Healthy Summer Ideas

Everyone has a favorite dish they like to share. Do you have a healthy dish? Is your dish from many years ago and loaded with high calories? You can try substituting some healthier choices for your dish. Barbecue chicken would be much better than fried chicken. Try making a homemade barbecue sauce. The store bought is loaded with sugar. You may have some relatives with diabetes. Grilling vegetables is a great healthy option. You can make vegetable kabobs. Marinade the vegetables in a mixture of oil and vinegar with Italian seasonings. Or you can use store bought Italian dressing if you need to save time. There are some good ones that say on the label for marinade or salad dressing.

My sister makes the best Jello Cake. It is so nice and cool on a hot summer day.

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 box of Jello (I like to use strawberry)
• 1 box of vanilla pudding
• 1-2 tubs of whipped topping (enough to cover top of cake)
• Blueberries and strawberries to decorate the top (optional)

Bake the cake according to the package. Let cool. Make Jello. Let cool. Use a fork to poke holes in the top of cake once cooled. spoon cooled jello in the holes. Chill. Spread vanilla pudding on top. Chill. top with cool whip and decorate for any celebration. A flag is great for the 4th of July celebration.

Children and adults will love this cake. Some of you may have had this before. It has been around for a long time. It is my favorite summer treat.

Give your toss salad a make over by adding some unique ingredients. You can wow your guest with salad. Here is a great summer salad to try. The great thing about salad is that you can make it your own. Do not worry if you can not find some of the ingredients. One example: If you can not find fresh mint then cilantro is usually available.

Butter Lettuce and Spinach salad

• 1 head butter, or Bibb lettus
• 1 small bunch young spinach leaves
• 2 ruby red grapefruits
• 2 avocados
• 4 teaspoon sherry vinegar
• 2 teaspoons raspberry or other fruit vinegar
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6-7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon mint, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons chives, finely chopped
• Black pepper or Szechuan peppercorns

Wash lettuce and spinach removing any stems, dry using a salad spinner or a strianer. Use a sharp knife to section the grapefruit. Cut off the top and bottom. Cut off the rest of the peel. Go in between the membranes to get the grapefruit section out. Peel the avocados, slice in half, remove the seed and slice crosswise at an angle.

Combine the vinegars, shallot, and salt in a bowl. Whisk in the oil. Taste and adjust the balance of vinegar and oil if necessary. Stir in the mint and chives. Combine the grapefruit sections with the avocado slices and pour some vinaigrette over. Toss the greens with rest of the vinaigrette and put on a salad plate. Carefully top salad with grapefruit slices and avocado. Add a grinding of black pepper and serve.