Eat*Drink*Cleveland: 4th of July

4th of July Round Up

For a lot of folks, their weekend starts today. To help you get ready for the holiday weekend ahead, here are some fun 4th of July ideas for food and fun.

Layered Cocktails adapted via Creative Juice

1. Choose drinks for layers based on color and sugar content. Check the label for grams of sugar. The highest number will go to the bottom.

2. Fill glasses with ice.

3. Add the juice with the HIGHEST sugar content first - this will be your bottom layer

4. Add layers of juice by DECREASING sugar content

Recipe for featured drink in photo:

white: SOBE pina coloda drink
red: Gatorade fruit punch
blue: G2 blueberry pomegranate

Tips:

Drinks only stay separated for about 20 min so make these per order or right before guests arrive.

Be sure to fill with ice – this will help slow the mixing of the layers.

Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad Recipe

Red White and Blue Potato Salad via Cooking Light

This is a fun addition to your holiday cookout. Check Whole Foods, Heinen's and Trader Joe's for the potatoes.

Photo Credit

Watermelon Salad via Cooking Light

Watermelon is a requirement for the 4th of July. This salad is so good it's one of my favorite things to eat all summer long. It combines so many of my favorite ingredients: watermelon, mint, feta and kalamata olives - yum! It's a delicious way to serve the juicy fruit as a side dish.

Flag Dipped Strawberries via The Farm Girl

These are almost too cute to eat! Local strawberries are in season so take advantage of the abundance and impress your guests with these easy sweet treats.

Festive Finger Nails via Glitter and Nails

After all the prep work is done, take some time to get your fingertips party ready. I'm not really into nail art but these are just funky enough for me. Absolutely adorable! For more ideas, check out my friend Michelle's blog All Lacquered Up. She had tons of fun ideas and tips to make sure your manicure is perfect.