Create the perfect Mediterranean summer spread with these Aldi foods, drinks

ALDI can help us eat well with their summer spread essentials you love that make it faster and easier to save money on all our grocery needs. Michelle Dudash, RDN, registered dietitian, chef and author of the upcoming book, The Low-Carb Mediterranean Cookbook: Quick and Easy High-Protein, Low-Sugar, Healthy-Fat Recipes for Lifelong Health, joined us today to share her delicious summertime menus and recipes, with the help of ALDI.

Whether you’re hosting a cookout with neighbors or entertaining family, ALDI has everything to serve it up right at home—for less.

One way Michelle loves to entertain is with her DIY mezze board. Everything she uses is from ALDI and won’t break the bank.

What Michelle adds to her mezze board: A variety of proteins, like hummus, cheeses, grilled chicken bites and charcuterie

• Never Any! Fresh Antibiotic Free Chicken Tenderloins, grilled on skewers with herbs
• Earth Grown Classic Meatless Meatballs: if you’re looking to switch up your diet this summer, try this meat alternative. The ALDI-exclusive Earth Grown line has a variety of vegan, vegetarian and plant-based options, including kale veggie burgers and vegan shredded cheese
• Park Street Deli Greek Feta Salad with Pitted Olives
• Emporium Selection Fresh Mozzarella in Marinade
• Park Street Deli Roasted Garlic Hummus
• Park Street Deli Chickpea Salad
• Southern Grove Hickory Smoke Flavored Almonds
• Friendly Farms Plain Whole Milk Greek Yogurt, drizzled with olive oil

Veggies and fruits: from fresh and juicy to pickled, ALDI has all the fresh and organic produce you need for your outdoor feasts.

• Mini cucumbers sliced into spears
• Snacking Tomatoes on the Vine
• Organic bell peppers – pop them on the grill to help bring out new flavors
• Great Gherkins Kosher Baby Dill Pickles
• Tuscan Garden Quarter Artichoke Hearts in Water
• Park Street Deli Kalamata Pitted Olives

Breads and crackers

• Specially Selected Mini Naan
• liveGfree Rosemary and Olive oil Gluten Free Crackers

One of Michelle’s favorite things about the mezze board is that it’s mostly prepared with simple assembly and keeps your kitchen cool and clean.

If you want to whip up a simple make-ahead recipe or two, try the following from her new book The Low-Carb Mediterranean Cookbook, out July 6.

Deviled Eggs with Basil and Pine Nuts

Michelle’s guests always go crazy for her deviled eggs, and this her my newest rendition. To make them even easier, add Priano Pesto alla Genovese from ALDI into the yolk filling.

Ingredients:

• 1 dozen Simply Nature Organic Cage Free Brown Eggs 
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (6.7 oz) jar Priano Pesto all Genovese
• 1 tablespoon (lemon juice
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Specially Selected Premium Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

Place the eggs in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a low boil over high heat. Reduce the heat as needed to maintain a low boil for 12 minutes. Remove the eggs from the heat and carefully drain the pot. Fill the pot with cold water and a handful of ice to cool the eggs quickly. Peel the eggs and slice them in half length- wise. Gently remove the yolks. Arrange the egg whites on a baking sheet lined with a paper towel. Sprinkle the whites with salt.

Whip the cooked egg yolks, pesto, lemon juice, and pepper in a food processor until smooth. While running the food processor, slowly drizzle in the oil.

Spoon the mix into a small resealable plastic bag and cut 1⁄4 inch (6 mm) from a bottom corner or use a piping bag with a tip. Twist the bag to push all of the filling toward the tip and squeeze to fill the egg whites with the yolk mixture.

Cover lightly and chill until ready to serve, up to 4 days.

Note: Use older eggs for deviled eggs when possible, because they are easier to peel than fresher eggs. Older eggs have lost some moisture content, creating air gaps between the egg sac and the shell, helping release the shell more easily.

TOTAL PREP AND COOK TIME: 1 HOUR • YIELD: 24 SERVINGS, 1⁄2 EGG EACH

PER SERVING: 64 CALORIES, 0 G CARBOHYDRATE (0 G FIBER, 0 G ADDED SUGARS, 0 G NET CARBS), 4 G PROTEIN, 5 G FAT, 96 MG SODIUM.

By: Michelle Dudash, RDN, from the book Clean Eating Kitchen: The Low-Carb Mediterranean Cookbook: Quick and Easy High-Protein, Low-Sugar, Healthy-Fat Recipes for Lifelong Health

Shirazi Salad

This salad originates from Iran and is used like a condiment since it complements meat dishes nicely, with crisp, fresh vegetables and a big hit of lemon. You can also use limes instead. Toss this salad right before mealtime if you prefer things extra crunchy. Or mix it a few hours in advance if you like a more marinated salad.

This salad originates from Iran and is used like a condiment since it complements meat dishes nicely, with crisp, fresh vegetables and a big hit of lemon. You can also use limes instead. Toss this salad right before mealtime if you prefer things extra crunchy, which is how my Iranian neighbor Sarah prefers it. Or mix it a few hours in advance if you like a more marinated salad.

Ingredients:

• 1⁄2 large English cucumber or 2 small Persian cucumbers, diced small
• 1 medium tomato or 2 Roma tomatoes, diced small
• 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped  
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄8 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice  
• 1 small jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced (this is a hot pepper, adjust as needed)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Enjoy right away or cover and chill until ready to serve.

Suggestions and Variations:

Jalapeno chile pepper or bell pepper may be a more suitable option if you prefer foods with less heat.

Summer Berry Tarts and Drinks

You’ll love the simple ingredients in this fresh dessert that is made with almond flour and high-quality berries. It contains very little added sugar, yet is totally satisfying. 

Michelle loves the simple ingredients in this fresh dessert that is made with almond flour and high-quality berries. It contains very little added sugar, yet is totally satisfying. If you’re not familiar with mascarpone cheese, you’ve probably enjoyed it and didn’t realize it since it’s the creamy filling found in the Italian dessert tiramisu. It has the texture of cream cheese but with a comforting mellow taste, rather than tangy.

Berry tart with mascarpone cream and almond flour crust

FOR THE CRUST:

Ingredients:

• Carlini Canola Cooking Spray
• 11⁄4 cups Baker’s Corner almond flour or meal
• 3 tablespoons Countryside Creamery Unsalted Butter Quarters, melted
• 1 tablespoon Berryhill Honey Bear honey 
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 cup Baker’s Corner Dark Chocolate Morsels 

FOR THE FILLING:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Emporium Selection Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
• 1 teaspoon Stonemill Pure Vanilla Extract
• 11⁄2 cups fresh fruit, like raspberries, blueberries and sliced strawberries 
• To make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat three 4 1⁄2 x 4 1⁄2-inch tartlet pans* with cooking oil spray.
• Combine the almond flour, melted butter, honey, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Press into the bottom and lower half of the sides of the prepared pans. Bake until golden and the edges pull away slightly from the sides, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool in the pans.
• Remove the cooled crusts from the pans. Microwave the chocolate in a bowl in 30-second increments, stirring in between, for a total of about 11⁄2 minutes.
• Stir until smooth. Drizzle the chocolate in the crusts and spread to completely cover the bottom and lower half of the sides.
• To make the filling: In a food processor, whir the ricotta and vanilla until smooth, about 1 minute. 
• Spread the cream over the set chocolate crusts. Arrange the fruit on top.

Suggestions and Variations:

If you have mini tartlet pans or one large tart pan, by all means, feel free to use them. You will need to adjust the baking time, since smaller pans will take less time and larger pans will take more time.

Make It for the Whole Family:

You may prefer to use 2 teaspoons vanilla or almond extract plus a drizzle of honey in place of the amaretto liqueur.

TOTAL PREP AND COOK TIME: 45 MINUTES, PLUS COOLING TIME • YIELD: 6 SERVINGS, 1⁄2 TART EACH

PER SERVING: 405 CALORIES, 19 G CARBOHYDRATE (4 G FIBER, 3 G ADDED SUGARS, 15 G NET CARBS), 8 G PROTEIN, 34 G FAT, 70 MG SODIUM.

Celebrate the kickoff to summer with refreshing adult beverages from ALDI

ALDI has their own award-winning wines and world-class beers and seltzers, many of which are under $10.  

These three drinks are some of Michelle’s favorites that check all of the boxes:

• Espritza Rosé 4pk Cans: Michelle love these on-the-go cans
• Zarita Lime or Strawberry Margarita 
• Moiselle White Sangria

Hurry to your local ALDI or try delivery

Here in Indianapolis, ALDI is reopening a remodeled store on Michigan Road and opening a new store in Speedway this week. Use the store locator tool on ALDI.us to find the store nearest you.

Whether shopping in-store or enjoying the convenience of curbside grocery pickup or delivery, customers can safely shop at ALDI for all their essentials.

For more fun information and tips, visit ALDI.us, “Like” ALDI USA on Facebook and follow @ALDIUSA on Instagram and @ALDIUSA on Twitter. Join in the fun and tag ALDI using the hashtag #ALDILove.

Fun fact: ALDI operates more than 2,000 stores in 37 states, and it’s still growing. As one of America’s fastest-growing retailers, ALDI is on track to be the third-largest U.S. grocery retailer by store count by the end of 2022.

THIS SEGMENT IS SPONSORED BY ALDI.