top of the greens so there is no extra prep in making a dressing. Then, I pile on some unique toppings, like roasted red peppers, that all add color, texture, unique flavor and of course extra nutrition.
This salad looked beautiful on our dinner table and certainly got everyone excited to try it. It was gobbled up right along with the rest of our meal. And truly, this salad could be a meal all by itself. It's great choice if you have guests that live on the veggie side of life (vegetarian).
PrintRecipe
Kale Italia Summer Party Salad
- Total Time: 8 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
- 1 tub Earthbound Farm Kale Italia blend
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon (juiced)
- Pinch Fresh ground pepper
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 1 cup canned cannelini beans (drained)
- 4 oz fresh mozzarella pearls
- ½ cup sliced jarred roasted red peppers, drained (more if desired)
- ⅓ cup roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Layer Kale Italia on a serving plate.
- Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice (use the amount that is your preference) over greens. Then sprinkle on cracked pepper.
- Spread tomatoes, then beans, then mozzarella on top of dressed greens. Layer red peppers over the center of the salad.
- Sprinkle sunflower seeds over top of salad. Serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Salad
Want to try Kale Italia {trust me, you do}? Search where you can buy it with this STORE LOCATOR .
Perfect Time for a Party!
So now all you have left to do is find some friends, pick a date, and have a "Dinner Get-Together". If anyone asks what they can bring, delegate out items like the tortillas, chips, avocados, and cheese. I think it's fun when everyone contributes.
Leave me a comment and tell me about your plans for a party, to eat salad daily or to try Kale Italia. I can't wait to hear about it.
If you want yet another creative salad, try my Cantaloupe Salad with Blueberry Ginger Vinaigrette. It's sure to be a crowd pleaser too.
To easy, delicious, and healthy summer "get-togethers",
Jenna
This conversation is sponsored by Earthbound Farm. The opinions and text are all mine.
