Memorial Day is only one week away!
A time for honoring the brave men and women who've died while serving in the US military, Memorial Day also marks the unofficial start to summer. For many of us this means gathering with friends and family for a picnic, cookout or BBQ.
If you ever struggle with "What should I bring/serve for our Memorial gathering?" I'm here to help. Here's a collection of some of my favorite easy, light, healthy and delicious dishes - all with WW Freestyle SmartPoints - perfect all summer long!
Light & Healthy Memorial Day Summer BBQ Recipes
Easy Skinny Strawberry Dessert Bruschetta - ’m sharing a recipe for a quick and easy strawberry dessert with just 5 ingredients: Belvita golden oat breakfast biscuits, light cream cheese, lemon curd, chopped strawberries, and fresh mint. Skip the mint and add some blueberries for a perfect red, white, and blue portion controlled dessert.
Red, White and Blue Fruit Skewers with light and creamy lemon cheesecake dip – Here’s a quick and easy last minute 4th of July dessert idea that doesn’t require getting near the stove: red white and blue fruit skewers. Of course, they would be perfect for Memorial Day too! Just thread fruit and other selected ingredients on bamboo skewers in pretty alternating patterns. Voila, a fun and festive dessert that will please young and old alike.
Easy Blueberry Cheesecake Bars – creamy, easy and delicious, just *4 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
Easy Flag Fruit Dessert - All you need is the fresh fruit, a big tray, and some little pretzels covered in yogurt or white chocolate. Just spread those out in rows, alternating with the red berries, and group all the blueberries together in the corner. And presto: a light, easy, festive dessert that will be the hit of any patriotic party. (Family Fresh Meals)
Skinny Baked S'mores - It wouldn’t be summer without indulging in s’mores at least once. The only downside to traditional s’mores is that they require a grill or campfire and are packed with calories. These skinny baked s'mores solve both problems. You can pop them under the broiler or into your toaster oven. And because they are open-faced and use miniature marshmallows and chocolate chips, a LOT lower in calories.
Banana S'mores - I have been enjoying these banana s’mores as my go-to favorite sweet treat. This dessert is proof that you only need a little and it doesn’t have to be hard to cure that sweet craving. At just 2 smart points it remains one of my favorite things to make when I need that indulgence. (Drizzle Me Skinny)
Easy Red, White, and Blueberry Salad - This Easy Red White and Blueberry Salad is perfect for for Memorial Day, Flag Day, The Fourth of July or any summer day! (Kalyn's Kitchen)
Red, White and Blueberry Trifle – Angel food cake, sugar free pudding and berries layered into a light and tasty dessert – *8 WW Freestyle SmartPoints (SkinnyTaste)
WW Red, White & Blue Cheesecake Salad - This Weight Watchers Red, White and Blue Cheesecake Salad is a cool, refreshing treat & a perfect dish for patriotic holidays like Memorial Day and 4th of July (Life is Sweeter by Design)
WW Fruit Salad with Peaches & Watermelon - A light and refreshing fruit salad which combines sweet juicy watermelon and peaches with crunchy cucumbers tossed with a bit of vinegar or lemon juice. This simple salad comes together fast making the perfect accompaniment for grilled chicken, fish or shrimp or on its own for a light and luscious lunch on a hot day.
27 Light & Healthy Grilled Chicken Recipes - light and luscious low calorie recipes for grilled chicken, from my favorite recipe sites all with Weight Watchers Points Values to help you keep your meals sizzling all summer long.
3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Loin with Applesauce – All you need is about ten minutes of prep for this simple 3-ingredient simple slow cooker pulled pork loin recipe.
40 Best WW Friendly Burger Recipes – A collection of 40 healthy, flavorful Weight Watchers Burger Recipes, both meat and meatless, to tempt your tastebuds! (with PointsPlus and WW Freestyle SmartPoints)
Simple Deviled Egg Recipes - A winning party food for generations. I lightened the recipe by using part reduced-fat mayonnaise and part plain nonfat Greek yogurt, instead of all full fat mayonnaise.
Skinny Dips - A winning collection of 16+ light and healthy dips & spreads for your next gathering.
Baked Beans – New England Style Slow Cooker Baked Beans from scratch with dry beans, cook up hearty, satisfying and delicious.
Creamy Skinny Cole Slaw - Eating healthy doesn’t mean sacrificing great creamy coleslaw. You’ll love the tangy, slightly sweet flavor, and all the amazing crunchy textures. And at just 1 smart point per serving, you can enjoy one of your favorite warm weather side dishes without guilt! (The Chunky Chef)
Avocado BLT Pasta Salad - Summer is salad season, and this Avocado BLT Pasta Salad is the perfect crowd-pleaser to bring to any picnic or barbecue or to make for yourself at home! Hearty pasta, crispy bacon, juicy tomatoes and fresh lettuce all tossed in a creamy avocado dressing! (Emily Bites)
Easy Italian Sub Pasta Salad - This easy pasta salad provides all the flavors of an Italian sub with a lot less fat and fewer calories. Great for make ahead lunches or dinners. Perfect for a buffet, barbecue, picnic or potluck.
Greek Pasta Salad - Admittedly, this recipe is a bit of a stretch on being Greek, but it has enough Greek flavor for me to accept that name. You could easily make a homemade salad dressing to go on this, but I personally prefer to just grab my favorite low-fat or fat-free Italian dressing. When you are in a hurry, that is the easy way to go. (You Brew My Tea)
Mexican Style Street Corn - I’ve always accepted a challenge, and this my friends, is how you lighten up Mexican Street Corn. Don’t worry! This is still creamy as can be. Who would have thought you could still have something like this and NOT feel guilty about it? (The Skinnyish Dish)
Trisha Yearwood's Creamy Grape Salad/Dessert Made Lighter - Bring this lighter, healthier creamy grape salad recipe to your next potluck or picnic and watch it disappear in minutes. You can easily double or triple it for bigger gatherings.
WW Dill Potato Salad - The combination of potatoes, scallions and dill tossed with a simple dressing of vinegar, light mayonnaise and plain Greek yogurt is a winner with everyone who has tried it. You could replace the cider vinegar with lemon juice if you prefer.
WW Chicken Potato Salad - Make potato salad in a fresh new way with a mustard-vinegar dressing instead of mayonnaise and a protein boost from cooked chicken.
Skinny Broccoli Salad Combining broccoli, grapes, celery and sunflower seeds in a light and slightly sweet dressing, it’s a perfect summertime side dish solution (4 PointsPlus/SmartPoints)
Weight Watchers Salad with Chick Peas and Feta – This easy, healthy, and delicious WW salad is another winning recipe from the July 8-14, 2012 Weight Watcher’s Weekly. It makes a great satisfying lunch on a bed of greens and would be a nice change of pace from the typical potato salad or macaroni salad at your next summer potluck or barbecue. (4 PointsPlus / 5 SmartPoints)
Classic Macaroni Salad Made Lighter – It doesn’t get more simple or delicious than this classic macaroni salad. Growing up, it was part of most picnics and backyard barbecues. To keep things Weight Watchers friendly, I substituted plain nonfat Greek yogurt for half the mayonnaise. So this is technically classic macaroni salad made lighter. (4 PointsPlus / SmartPoints)
Easy Healthy Broccoli Slaw with Cranberries – This easy healthy broccoli slaw with dried cranberries and sunflower seeds makes a delicious quick and easy side dish or lunchtime salad. I think it’s the perfect combination of sweet, tangy, chewy and crunchy. And it’s simple to toss together. Especially if you begin with a package of broccoli slaw mix, which is exactly what I did. (2 PointsPlus / 4 SmartPoints)
WW Orzo Salad with Vegetables – It’s easy, pretty and flavorful. Goes well with any kind of grilled meat, chicken or seafood with *4 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
Fresh Corn & Tomato Salad – this simple corn salad is a wonderful way to take advantage of the delicious fresh corn flooding the markets during the summer months with just *3 Weight Watchers PointsPlus or *1 Freestyle SmartPoint.
Easy BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad - A family friendly dish that is as light and healthy as it is delicious. Crispy lettuce topped with chopped chicken breast, tomatoes, corn, black beans, tomatoes and drizzled with BBQ sauce and light ranch dressing, this salad is as good tasting as it is good for you.
Weight Watchers Skinny Cucumber Salad – The longer the cucumbers marinate the better this tastes. I placed mine in a plastic container that I could shake once in a while to coat the cucumbers in the marinade. A ziplock bag with the air squeezed out would work well tool. This works with Simply Filling too. Enjoy! (0 PointsPlus / SmartPoints)
3-Ingredient Chili Cheese Dip – This easy crock pot chili cheese dip – made lighter with only 3 ingredients – is a crowd pleaser and perfect for game day get togethers and potlucks!
Crock Pot Corn Dip – Light and flavorful, without being overly cheesy, it was a winner with all of us.
Sassy 'n Spiked Pink Lemonade - This sweet-tart cocktail is as delicious as it is beautiful, and that's saying a lot. (Hungry Girl)
Watermelon Agua Fresca - A terrific thirst quencher on a hot summer day, it’s made by blending fruit with water, a bit of sugar and a little lime juice.
More Recipes for Your Summer Cookout/BBQ:
Best Cookout Recipes for WW - A tasty collection of the best summer picnic, party and bbq recipes including appetizers, sides, main dishes and desserts! (Life is Sweeter by Design)
Easy Slow Cooker July 4th Recipes - If you're looking for easy, healthy and delicious recipes for the Fourth of July weekend that don't require stepping outside and turning on your grill, consider plugging in your slow cooker. Here are some of our favorite easy slow cooker recipes perfect for your backyard barbecue: All of them healthy, delicious and Weight Watchers friendly.
Summer Slow Cooker Recipes for Weight Watchers - I've gathered together a great collection of easy, healthy summer slow cooker recipes for your cooking convenience. Most of them include nutritional and/or Weight Watchers Freestyle SmartPoints/Points Plus information too. Enjoy!
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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