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Modern Family Favorites for Summer

Little girl eating hot cake in cafe

Today’s kids are more adventurous than their parents were—and have the sophisticated palates to prove it. Load your summer menu with dishes that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

  • Summer equals school vacation. With many families on the go, it’s important to feature healthy, but craveable hand-helds and to-go dishes that are easy to eat by the pool and in the car. Think cold noodle and rice bowls, veg sushi hand rolls, and Mediterranean wraps.
  • Give burgers and pizza health halos by focusing on vegetable toppings
  • Kids love fun, colorful drinks. Add a produce-heavy mocktails menu that let’s the underage and sober diners enjoy the exciting beverages your mixologists create, sans alcohol.

Diners are increasingly hyper-focused on high-protein and plant-based foods. Alongside all of the new-fangled, lab-based, cell-cultured options out there is the humble bean. A staple food for millenia, beans are being re-examined as a healthy, versatile ingredient worthy of menu inclusion.

  • Retro and heirloom recipes—like Southern succotash, French cassoulet, and Cajun red beans and rice—fit the bill for those in search of authenticity.
  • Most world cuisines incorporate some type of bean in their classic dishes. Think feijoada in Brazil, black beans and rice with plantains in Puerto Rico, and garbanzo beans in Israel. Modern interpretations of these recipes are packed with produce and herbs.
  • The creamy texture of mung beans is proving an ideal substitute for those that are eliminating soy from their diets.