I’ve been pushing you all pretty hard to eat healthy foods, and eat lots of them. I don’t want you to forget some of the healthiest foods on the list, so it’s worth a little revisit
First: yogurt. Are you eating it as often as you can? Have you tried making your own? If not, at least grab a big tub of plain yogurt and put some in-season strawberries on top.
Second: Chicken broth. A close third: Beans.
??
Aren’t those more wintery, comfort food kind of items?
It’s grilling season!
Can soups and beans really be summer foods?
Yes!
Here are some ideas to help your family continue to eat broth and beans without feeling like you should break out the hats and mittens:
- Grilled bone-in chicken – use bones to make broth (remember that many sources say the long cooking of the broth will even take care of bacteria from plate-food. You can eat the chicken off the bones and throw them right into the pot from your plate. Oh yeah – be sure to read that disclaimer in the sidebar about now.)
- Rice cooked with broth under a veggie-filled stir fry
- Rice cooked with broth (and beans) like Designer Imposter Chicken Rice-a-Roni with your burgers
- Simple first course soups like garlic soup or three bean soup with a big old salad
- What my dad calls “end of garden soup” that can be made anytime of year and is very light with the right sides (salad, biscuits). Substitute chicken stock for part or all of the milk or veggie water in my recipe.
- Refried beans are good any time of year – tacos never go out of season!
- Bean burritos (with this recipe, especially when zucchini are in season, or just refried beans, cheese and salsa for a quick snack)
- Mexican rice and beans on the side of those tacos, too
- Throw some cold beans on a salad (every night if you can)
- Pasta salad with beans (my fav is bow tie pasta, feta cheese, garbanzo beans and baby spinach with Greek Vinaigrette dressing; you could also throw kidney or garb beans into just about any pasta salad that strikes your fancy.)
- Hummus with pita bread or your crudite platter
- “Hide” lentils (pureed or not) in storebought spaghetti sauce or tacos (can you tell we do a lot of Mexican food at our house?)
- And how could I leave out the summer staple, baked beans? My husband loves baked beans with burgers; it’s the epitome of a summer meal for him. Because of trans fats and other additives, I’m determined to find an easy, tasty homemade baked bean recipe this summer that the whole family likes. Any ideas? I can feature the best one(s) later in the summer.
How else do you use broth and/or beans in the summer without feeling soupy? Do share! I have been falling off using them a little bit already, so I know we could all use a reminder.
If you need some help getting started with making bone broth this video of my kids making a batch is just for you!
This post is entered in Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family, Thursday 13 at Happy to be at Home, Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom, and Things I Love Thursday at The Diaper Diaries.
Monday Missions
- Get Rid of Triclosan
- Throw Away Less Food
- Using Your Dishwasher Wisely
- Connected Meal Planning
- Safe Drinking Containers
- Homemade Chicken Stock/Broth
- Intro to Super Foods Series
- How to Use More Beans
- Easy Homemade Yogurt
- Eat More Eggs
- Steam Your Veggies
- No More Canned Vegetables
- Memorize the Dirty Dozen
- Rethink Plastic Food Storage Containers
- Search Out Trans Fats
- Increase Omega-3 Fats
Katie Kimball, CSME is a trusted educator and author of 8 real food cookbooks. She is passionate about researching natural remedies and making healthy cooking easier for busy families. She’s been featured on media outlets like ABC, NBC and First for Women magazine as well as contributing regularly on the FOX Network. 
A mom of 4 kids from Michigan, she is a Certified Stress Mastery Educator and member of the American Institute of Stress.
Robin says
This is a great post for me right now, as I am in the process of making a lot of stock (had some chicken that needed cooking and hence, stock!) and don’t have a lot of freezer space so need to try and use some up! So, thanks for the ideas-I always forget about rice, so we may be having some rice this week! Also, don’t forget about risotto-a little more work involved but so so yummy and uses a decent amount of stock as well. Thanks again!
Meghan says
Here’s a great baked bean recipe that doesn’t use the canned beans and fluff them up. I did this in the crockpot and got lazy only cooking them for the 10 hours based on another review and they were just slightly underdone. Following the review I posed below they should be pretty easy, especially if you already have bacon (and onions!) in the freezer 😉
The taste was fabulous even with mine being undercooked!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Boston-Baked-Beans/Detail.aspx
Reviewed on Jan. 27, 2005 by J.P.
I made this successfully in the crock pot. I soaked the beans overnight, drained them, skipped the simmer-for-2-hours step, and followed the rest of the recipe using the crock pot. I cooked it on low for 20 hours, and did have to add water periodically. AWESOME. thanks you!
Viveca says
Excellent list and right on!
Viveca
Viveca’s last blog post..What will you do today? (instead of worry)
Becka says
I made a really good soup this week using chicken broth, leftover chicken fajitas, leftover Mexican Rice, some pinto beans, and salsa. My husband loved it and I hope I can recreate it!
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Mareth says
Good tips! But I can’t seem to get myself to like veggies (hubby doesn’t like veggies at all). I struggle so much with this. It is not a happy food for me…help! Also, I find it so helpful to make my own spaghetti sauce. Let it simmer for about four hours and throw in all sorts of good things from squash, to zucchini, to venison! Canning jars are great for freezing the sauce.
Katie says
Don’t like veggies or don’t like beans (or both)? Nothing wrong with “hiding” veggies (even on yourself!) in sauces like you mentioned. I put a lot of veggies chopped small into other things, like casseroles, soups, rice sides, etc. You must check out http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/blog/ where she is hosting an “Eat More Fruits and Veggies” Challenge right now. People are linking in with good ideas, June 3 was the last one (but I think she’ll do it again). I have to say, we’re enjoying green smoothies at our house, so that’s a great way to get the greens in – and lots of people put all sorts of veggies in those. As long as you have enough fruits to balance it out, they’re just like dessert! If your family is a strong “meat and potatoes” kind of family, maybe you can search (the Internet is vast and wide) for veggie recipes with lots of seasoning that would work as a side dish. My husband, for example, has claimed for years that he doesn’t like asparagus and doesn’t like zucchini as a side. Just recently, either his tastebuds are dulled, or I finally seasoned them enough. Turns out if I get enough butter on the asparagus he can get a few sticks down without a grimmace, and when I sauteed the zucchini in garlic, olive oil, Italian seasoning and a bit of canned tomatoes (crushed or sauce), they were delicious. The tomatoes were key! Maybe we should just put spaghetti sauce on all our veggies….hmmm…there’s a thought to leave you with. Good luck on your endeavor! I know you’re getting healthy food into your family; trust God to fill the gaps! 🙂
Mareth says
Oh we love beans, soups, etc. but raw or steamed veggies seem so unappetizing! Maybe I need to just get more recipes for good veggies. I like your idea about “hiding” them and also about using spaghetti sauce. My husband should have been Italian; he could live on all things pasta. 🙂 Will do some recipe hunting this week. Thanks bunches!
shannon says
I just came across your blog and am loving it!!!
I’m not using much broth right now, but I am using beans. Friday night with our mexican food we’ll be having a corn and black bean salad as a side (I’ll post the recipe after it’s made, it contains vinegar, cilantro, bell pepper, onion etc). I also make a black eyed pea, black bean and corn salsa that is a great dip for summer parties and get togethers, because it can sit outside for extended amounts of time. Or I also love my Carolina Caviar (also made with black eyed peas, bell peppers, cilantro and onion) that I serve as a dip with toritlla chips.
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Katie says
Good ones! I forgot about adding beans to salsa and dips. Come on back and link up to your recipe in the comments; I can always use more bean ideas, especially Mexican style for hubby. Thanks for visiting!!
Lisa says
Thank you for these MUCH needed ideas! I have been trying to find some healthier alternatives lately.
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Angie says
You’re inspiring me. Looking forward on clicking link about making your own yogurt. Good ideas here. Thanks!
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Llama Momma says
I love your blog!! I just stumbled over from WFMW, and can’t stop reading posts! I’ve been seeing a nutritionist to help improve my families’ diets, and I’m getting so many good tips here! Just wanted to say “hi.” 🙂
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Katie says
Yay! Glad you stumbled on over; pull up a chair and stay awhile… 😉 I’m happy to be connected – Katie
Lori says
Even though the temperatures get into the 90’s here, we still have soup at least once a week. Monday night, I took the bones from a roasted chicken (Monday’s supper) and simmered it in the crock pot over night. Tuesday, after straining the broth, it went back into the crock pot with veggies and it simmered all day while we were out. When we returned last night, we added the shredded chicken and some pasta to the soup and had chicken noodle soup. It was light enough for summer and we still got our good-for-you broth.
I love your blog. It has challenged me to put action behind a lot of things I’d been thinking about doing (like not using the microwave and ditching the last of the plastic containers). :o)
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