Oh, so many! Pesto, for one, made low-cal by using just a bit of pine nut and chicken stock instead of most of the oil, so its only 20 calories a serving or so. When basil is fresh and in season, its divine.
On that note, simple salads with heirloom tomatoes, basil and a bit of fresh mozzarella, with salt and pepper and maybe a simple vinaigrette. So good and summery.
Corn - my favorite ways to eat it are in corn salads (dice bell pepper, take boiled corn off cob, add some crisp-tender steamed green beans and some fresh basil, then top with a simple white wine vinegar vinaigrette with some fresh herbs - heaven) or grilled with a touch of fresh grated parmesan melted on when it comes off the grill.
Summer squashes are awesome, either grilled and topped with a shave of parmesan, or marinated in balsalmic and grilled into somewhat caramelized.
Strawberries, for sure, at the beginning of summer, and blackberries shortly after.
Ribs are my ultimate summer food, but a bit on the high-cal side. Still, they're a treat I indulge in, as my partner makes the best ribs I've ever tasted (and that anyone else that has ever had them has tasted - no one dislikes these ribs, even people who generally don't like the taste of ribs, or of meat, etc).
I love love love Sherbet ... The rainbow flavor ... it's a little healthier than ice cream ... close enough ... and Taco Salads ... they are quick and super simple ... of course this summer I will be using something other than ... ground beef
Definitely strawberries and fresh fruit salads (I don't like canteloupe or honeydew, so I use lots of watermelon as my filler and add strawberries, kiwi, peaches, plum, blueberries, pineapple...).
Grilled burgers and hot dogs--I make turkey burgers with thin-sliced Swiss cheese (55 cals per slice) and reduced-fat bacon on a whole-wheat bun...YUM!
I have about given up on pasta salads because my boyfriend will NOT eat anything with reduced-fat or fet-free mayonnaise, only regular, so I have been experimenting with other dressings (most recently, I tried just using a ff Italian dressing), but none of them seem as good. Any suggestions?
sweet corn, ranier (yellow with red blush) cherries, snap peas and watermelon.
I love our local farmer's market. We have a large asian population in our area, so there are often vegetables there I don't recognize. It is so fun to talk to the Hmong ladies about these veggies and how they prepare them.
Jill, what about a ranch dressing! I use 3 cheese ranch or peppercorn ranch dressing. It's pretty good! Has good flavor too! And it gives you the creamy part of it. Or Sundried Tomato and Oregeno...is good on it as well...
Mmm... fresh berries that we pick ourselves at the farms - strawberries, raspberries, blackberries later in the summer. Fresh corn, cherries from our cherry tree, peaches.... I LOVE fresh fruit (in case you couldn't tell!)
And anything grilled - veggie kebabs, chicken kebabs, grilled peaches.....
And simple meals, like slices of tomatoes and cucumber and some good bread and a salad.... picnic-type food.
And I love raiding my herb garden for every dinner!
I have about given up on pasta salads because my boyfriend will NOT eat anything with reduced-fat or fet-free mayonnaise, only regular, so I have been experimenting with other dressings (most recently, I tried just using a ff Italian dressing), but none of them seem as good. Any suggestions?
I know!! I know!! Next time, keep the empty jar of full fat mayonnaise, and then buy the reduced kind, and put it in the full fat jar!!! And don't tell him!!! He won't notice the difference, especially if he see the full fat jar!! Hee hee
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As for my favorite summer foods, I LOVE BBQ foods and strawberries. I'm not a big tomato fan, even though my parents and other relatives grow them. I bought a strawberry plants and so far it's only given me 5 stinking strawberries. And 4 of them were the size of quarters!!! Not fair!!!
I know!! I know!! Next time, keep the empty jar of full fat mayonnaise, and then buy the reduced kind, and put it in the full fat jar!!! And don't tell him!!! He won't notice the difference, especially if he see the full fat jar!! Hee hee
Nope...he can actually tell the difference! On Thursday nights, we always have Subway for dinner, and I always pick it up on my way home, so he's not there. We ALWAYS get the same things. Well, one time, I asked them to put the low-fat mayo on his instead of regular, and he took one bite and made this horrible face and just looked at me and asked if they used the wrong mayo. I, of course, played innocent and just shrugged and said mybe they picked up the wrong bottle by mistake He always gets EXTRA mayo on his subs, and I always tell him he's just going to have his heart attack a few years earlier because of it I've also tried getting his subs without "extra" mayo, just a normal amount, and he notices that, too. He looked at me one night and was like, "Are you sure they put extra mayo on this?" Again, I fibbed and just said I was paying while they were finishing his up, so I wasn't paying attention to it, but I had told them extra Him and his mayo, man, I'll never understand it!
As for my favorite summer foods, I LOVE BBQ foods and strawberries. I'm not a big tomato fan, even though my parents and other relatives grow them. I bought a strawberry plants and so far it's only given me 5 stinking strawberries. And 4 of them were the size of quarters!!! Not fair!!!
My parents grow strawberries, and they a year at least before you get a decent amount of berries. My parents planted theirs last year, and didn't get very many last year at all....this year however....LOADS!!!!
Favorite Summer Foods....
I've also tried getting his subs without "extra" mayo, just a normal amount, and he notices that, too. He looked at me one night and was like, "Are you sure they put extra mayo on this?" Again, I fibbed and just said I was paying while they were finishing his up, so I wasn't paying attention to it, but I had told them extra 
Him and his mayo, man, I'll never understand it!
