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You may have all you need for a great, healthy summer snack sitting right in your backyard! Check out these fast and frugal snacks from your garden!
There’s nothing like it: walking outside in your backyard, plucking a juicy tomato straight from the vine, and popping it in your mouth. Not only does planting a backyard garden save you money on your grocery budget, but it gives you a ready supply of healthy snacks all summer long! And you’ll be surprised at your normally picky eaters who gladly chomp down on vegetables when they can help themselves!
This year, enjoy some healthy summer snacks with these garden-fresh picks! From the super easy veggies that require nothing more than picking, washing and (sometimes) cutting, to the snacks that require a little more prep, you may have all you need for a great summer snack sitting right in your backyard.
How to Snack from Your Garden
Easiest Garden Snacks: Pick and Eat
These are the snacks that require little to no prep at all. Pick, wash, and they’re ready to eat!
- Carrots (peeled and cut into sticks if desired)
- Sugar snap peas or snow peas
- Berries
- Cucumbers (peeled if desired)
- Tomatoes (sliced if desired–or eaten whole like an apple!)
- Celery sticks
- Peppers: You will probably want to cut and de-seed bell peppers, but smaller varieties, like banana peppers, are fine eaten whole.
- Melons (peeled and cut)
Ready in Minutes: Raw Garden Snacks that Require a Little Prep
These snacks require a few minutes to prepare–and a few items from your pantry or freezer–but they are still pretty fast and most definitely frugal if you grow the produce yourself.
- Raw salsa with fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions and/or garlic
- Fresh fruit smoothies (try adding fresh kale or spinach for a green smoothie!)
- Homemade coleslaw with garden-fresh cabbage
- Fruit salad (Just use what’s in your garden! Try a melon and berry salad for a different twist!)
- A veggie dip, like chopped cucumbers mixed with herbs, salt, and softened cream cheese
A Little More Prep: Cooked Garden Snacks
These snacks may require a little cooking and refrigeration, but you can always make a big batch to eat on all week. These also require some ingredients from your pantry, fridge or freezer.
Bonus: Some of these can actually double as a side dish or light meal.
- Roasted salsa verde made with tomatillos, onions, cilantro and peppers
- A pasta and veggie salad, like my yummy simple snap pea salad
- Garlic cheese biscuits, using fresh garlic from the garden
- Gallo Pinto: This is one of my favorite dishes from when I lived in Costa Rica. Pair rice and beans from your pantry with fresh peppers, garlic, and cilantro, and you have a hearty afternoon snack.
- Baked potatoes topped with other veggies or easy, oven-roasted potatoes
- Berry muffins or a veggie muffin, like carrot cupcakes or zucchini muffins
- Kale Chips (if you live in a cooler climate and still have some greens!)
- Chicken salad made with fresh celery
- Mayo-free tuna salad with fresh carrots and herbs
- Grilled veggie pizzas
- Veggie melts or quesadillas
Want even more snack ideas?
Check out these posts with more healthy snack ideas you can use year round!
12 Easy, Healthy After-School Snacks
25+ Smoothie Recipes for Every Season
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