By ERIN TURNER
It has been scorching hot in my neck of the woods lately and when the heat sets in, my appetite takes a plunge. Not only am I not hungry, my desire to cook food for my family dwindles as well. I’d rather just have everyone go to the gardens and snack on whatever is ripe and ready that night, but I have growing boys who need to eat and do eat all day long. So finding easy, healthy and seasonal food for them is necessary.
Last week I took an inventory of my home-canned goods so I know what I need to replace this growing season. plus, I took note of what needs to be used up before the new harvest hits and I start stacking the shelves with new jars. I noted that I still had a few jars of last year’s pickles and by the look of my cucumber plants, I’ll be putting up pickles soon. So those last few jars need to be eaten within this next month.
We had friends visiting over the 4th of July weekend. Their son has Juvenile Diabetes so I wanted to be sure I had appropriate food and snacks for him. I did a little Googling for snack and food suggestions and found some great ideas–not just for our friend but also for our family. Low carb/sugar food is always better for everyone–even growing boys! A meat, cheese and pickle roll-up is protein packed and low carbs/sugar snack or lunch idea.
Today I set out to accomplish two goals: use up those pickles and have a healthy snack for my family as we worked in the gardens all day. These “Beat the Heat Roll-ups” made it easy for me to reach my goal, in only a few minutes using 3 items!
I used Pastrami as my meat but you could any deli meat you prefer. If the meat is thinly sliced, I would recommend doubling up meat slices. My pastrami was sliced pretty thick so I was able to just use one slice per roll-up. I also used cream cheese but thought my homemade ranch dip using Greek Yogurt as the base would be a good alternative for the cream cheese.
So, gather up a few slices of your preferred deli meat, a brick of cream cheese and a jar of pickles.
- Carefully spread cream cheese on the face of a piece of deli meat
- Place a large pickle at one end of the meat
- Roll the pickle up in the meat
- Cut the roll-up into 1” inch pieces
- Place on a plate and serve
Coupled with a few crackers and some apple slices, this would be a terrific summertime lunch. Even in the heat, I would enjoy this type of cooled off meal!
Well, we are headed out to do some weeding and harvesting on the farm today. I have a plate of these “Beat the Heat Roll-up” in the refrigerator ready for my boys to devour once the chores are done…if, that is, they can first beat mom to them!
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Erin Eisenman-Turner is proud to be a native Missoulian. Along with her husband and three sons, they raise chickens, pigs, rabbits, and vegetables at Turner Family Farms in the Orchard Homes area. When the farm chores are done, the coupons clipped, and the blog written, you can find Erin exploring Montana, collecting antiques, and trying to maintain a well-run, happy, and organized home for her family. Read more of Erin’s blogs about homesteading, farming, homemaking and other fun things at TurnerFarmLiving.com
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