This week’s episode is brought to you by Breyers® CarbSmart

Relaxed summer dinners are the best — until you realize that you have an easy main in mind, but no sides. Since we understand that having to turn on the stove or crank the oven to round out your meal defeats the point, we’ve put together our best tips, ideas, and recipes for easy summer sides. Here’s to ALL of your summer cooking being quick and easy — and delicious too.

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Easy Sides Make Easy Dinners

Sides are often an afterthought, which can make them lackluster — and also stressful. Feeling like dinner is under control and then suddenly realizing that THERE ARE NO SIDES is the worst. Especially in summer, when keeping it easy, staying cool, and being outside more than being in the kitchen is particularly important.

This week, we talk about all of our tips, ideas, and recipes for having easy summer sides at the ready, whether you’re meal planning or flying by the seat of your pants, cooking in the kitchen or grilling.

Here are links from this week’s conversation:

• How to cook grains

• How to cook quinoa perfectly (no bitter flavor!)

• Meghan’s favorite Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

• How to make an Everyday Vinaigrette (Stacie’s fave)

• Quick Pickled Red Onions

• Three Bean Salad

• Quinoa, Black Bean and Mango Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

• The Ultimate Grilled Zucchini Salad

• Canal House’s Marinated Zucchini (using cooked zucchini)

• Marinate Zucchini (using raw zucchini ribbons)

• Sour Cream and Dill Cucumber Salad

• Buttermilk Cucumber Salad

• Mom’s Cucumber and Tomato Salad

• How to Make the Easiest Pasta Salad (according to Meghan!)

• Stacie’s Cold Soba Salad with Ginger Lime Vinaigrette

• Warm Macaroni Salad

• Asian Slaw

• Summer’s Best Ever Mango Salad

• The time Bev from Bev Cooks made peanut butter slices

• 10 easy foil packet dinners to serve this summer (compiled by Meghan, more dinners than sides, but tons of inspo!)

• Shrimp Pasta in Foil Packets (more of a main, but to prove it’s possible!)

• Grilled Sweet Potatoes (whole)

• How to Bake No-Knead Bread on the Grill

• Grilled Herb Focaccia

• Grilled Loaded Nachos

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Get Social With Us!

Be sure to join our private Listener’s Group on Facebook (our favorite cocktail is WHISKEY — you’ll understand when you try to join). This week, we’ll be talking about the best shapes for cold pasta salad (and more!). AND FLOATING THE IDEA OF COLD SPAGHETTI SALAD. (HA!)

Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss a thing.

You can find us at @didntijustfeed you on Instagram, Facebook at large and Pinterest. And if you happen to love us as much as we love you (because y’all are very real), you can find Meghan as @meghan_splawn and Stacie as @staciebillis on Instagram.

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We Love Our Sponsors!

Breyers® CarbSmart

By now, you know we’re huge fans of Breyers CarbSmart — and it’s time for you to give these treats a try too.

Listen to this week’s episode for an exclusive savings on your next purchase of Breyers CarbSmart at any major retailer, including Amazon Fresh.

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Other DIJFY Episodes You’ll Love

If you loved this episode, we think you’ll also love these past episode. Binge listen, activate!

• Side Dishes That Aren’t an Afterthought — or Extra Work

• Why Pasta is a Busy Cook’s Best Friend

• The Definitive Guide to Grilling Chicken

• Grilling 101

• How Sauces Can Save Your Weeknight Cooking

• How to Make Nachos a Legit Family Dinner

• No-Cook Dinners That Go Beyond Salad

• Healthy Slow Cooker Cooking (Great for Summer!)

• Our Best No-Cook Meals. (No Heat. No Prep.)