8 Healthy Memorial Day Recipes
Memorial Day weekend is the official start of the summer of fun and social distancing doesn't have to stop you from properly celebrating.
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Healthy Memorial Day Sides Recipes
Grilled Watermelon and Feta Stacked Salad
Recruit the kids to assemble these Grilled Watermelon and Feta Stacked Salad from Nicole Leggio of Cooking For Keeps. And you can get creative with the cheese and melon shapes with cookie cutters if you’re feeling festive.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces whole feta cheese, cut into four smaller squares (length wise, they should be about 3”x3”)
- ½ large watermelon cut into 8 squares the same size as feta
- 2 cups arugula
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
Directions:
- Prepare a grill or grill pan to a very high heat.
- Place balsamic in a small saucepan. Turn the heat on medium, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer until thickened and similar in texture to syrup, about five minutes. Let cool.
- Drizzle watermelon with a little bit of olive oil, season with a bit of salt and pepper. Grill very quickly, just getting a slight char, about ten seconds per side.
- Toss arugula with about a teaspoon or two of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place watermelon squares on platter, top with feta, and another watermelon. Place about ½ cup of arugula on top of watermelon and drizzle with reduced balsamic vinegar.
Healthy Memorial Day Dessert Recipes
Healthy Berries and Coconut Chia Seed Pudding
The best part of any Memorial Day BBQ? The red, white, and blue desserts! Sherry Brubaker of Backyard-Bohemian.com has a healthy and delicious recipe for Healthy Berries and Coconut Chia Seed Pudding that could also serve as the next morning’s breakfast.
Ingredients:
- 5 TBS chia seeds
- 1 13.5 oz can of full fat coconut milk
- 1 TBS honey
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Blueberry Sauce
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 TBS honey
- Raspberry Sauce
- 1 cup frozen raspberries
- 1 TBS honey
Instructions:
- Shake and open can of coconut milk, and pour it into a large mason jar. Add chia seeds, honey and cinnamon to the milk. Put a lid on the jar.
- Shake the jar to combine all ingredients, then place in the fridge for 2 hours to allow chia seeds to absorb the liquid. Give the jar a shake once and a while to prevent clumping.
- In a small pot, place blueberries and honey over medium heat. Allow to cook for 15 minutes while it boils down to a syrup. Remove the blueberry syrup and place in a glass jar in the fridge.
- In a small pot, place raspberries and honey over medium heat. Allow to cook for 15 minutes while it boils down to a syrup. Remove the raspberries syrup and place in a glass jar in the fridge.
- When chia seeds are ready, layer the sauces and chia seed pudding in a cup, sprinkle your favorite toppings over it, serve!
Strawberry Souffle
Another one of Sherry’s fresh and nutritious creations is this Strawberry Souffle.
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh strawberries tops removed
- 3 large eggs yolks and whites separated
- 4 tbsp lemon juice (1 1/2 lemons)
- 6 tbsp honey divided
- 1 tsp almond extract
Directions:
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Preheat the oven. Set the oven to 350 degrees and place the baking rack to the middle of the oven. Place the ramekins on the baking sheet and set to the side.
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Blend the strawberries. Using a sharp knife, remove the tops off the strawberries and discard. Place the strawberries in the blender and blend for 1 minute, or until pureed.
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Combine the ingredients and mix. Crack the eggs in a bowl, placing the yolks in the bowl and the whites in the standing mixer. In a standing mixer, combine the egg whites, strawberry puree, almond extract, lemon juice and 3 tbsp of honey. Mix the ingredients for 15-18 minutes, until stiff peaks form. The more stiff the peaks are, the fluffier the soufflé, so be patient!
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Fold in the yolks. Whisk together the yolks, and remaining 3 tbsp of honey. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the yolks with the egg white mixture. The mixture will deflate a little, which is normal. Fold until the mixture is well combined and you cannot see yellow yolk stripes.
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Fill the ramekins. Gently fill the ramekins up to the top with the strawberry mixture. Smooth the tops with the spatula.
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Bake the soufflés. Place the soufflés in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. The tops will become golden brown and the soufflés will jiggle a little.
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Serve. Allow the soufflés to cool for 3 minutes, dust with sugar, and serve with more strawberry slices!
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Main image courtesy Catherine McCord