Welcome back everyone! Summertime is finally upon us and you know what that means.. cookouts at any given moment. I have discovered a new love for grilling this summer. Not only do Sabir and I find ourselves grilling on the weekend, we even grill throughout the week (more than we would like to admit to ourselves). It’s just so easy and the char flavored food just screams summertime to me.
Whether you are hosting a cookout or attending, you know I got your back ;). The star of the show here is Beyond Meat. If you haven’t heard of them, they are a company who makes AH-MAZING plant-based meat products. My favorites are the burger patties and hot Italian sausages.
They make these products using pea-protein isolate and the crazy part is, the burger patties are pink in the middle just like ACTUAL burgers! This is achieved using beet juice extract (insanity). They are kosher as well as GMO, soy, and gluten free.. so essentially suitable for all diets.
This is what makes them amazing additions to any cookout, whether you’re plant-based or not.
As always, keep reading for the menu I put together
Watermelon Tofu "Feta" Salad
What’s better than a juicy, refreshing watermelon salad on a blazing hot summer day? I’ve made this salad a few times and it’s always a hit. Not everyone is a fan of cold tofu but if you let it marinate for a few hours, it taste just like lemon-herb feta cheese. Paired with the balsamic and arugula… BOMB.COM.
You could easily sub the watermelon with blackberries, tomatoes and walnuts. The point is, any light refreshing salad with fruit would be great :).
cornbread
Next, we have the cornbread. My best friend, Maddie, is an amazing cook and inspired me to make this recipe. Usually we eat cornbread with chili but it works perfectly with this spread. Talk about a super easy way to make cornbread. All you do is follow the directions on the box, add a can of sweet corn kernels (drained), and maple syrup to taste. Everyone has their own way of making cornbread but I find this way to be the easiest and most delicious. How do you make yours?
Cauliflower "Potato" Salad
Now we have the cauliflower “potato” salad, which is a low carb spin-off option to your classic potato salad. You can of course make a normal potato salad, however, I’ve been trying to food-combine as much as possible. I can make a separate post on that if you guys are interested!
Anyway, my aunt makes an amazing potato salad and the one thing that always stood out to me was the chopped apples she would add. So of course, I had to add apples to mine! It gives the salad a nice sweet, crisp, crunch.
I excluded the eggs, used an almond based greek yogurt, and replaced the honey with maple syrup.
Sausages and Burgers
Alright, so I already gave you the low down on the Beyond Meat products. I season my burgers with the (you guessed it) Trader Joe’s BBQ Rub & Seasoning. This has a BBQ / Coffee flavor so if you aren’t a fan of these flavors, then just skip and use whatever seasonings you prefer.
For the sausages, there is no need to season them because they are great as is.
We did, however, sauté onions and mushrooms until caramelized to put on top and OMG was it bomb. Definitely recommend if you have the time.
I’m trying to be “low-carb” or at least cut out the unnecessary carbs so I skipped the buns. But if you don’t care about that stuff then a pretzel but or a brioche bun would be delish.
Veggie Kabobs
Kabobs are the easiest grill items to assemble. Make sure you soak your wooden sticks for about 10 minutes before you add your food so that they don’y burn once on the grill.
I took the easiest approach to making these, which is literally just grabbing whatever you have in your fridge and adding them to the kabob. Add a little olive oil and seasoning of your choice and that’s it!
If you wanted to add protein, you could cube up some tempeh and let it marinade in a teriyaki sauce (I prefer Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki) before grilling.
Cookie Dough Hummus
Who would’ve thought that hummus makes a great dessert, especially paired with pretzels? You’d be surprised. These cinnamon sugar pretzels by Snack Factory took the flavor profile from 90 to 100. The best part is the hummus only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and you can make it the night before! I used creamy Almond butter in this recipe and my favorite chocolate chips are the one’s by Lily’s.
I know it’s not always easy knowing what to bring to a cookout, especially if you’re throwing a last minute party. I hope this helps you all and drives a little inspiration 🙂
