Delicious, Family-Friendly Summer Recipes!

Summer is perfect for family time and playing outdoors, and sometimes that makes meal planning a little tough! Today I’m sharing some of our favorite family-friendly summer recipes! Most of them are very easy, and all of them have been big hits with my kids!

Family Friendly Summer Recipes

• Watermelon is a summer favorite – we eat it nearly every day, all summer long! I was thrilled to find this low-mess way to cube watermelon! We still slice it into wedges sometimes, because that is fun also, but this way I can buy a watermelon, cube it all at once, and have it ready as a healthy snack whenever we want it.
• Smoothies are always popular with my kids – and a great way to sneak in a few ingredients that might be a little tougher to get kids to eat in other formats. These smoothie recipes don’t need any sugar, and they include protein to help keep kids’ blood sugar balanced.
• Homemade Pasta takes some advanced planning, but it cooks faster than dried pasta (releasing less heat into your home), and is infinitely more delicious. My four-year-old has discovered that she adores helping with this meal!
• Lemonade is another summer treat that my kids love to help make – and very refreshing on hot summer days!

 I love getting together with friends for barbecues in the summer, and we often offer to bring treats. Here are a few delicious favorites:

• This two-ingredient chocolate sauce comes together very quickly, and is absolutely delicious! It is perfect for making hot fudge sundaes, or chocolate dipped treats!
• If you love chocolate and mousse-type deserts, you will want to try this dessert for chocoholics. It comes together quickly, and is consistently popular at parties.
• Last but certainly not least, these lemon cookies are the one recipe that my readers are the most enthusiastic about – and my family adores them as well. If you love lemons, this is a must-try recipe!

What are your favorite family-friendly summer recipes?

You can also read other multicultural meal plans in this series and follow our Multicultural Cooking board on Pinterest.

MaryAnne was raised in the United States, Guatemala, France, Bolivia, and Austria. Her first daughter was born in Scotland, and she now lives with her husband and their four children in Silicon Valley, California. You can find MaryAnne writing about creativity, learning, and play at Mama Smiles – Joyful Parenting.