Spring Meal Ideas

I ran a poll and questionnaire on my instagram about a week ago asking what people wanted to hear about on my blog. I had one person ask if I would share ten of my top or ten popular spring foods and meals. I thought that could be a fun thing to maybe get our mind off all the craziness and give us some ideas and options to try while we are all stuck inside! You should all definitely share some of your favorite springy meals in the comment section below so we can all try even more recipes! AND let me know if my top ten are your favorites as well!

1 Greek Salad- There is something so easy and yummy about a good Greek salad! I like eating it all year round, but it is especially delicious and refreshing during spring and summer time. That is also when the ingredients are usually the freshest too…. You need tomatoes, cucumbers, a red onion, feta cheese, olive oil, oregano, and a little salt. You can spice it up and add different ingredients you think would pair up nicely with these staples too. Some people add in bell peppers or even avocados. You can also add in Cretan rusks, (dried bread) and those soak up the oil and add a LOVELY crunch to the salad. Definitely a favorite of mine and I try and make it a staple I eat as often as I can.

2 Pasta Salad- yummmmmmm.. a good pasta salad with so many yummy ingredients is a great spring meal. Served cold it is definitely a staple during the warmer months as well. You can add in whatever ingredients you like as well… I however love adding in blocks of cheese, olives, artichoke hearts, cucumber and then olive oil and spices. You can add in tuna or chicken as well if you want some added protein. Cook the pasta first and then let it cool before adding the other ingredients in so as not to melt the cheese for example and to keep the veggies you add nice and crisp and crunchy. All the different textures and flavors add up to a very yummy meal!

3 Spanakopita- A delicious Greek spinach, feta, and phyllo dough pie… soooooo delicious for dinner. You can even have the spanakopita AND the Greek salad together with some wine for a lovely well rounded meal. My mouth is watering at the thought of that! To start you layer sheets of phyllo dough in a cooking dish brushing each layer down with melted butter. You then wilt a bunch of spinach and mix it up in a bowl with eggs, feta, oil and spices before spreading it on the phyllo and then layering more phyllo on top. The crunchy phyllo with the creamy soft spinach filling is so delicious you’ll be wanting another piece even before you’ve finished your first!

4 Grilled Veggies- This is very much a summer dish, but can be eaten in spring and year round as well. I think my favorite grilled veggies would have to be asparagus and peppers. You can grill them on an outside grill or just in your oven on a pan with broil on. You can grill any type, but I would say zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, peppers, onions, and tomatoes are the ones I have seen the most done. Brush them in oil and sprinkle spices on top, you can even add some lemon juice for an extra flavor. The smoky flavor on the veggies just is so delicious and quite easy to achieve! What are your favorite veggies to grill?

5 Egg Frittata- Another easy quick meal packed with yummy veggies and other ingredients. Make an egg mixture, you can add milk to it as well to make it a bit creamier, it will be kind of like a scrambled egg mixture. Add in veggies if you like, for example I like adding shredded carrots and zucchini, spinach and mushrooms are also really yummy to add. Add blocks of cheese to so you get a nice melted cheese pocket here and there when you are bitting into your dinner. Add that to the egg mixture and put it in a pan or dish. I like cooking mine it a big cast iron skillet and stick it in the oven to bake…. voila you have a nice eggy dinner dish that would go super well with just a simple greens salad and maybe some artisan bread and wine!

6 Smoothies- Smoothies are so delicious all year round, but especially when the weather starts getting nicer and the sun comes out more fruit smoothies are such a yummy go to and easy meal! I love instead of ice having frozen banana as the base for my smoothies. It keeps the smoothie cold and creamy and doesn’t water it down like ice could maybe do. Frozen bananas, frozen berries, milk, yogurt and a scoop of protein powder if you want to add a bit extra makes a delicious meal! You could also substitute orange juice for the milk if you want to make it even more fruity and refreshing. One of my favorite smoothies I’ve tried is called a strawberry pucker and is literally frozen strawberries, orange juice and lemon sorbet. So sour and sweet and it is also so cold and refreshing for the warm sunny days ahead!

7 Creamy cauliflower potato soup- Some of you might be thinking… soup? Spring? Isn’t soup more of a fall and winter food? Some soups definitely are more fall and cold weather soups, but I love cauliflower potato soup. It’s so creamy and delicious! Boil the potatoes and cauliflower so they are nice and soft. They if you have a vita mixer or a kitchen aid add the in with some warm milk and warm water as well. Puree everything up to make a creamy soup mix and then add spices and salt for taste. Quick and easy and a light tasting soup, but very filling at the same time!

8 Springtime green salad- There is something so easy about tossing together a green salad, but definitely nothing boring about it because of how exciting you can make it! Salad NEVER has to be boring. You can add all types of veggies, fruits even, chicken, eggs, tuna, cheese and then so many fun dressings! Have fun with combos and mix it up. Never let yourself get tired of salads by just doing the same old salad again and again! Try new combos you wouldn’t think to try and you might be surprised with how good they turn out!

9 Strawberry rhubarb cobbler- okay you knew my last two recipes would be dessert… ha I have such a sweet tooth! Strawberry rhubarb is such a yummy combo. I love it in pies and cobblers.. so delicious! My favorite type of cobbler is with an oat streusel type of topping. Cut up the rhubarb and strawberries and add a bit of sugar to pull out more juices. Then make an oat crumble topping with sugar, butter, oats and flour and add it over the fruit and then bake! Perfect to pair with some vanilla ice cream or cream!

10 Carrot cake- Who doesn’t like a slice of homemade carrot cake packed with goodness and topped with a creamy cream cheese frosting!? So easy to make as well. Make a simple spice cake and then add in shredded carrots and raisins. If you want to be extra fancy you can add in shredded zucchini as well. While baking make up the simple whipped cream cheese frosting with some powdered sugar. Wait til the cake is completely cooled though before adding the frosting so it does not melt into the cake!

There are so many fun spring recipes I could add, but this could turn into a recipe book instead of a blog post then if I did that! What are some of your favorite spring time recipes? Did I share some of your favorites? Please share in the comments below and lets get busy baking and creating yummy food creations!

S’Agapo