Five healthy meals to beat the heat
Posted by kathryn in Nutrition
It’s hot here in Sydney, which adds an extra layer of difficulty to eating well. I don’t know about you, but the thought of turning on the oven fills me with horror.
However eating endless salads can also get a bit tedious. So here are five healthy meal ideas, that keep the kitchen (and you) cool.
1. Roll your dinner in rice papers
An excellent way of sprucing up vegetables is to roll them up in rice papers and dip in a tangy sauce.
You can add chicken, prawns make it vegetarian, or simply just stuff them with salad leaves, herbs, grated carrot and some slivers of hard boiled eggs.
2. Use leftovers in a frittata
Frittatas are my back-up meal. We often have them on Friday night, when the fridge is nearly empty. But they’re also quick and easy to make when the weather is hot.
Use frozen or easy prep vegetables, like spinach, zucchini and halved cherry tomatoes. You only need to use the hot plate and grill for about ten minutes, and it makes a healthy, nutritious meal.
There are basic instructions on how to make here and more recipe ideas here.
3. Make an interesting salad
It’s easy to let your salads become boring.
Sticking to the standard lettuce, cucumber, tomato is a recipe for tedium. So spark things up by making an interesting salad.
Try a tuna, bean and watercress or add some flavour complexity to your normal salad with a miso, tahini and orange dressing.
If you’re not a regular legume eater then put together a chickpea, radish, onion and egg salad or what about this luxurious zucchini, cornichon, caper and herb creation.
Using different flavours, textures and ingredient combinations makes your salad more interesting.
4. Have a cold soup
Hidden in the comments section of this post is a great little idea. It’s from the writer of Nourish Me and it’s a simple cold tomato soup. Fresh coriander, lime juice and specks of avocado are stirred through, no heat required. Quite a lovely idea.
5. Get outside and barbecue
Barbecues are inextricably tied up with Australian summers. It’s a lovely way of eating when the weather is warm. You’re outside, there’s little washing up leftover and barbecued food seems to match up beautifully with salads.
If you’re fed up with the bog-standard steaks, why not cook some prawns or Greek lamb skewers. Try some Omega 3 rich sardines or a vegetarian version like tofu or haloumi with eggplant.
Enjoy the food.
Kathryn