Summer Party Meals: Steak Salad, Potato Salad, and Ice Cream

We all have our favorite summertime foods: a juicy cheeseburger grilled to perfection, a hearty potato salad, or cool, refreshing ice cream. Here are some recipes I recommend as healthy alternatives to those warm-weather favorites.

Hanger Steak

Instead of a cheeseburger, how about some hanger steak sliced thin and served on bed of arugula or greens with salt and pepper and balsamic vinegar? It's an amazing Italian meal, it's easy to do, and everyone loves it.

Ingredients

• 1 pound of hanger steak, salt and pepper each side
• 2 cups of arugula
• Balsamic vinegar, ideally the reduced kind, which is more expensive and sweeter, but you use less
• 1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Cook steak on grill for 1-2 minutes on each side until medium rare
2. Slice thin
3. Arrange arugula on a large plate or platter and drizzle with olive oil and ground pepper
4. Place sliced steak neatly on top of greens
5. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and a little more salt and pepper
6. Serve

Dr. Mark's Potato Salad

For the potato salad, try using small fingerling or red potatoes (which are lower on the glycemic index) and serve in a sauce of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, crushed garlic, chopped parsley, salt, and pepper... amazing!

Ingredients

• 1 pound of small red russet potatoes or mixed-colored fingerling potatoes
• 2-4 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 cup of chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Boil potatoes with skins on over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until soft but not mushy
2. Drain and cut in half
3. In a large bowel, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, crushed garlic, parsley
4. Put hot potatoes in to the dressing, mix well, and serve

Ice Cream

For dessert, put frozen blueberries and strawberries in a blender; add a little unsweetened soy, almond, or hemp milk, and serve. You could even add a tablespoon of coconut butter to make it creamy.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of frozen blueberries
• 2 cups of frozen strawberries
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin coconut butter
• Unsweetened hemp, almond, or soy milk (non GMO); use a half cup more or less as needed to create proper consistency

Instructions

1. Blend in a blender or a Vitamix
2. Serve in nice wine or parfait glasses

For more healthy and flavorful recipes, check out The Blood Sugar Solution Cookbook.

Mark Hyman, M.D. is a practicing physician, founder of The UltraWellness Center, a five-time New York Times bestselling author, and an international leader in the field of Functional Medicine. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, watch his videos on YouTube, become a fan on Facebook, and subscribe to his newsletter.

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