No-cook meals to beat the summer heat

Tips and tricks for making filling meals without using the stove top or oven

There’s nothing appealing about standing over a hot stove or turning the oven on when it feels like an oven outside, and quite possibly inside as well. If you live in an area where air conditioning is uncommon or you’re experiencing a heatwave and your air conditioning isn’t cooling your house enough, this post is for you. I’ve come up with a list of meals that do not require cooking over the stove or in the oven. This way you can have a delicious meal without heating up your house in the process. 

1. Wraps: I love a good hearty wrap. Pack them with lots of fiber and protein to help fill you up and add some cool crunchy vegetables to beat the heat. I like to use whole-wheat tortillas, spread some hummus on them, add crispy lettuce, thinly sliced red bell peppers, olives, cucumbers, rotisserie chicken, and top it with some store bought or homemade tzatziki sauce. If you have an airfryer, you can use it to cook some chicken or meat/protein of your choice to still use up ingredients in your fridge without turning up the temp in your house.

2. Cold Soups/Gazpacho: Gazpacho, or cold soup made from blending vegetables, is a great option for hot summer days. All you need is a blender or immersion blender and some ingredients and you’re good to go. I recently made a cold carrot soup made with carrots, coconut milk, lemongrass, olive oil, white wine vinegar, and garlic, topped with pepitas. It was delicious, easy, and best of all, did not require the stove top. Just do a quick internet search for gazpacho or cold (insert vegetable of your choice) soup, and you’ll find plenty of recipes to try.

3. Fresh Spring Rolls: Similar to wraps, spring rolls can be filled with whatever sounds good. They’re a good way to beat the heat and use up produce or leftovers in the refrigerator. I like to fill mine with pre-cooked shrimp, basil, thinly sliced purple cabbage, and thinly sliced carrots. Experiment with what sounds good to you though. Try different proteins or vegetables that you have in your fridge, or throw in some fresh fruit like thinly sliced strawberries or mango for a sweeter twist. You’ll wrap them in rice paper that is softened in a bowl of lukewarm water, so no need to boil water on the stove.

4. Grab-and-Go Overnight Oats or Chia Seed Pudding: For quick and easy options that make for a great breakfast, snack, lunch, or light dinner, opt for overnight oats or chia seed pudding. For overnight oats, mix together equal parts oats and milk. For example, ½ oats with ½ cup almond milk. Then add in whatever extras you like for flavoring. In the fall I’ll add a tablespoon of pumpkin spice seasoning, mix it all together and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Sometimes I’ll add a dollop of peanut butter or a little homemade whipped cream the next morning for a little extra flavor. Plus the peanut butter adds protein. Chia seeds can be refrigerated overnight as well by mixing together 2 tablespoons of chia seeds with ½ cup milk of your choice; add honey or whatever sweetener you like to add a bit of flavor. You can top both the oats and the pudding with fresh or frozen fruit for some extra flavor. 

5. Cold Noodle Salad: A more filling and no heat cooking required meal to try is a cold noodle salad. I’ll share my recipe below that I adapted based on a few different recipes I’ve tried in the past. I used vermicelli rice noodles which can be softened in warm water. I was able to use hot water from my tap to soften the noodles enough for eating. Everything else simply requires chopping, measuring, and mixing everything together. I grated the garlic for a finer, more appealing texture using a microplane and wanted my vegetables sliced very thin; I used a mandoline for that. I’ll share the vegetables I used in mine, but choose whatever sounds good and looks best to you at the store. This recipe fed my family of three with a couple days worth of lunch leftovers for me. 

Cold Noodle Salad

30 minutes

200g vermicelli noodles

For the Dressing:

4 cloves garlic, grated

6 Tbsp soy sauce

6 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 ½ Tbsp sugar

4 ½ Tbsp sesame oil

Pepper, to taste

Suggested Vegetables to Add: 

2 large Carrots, thinly sliced

1 large Sweet red pepper (snacking red pepper), halved and thinly sliced

1 large Cucumber, thinly sliced

Edamame/Soy beans, out of the shell

Topping Suggestions:

Green onions, thinly sliced

Furikake

Pickled ginger

Sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Prepare vermicelli noodles according to instructions on the package.

2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together grated garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and pepper to taste.

3. In a large bowl, add your sliced and cut vegetables. After the noodles are softened, add them to the large bowl with the vegetables and toss well. Mix in about ¾ of the dressing.

   Tip: I like to make extra dressing and leave some on the side to add more as you eat based on preference.

4. Serve in bowls and add whatever toppings you like. 

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