Simple Summer Meals

New Orleans is getting a dose of heat and humidity much earlier than usual this year! I went for my morning walk just after the sun rose and within a few minutes, I was sweating, even in my elbows!

Somewhere around July each year I just stop turning on the stove and only eat raw or precooked but cold foods. It’s just too hot to even think about making a big meal much less eating one! But honestly, I’m a lazy chef on a good day!

I have been on my own health journey for a long time. My journey over the past couple years have included all things easy. Prepackaged, a handful of snacks for dinner, and many cold meals. Health and feeling good is about consistency. What meals can I make and eat that help me feel good? I’m just going to do that again and again.

When planning meals during the summer, I choose fruits and vegetables with a lot of water content, foods that pack in the fiber per serving, cooling foods (like mint and yogurt), and eat several small meals throughout the day. I also take advantage of local food as much as possible. We have a local farmer pick up that I can order and pay for online the day before. 

Drinking enough water is also incredibly important to keeping you feeling well during this heat. I alternate between still and sparkling water. I keep a case of my favorite Grapefruit flavored sparkling water in the fridge at all times. I add sparkling water to my favorite herbal iced teas and sometimes even include a little lemonade. This helps me drink more water. When I’m bored with my drink choices I’ll skip the water and get confused when I start feeling woozy and not so great by mid-day. I also chug a glass of water as soon as I wake up and right when I’m going to bed. 

So here are five of my favorite summer meals. Super easy. Make and eat or keep in the fridge and eat throughout the day. Every meal listed is just throw it together and eat as you like. No particular preparation. Grab a big bowl and then put all the ingredients in it, though some items may need a little bit of chopping or a quick sautee in a cast iron.

Watermelon, boiled eggs, cucumber, herbs and yogurt : Serves 2 

2 cups of cold diced watermelon

1 skinned, diced Enligsh cucumber

¼ cup diced parsley

¼ cup diced mint

2 cups Greek yogurt

4 perfectly soft boiled eggs

Salt to taste (brings out the flavor of the watermelon really well)

I love this for breakfast on a hot summer day. Also good as dinner when it’s just too damn hot to eat anything. 

Navy beans, Avocado, Feta Cheese and Olives: Serves 3

1 can navy beans

½ ripe avocado

½ cup feta crumble cheese 

½ cup kalamata olives, sliced

1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced 

½ cup diced parsley

1 tablespoons of avocado oil

2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar 

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Hot sauce

This is even better the next day. I eat this as a meal but is a good side dish as well with pizza too. 

Roasted Chicken, Beet and Apple Tahnini Salad: Serves 3

2 large beets skinned, diced, roasted, and chilled (or 1 can of beets)

1 honey crisp apple, cored, diced

2 cups rotisserie chicken (cold or hot)

2 tablespoons of feta cheese

Large bed of mixed greens

½ cup of walnuts

2 Tablespoons of tahini 

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

A rotisserie chicken is always on my grocery list. While I try to eat some of it right away when it’s hot, I love pulling it apart for different meals over a couple days. If there is any left over after day 2, I pull the rest apart and throw into a crock pot with lots of spices and stewed tomatoes. I put these in the freezer for later. 

Creole Tomatoes, Basil, Granola, and Yogurt: Serves 2

2 large creole tomatoes

½ cup granola

2 cups Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons of fresh diced basil

Salt and cracked pepper

I never miss Creole tomato season. This is a little twist on yogurt, berries and granola. Good Creole’s are very fragrant and juicy with tons of florals and sweetness, not unlike ripe berries. The salt and cracked pepper really bring out the more subtle flavors too. I add a small amount of granola to add some texture, usually just a small handful. Walnuts would be good too. But let’s be real some of these tomatoes get eaten right over the sink with a little salt, olive oil and a flaky baguette. 

Quick Tacos: Serves 2

6 cashew flour tortillas - warm in the oven 

1 cup of mixed greens

½ yellow squash - sautéed on caste iron before cooking the eggs

2 tablespoons hummus

2 tablespoons kimchi 

Hot sauce, Avocado oil, Apple Cider vineger

4 Eggs- cook in large caste iron pan

Scramble eggs

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste

Cook as an flat omelette 

Add a bit of hummus to each tortilla

Add squash to each tortilla

Add kimchi to each tortilla

Cut up the eggs and add to each tortilla, add hot sauce on eggs

Add a layer of mixed greens

Top with Avocado oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Salt and pepper to taste

I love this easy meal any time of day. It’s a little messy but the hummus adds so much. You can put the kimchi on the side but i love it right in the middle for extra spice and acid to my meal. You can replace the scrambled eggs with pre-cooked rotisserie chicken or baked eggs you keep in the fridge. This is a filling but also refreshing meal!