Kale Summer Salad & Party Menu

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! 

This conversation is sponsored by Earthbound Farm. The opinions and text are all mine.

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 with people we don't get to see as easily once football starts in August.

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 foods (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:

1. Avoid using the oven since it makes the house SUPER hot.
2. Feed a large group without spending a ton money.
3. Be delicious and crowd-pleasing.
4. Avoid spending all my time in the kitchen while guests are at our house.
5. Include a unique salad.

So here's what I came up with and it was a HUGE hit!

Easy & Healthy Summer Dinner Party Menu

Pat's Pulled Pork Tacos - Instead of making these in the oven,  I put it all in my slow cooker on low for 9 hours. Perfection!! Serve with corn and flour tortillas, fresh salsa, shredded cabbage, cilantro, light sour cream and cheese.

Tortilla Chips & Fresh Guacamole - Simply mash together 3-4 ripe avocados, ½ red onion finely diced, ¼ cup minced, fresh cilantro, the juice of 2 limes, 1 teaspoon of cumin, & 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt

Kale Italia Summer Salad - See recipe below

White Wine Refresher

Let's talk about my above goal #5 for second ---

I am on a mission this summer, my friends.

A mission to make salads beautiful, delicious and a daily habit.

Why?

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, it's easy to reach 2-3 total servings without even blinking.

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 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!

Today I am partnering 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).

Print

Recipe

Want to try Kale Italia {trust me, you do}? Search where you can buy it with this STORE LOCATOR .

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.