Fall is all about pumpkin spice, and winter is eggnog and hearty soups. In the summer, sometimes it can feel so hot you don’t want to eat at all, but this roundup of cool summer treats that are as fun to make as they are to eat might just get your tastebuds excited!
The thing about summer treats is that they must not require you to fire up an oven, and they must be both delicious and cooling. Ideally, they will also be healthy–or at the very least not completely filled with sugar. Here are some fun ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
Contents
1. Applesauce Fruit Pops
Who doesn’t love a popsicle? They’re filled with sugar, corn syrup, and artificial colors, though. To make these healthier alternatives, all you need is a 32-oz jar of unsweetened applesauce (believe us, the apples are sweet enough on their own!) and two cups of whatever berries you like best.
Use a combo of berries if you like, and if you choose cherries, slice them in half. All you have to do is stir these together. If you have a popsicle maker, use that to freeze your pops. Otherwise, try using small paper cups and sticking a popsicle stick into each. Easy!
2. Tacos in a Bag
Tacos are great, and they’re the perfect summer snack. But what’s more annoying than wandering around with taco filling dribbling all over as you try to eat one? Skip all that by serving tacos in a bag.
For this, you just need your prepared meat as you would for any tacos, snack bags of Doritos or Fritos chips, and whatever toppings float your boat. Simply open your bag, scoop in your goodies, and go anywhere with your meal-in-a-bag.
3. Bloody Mary Salad
Do you love a great brunch cocktail? You’ll love this recipe. It tastes like a cocktail on a plate, but with none of the guilt and all of the freshness. To make it, you’ll need tomatoes, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, a little horseradish, and some celery and caraway seeds. Check out the recipe here and make this a grown-up summer staple today.
4. No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake
Oh no! Everyone’s on their way over, and you can’t think of any homemade snack to serve that doesn’t require a bake! Never fear, this No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake for a Crowd is simple, delicious, and will have everyone talking.
You would think all that cream and cream cheese would make this too heavy for summer eating, but the lemon, blueberries, and mint give it a fantastically light feel on the tongue.
5. Cucumber Sandwiches
Sometimes all that bread is just too much on a hot day. You can still have the ease of a sandwich by using slices of fresh, cooling cucumber in place of bread and filling it with cheeses and sandwich meats. Serve these with some fruit and chips for a filling lunch or eat them as a gluten-free snack to quiet your sandwich cravings.
This summer, think outside the box with crispy, cool, hydrating snacks for the kids, easy tacos and cakes for entertaining, and a little cocktail-inspired salad for yourself. These should be enough to get you started: what are you making tonight?
