Some Healthy Recipes For The 4th Of July Holiday From Kurbo

The fourth of July is the quintessential American holiday, synonymous with freedom, long hot summer days, family time, BBQ’s and fireworks.  Whether you are going to the beach, hosting a BBQ, or headed to the mountains, we have kid approved, healthy recipes for your Independence Day celebration.  Use your day of freedom as an opportunity to get creative in the kitchen and help your family make healthier choices. (And don’t forget to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and apply lots of sunscreen.)

Of course, you want to be able to get outside too so the fourth of July recipes below are easy, quick and great for entertaining. If you want more recipes like these, be sure to check out Kurbo's Pinterest page for other tasty, healthy and fun ideas!


Festive Yogurt Parfait
A few simple ingredients is all you need to make this delicious parfait. Feels like eating dessert (without the guilt!), thanks to the sweet granola and berries layered between bananas. Both kids and adults will love them.

So here’s what you’ll need for your granola:

2 cups of old fashioned oats (yellow light)
1 tablespoon of nutmeg (optional)
1 cup of chopped almonds (yellow light)
1/4 cup of nonfat plain Greek yogurt (yellow light)
1/2 cup of unsweetened apple sauce (yellow light)
Here are the fruits you’ll need: (all green lights)

1.5 cups fresh blueberries
1.5 cups fresh strawberries
1.5 cups bananas
Instructions:

1. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
2. Add the oats, nutmeg and chopped almonds to a bowl and stir well.
3. In a cup, combine the nonfat plain Greek yogurt and unsweetened apple sauce. Add to the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until it’s sticky.
3. Spread out onto the pan evenly. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the pan and stir around the granola so it can cook evenly. Place back in the oven for about 10 more minutes until brown. Let cool for 10 minutes to crisp up.
5.  Finally, begin to layer your serving glasses. Start by layering the granola on the bottom, followed by the bananas (some people even like to squish their bananas together to create a smoother feel)  and then blueberries and strawberries. Repeat as many times as you’d like.


Now let’s move onto the salads–but not just any salad with your regular greens, this salad is a quinoa salad! Quinoa flavor complements almost everything, including veggies and fruits, and has essential amino acids.

Red, White and Blue Quinoa Salad (Makes 4 servings)

Red, white and blue quinoa salad

For the dressing you’ll need :

1 tablespoon of canola oil spray (yellow light)
salt and pepper for tasting
4 tablespoons of blueberry vinegar (green light)
The salad ingredients are :

3 tablespoons of fresh mint (chopped)
5 ounces of light blue cheese (yellow light)
2 cups of FRESH blueberries (Fresh is always better) (green light)
⅔ cup of uncooked red quinoa (yellow light)
Instructions:

1. Quinoa has some bitterness to it, so before cooking the quinoa, soak in some cold water.
2. Mix all the ingredients for your dressing and set it aside.
3. Cut the blue cheese, mint and place it in a bowl with all the blueberries.
4. After draining the quinoa, make sure it’s cooled or slightly warm before pouring the blueberry vinaigrette.
5. Finally, mix in the cheese blueberries and mint (Make sure your quinoa is cooled, otherwise your cheese will melt.)

How do you create a healthy lifestyle program that’s simple and incredibly effective - kurbo.com/