You could start at level 2 instead of level 1. There's not much added complexity, and it helps the party have a few more resources to survive with.

There are plenty of alternatives to published adventures out there. Adventure Lookup shows 137 with a starting level of 1 or 2 for 5e. Some are free, some are not.
https://www.adventurelookup.com/adve...vel=%E2%89%A42