July 28, 2020

The Best Summer Foods to Eat Outdoors

The best summer foods to eat outdoors at a backyard picnic, at a park or anywhere outside. Lots of healthy grilling ideas, easy side dishes and summer treats!

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.
We are eating as many meals on our patio as possible! In Michigan, the warm weather doesn't last long and therefore, we soak it up as much as possible while it is here. We have been having tons of picnics at parks and anywhere we travel to as well as in our own backyard. I wanted to share some of the best summer foods to eat outdoors that we have been loving!

The Best Summer Foods to Eat Outdoors

1. Anything on the grill

We love taking any food that we can think of and cooking it on the grill. I have been loving the Pure Farmland plant-based meatballs which I can find at my local Kroger. They taste similar to meat and are very filling and taste amazing on the grill. I love grilling them with a bunch of veggies. The plant-based breakfast patties are great for the morning or for breakfast for dinner.

Pure Farmland also launched the Pure Growth Project which is a grant program that supports community gardens in neighborhoods through the country. They will be giving $100,000 total in grants and you can apply through 7/31/20 here.

2. Plant-Based Burgers

I am all about the plant-based burgers this summer and love the ones from Pure Farmland as well.  Troy and I love all the toppings on these including lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mustard and pickles. So good! We do eat meat but this summer, I can't get enough of these burgers. I love eating a mix of plant-based foods and meat as well. The whole family loves them which is a huge win in my book. 

They're really good with the Red Gold tomato ketchup. It has no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. The company works with 45 Midwest family farms to grow their tomatoes which I love since I live in the Midwest.

3. Pasta salad

There are so many ways to make pasta salad and it is one of the easiest outdoor summer meals. We love a classic pasta salad with Italian dressing, tomatoes, broccoli and onions. I switch it up by making Greek pasta salads, roasted vegetable pasta salad and pesto pasta salads.


4. Ice cream

It's not summer without ice cream, is it? After dinner, we have been loving to sit on our front porch or on the lawn and enjoy some ice cream or a popsicle together. When the weather is hot, ice cream melts way too fast and I just tried the best ice cream bowl called BOWLZ. It has a double walled, vacuum sealed, stainless steel construction and keeps your ice cream frozen longer. 

It can also work for frozen yogurt, acai bowls, homemade banana ice cream and more. You can literally turn this bowl over with ice cream in it and it won't spill out- it helps cold stay cold. When you signup here, you can get 32% off the retail price of BOWLZ.

6. Grilled chicken salad

Troy just made us a grilled chicken salad for lunch and it was so good! For this one, he grilled the romaine lettuce and the chicken and made it a caesar salad. So, so delicious! Tossing grilled chicken on any salad tastes amazing though and is a summer go-to.


7. Potato salad

Somehow, my potato salad has not made it onto the blog yet but it is the best to eat outside. I love adding light mayo, lots of mustard, yellow or red potatoes and lots of veggies like celery, carrots and green onion.

8. Corn on the cob

Corn on the cobb is a summer classic! I love it grilled or boiled best. My sister recently made a Mexican street corn recipe that was incredible. I will have to recreate it here soon. Pair corn on the cob with a grilled sausage, burger or chicken along with some veggies for a perfect picnic meal.

9. Grilled vegetables

We love grilling any veggies that we have on hand. Favorites include tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, summer squash, onions, green beans, asparagus and more. We just drizzle them in olive oil and season with garlic powder and onion powder and cook on the grill.

10. Watermelon 

Kind of like ice cream, watermelon is a summer must-have. It is perfect on a hot summer day and is very hydrating!

11. Crispy Treats

I love homemade rice crispy treats but the SMASHCRISPY DIPPED from SMASHMALLOW are the best store-bought crispy treats! They are crunchy, chewy and delicious with the chocolate. They're gluten-free and made in a peanut-free facility. I also love the cookie dough marshmallows that this brand makes and love roasting them at a bonfire. These are launching this month at select Kroger banner stores

What are your favorite foods to eat outside? There are so many great ones!

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