Healthy & Refreshing Summer Greek Recipes

Who wants to use their oven during the summer months? I know I sure don’t like to! During the summer months and especially after workouts, I simply crave crisp, refreshing and thirst quenching fruits and vegetables. There’s no better, fast and easy recipes than a few of my summer staple Greek recipes! The ‘Traditional Greek Salad’ (below) is excellent for using up fresh summer produce you can find at your local farmer’s market or your very own garden!

These are quick and easy recipes, not to mention super healthy, tasty and refreshing! Great for athletes too! I’ll provide the nutrition information below!

Traditional Greek Salad

 

This is my summer staple salad that my husband and I always take to parties and BBQ’s. It’s always a hit!

In our household, we simply ‘eyeball’ how much we want to add, so these are simply approximations. Feel free to add more or less of the ingredients OR add other fresh ingredients not listed! 

Servings: Approximately 10, 1 cup servings. It typically fills a 2.5 quart bowl.

Ingredients:

4-6 Vine Tomatoes, diced with seeds removed (see photo- I slice the tomato in quarters and then peel out the seeds)

1 medium cucumber, diced

1 medium to small green pepper, diced

1 medium to small red onion, diced

One 6 oz. can of large pitted black olives, halved (may purchase already sliced)

One 4 oz. package of reduced fat feta cheese (may come in 6 oz. pkg, can also purchase flavored)

½ cup to ¾ cup Greek Dressing (We use ‘Lite Gazebo Room Greek Dressing’ (Pennsylvania company), if you cannot find a Greek Salad dressing, you can make your own using olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice and Greek seasoning, which you can purchase pre-done OR make your own using oregano, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper)

Directions: 

Dice all vegetables, add cheese and then pour dressing on top and combine.

Tips to enjoy-

The salad typically keeps well refrigerated for about 3 days. It tastes best the next day, after marinating. Enjoy it on its own for lunch or as a side. Before adding the dressing, you can use the filling for Greek Quesadillas, which is super quick and easy to prepare! You could enjoy the salad wrapped in a whole wheat pita or tortilla! We often will make chicken shish kabobs, marinating the chicken in the Greek dressing and then barbeque. You could enjoy the chicken on its own with the salad as a side OR add the salad and chicken to a pita. I have also added whole wheat pasta to the salad to stretch it and add a little more sustenance to it.

Nutrition Info:

In a nutshell, per serving there is approximately 107 calories (based on a ‘full’ fat dressing, not the 'lite' dressing I use), 4 grams of Protein, 6 grams of Carbohydrate and about 8 grams of Fat (more monounsaturated). A good source of vitamin C and A, calcium and potassium! If you would like more details on the nutrition information, please feel free to ask.

Homemade Tzatziki Sauce

If you have never tried Tzatziki sauce before, you must! It’s delicious, particularly with Greek dishes. It goes wonderfully with the chicken shish kabobs and Greek quesadillas I mentioned above! It makes a nice summer dip for pita chips or vegetables. You could also add it to the pita Greek wrap I mentioned previously. 

Makes- approximately 1.5 cups

Servings- approximately 24, 1 Tbsp serving

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups Non-fat Plain yogurt (could use Greek yogurt for a more creamy texture and added protein! You could also use more or less depending on how much you wish to make)

1 Tbsp fresh Lemon juice

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1-2 cloves of Garlic, crushed

1 Tbsp. fresh Dill, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Optional- Add finely shredded cucumber

Directions: Simply combine all ingredients. Sauce tastes best after it has chilled for a few hours or the next day.

Nutrition Info:

Per 1 Tbsp serving there is approximately 14 calories, 0.9 grams of Protein, 1.3 grams of Carbohydrate and 0.6 grams of Fat. Good source of calcium. If you would like more details, feel free to ask. 

These recipes and suggested combinations are great for athletes, as they’re a great source of well known antioxidants (vitamins A & C), as well as phytochemicals found in the vegetables, dill and garlic (garlic's phytochemical, may strengthen the immune system), Calcium and the much needed electrolyte, Potassium! Add the chicken shish kabob and you have lean source of protein! If you’re vegetarian, you could add on some chick peas (garbanzo beans) or your other favorite bean.  They’re also simply great summer recipes that won’t get your house overly warm! Great for those watching their weight, since they’re low in calories, fairly low in fat (a good source of healthy fat, especially when using olive oil!) and full of rich nutrients!

I hope you enjoy! Here’s to a Refreshing and Happy Summer!