{"id":17718,"date":"2021-07-23T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T13:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=17718"},"modified":"2021-07-01T10:06:51","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T14:06:51","slug":"too-hot-to-cook-25-ideas-for-hot-weather-meals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2021\/07\/23\/too-hot-to-cook-25-ideas-for-hot-weather-meals\/","title":{"rendered":"Too Hot to Cook! 25 Ideas for Hot Weather Meals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it\u2019s hot outside, and maybe even hotter inside, the\nsoups and hearty casseroles we crave in cooler weather don\u2019t sound appealing.\nBesides, no one wants to have the oven heating up their kitchen or to spend\ntime over a hot stove on a steamy summer day! Some of these dishes can be\nprepared in the morning when it\u2019s cooler and some don\u2019t require cooking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hummus or other bean\nspreads<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Dip cut up vegetables, crisp fruits, and crackers or\ntortilla chips in homemade or purchased hummus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Roll hummus and chopped vegetables in a whole-grain\ntortilla <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Spread white bean dip on sliced baguettes and top with\nstrips of roasted red pepper<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Warm corn tortillas in a skillet and top with pinto bean\nspread, salsa, chopped tomatoes, and shredded lettuce<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Top a microwaved potato or sweet potato with a bean\nspread. Try a garlicky hummus on a white potato or roasted red pepper hummus on\na sweet potato.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandwiches \u2013 serve\nwith fresh fruit and a side salad<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Tofu salad with sliced tomatoes in a pita pocket<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Not-tuna salad (made with chickpeas, vegan mayo, chopped\ncelery, and spices to taste) on toasted rye bread<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Marinated tofu with sprouts or lettuce, shredded carrots,\nand peanut sauce in a wrap. Marinated tofu and peanut sauce can be purchased or\nhomemade<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Sliced bagel with nut butter and sliced fruit (try\nnectarines, peaches, or other fruit in season)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Vegan deli slices on a sub roll with vinaigrette\ndressing, tomatoes, and lettuce<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salads \u2013 make ahead\nand chill until dinner; can serve with a fruit salad and bread<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Potato salad with black beans, corn, and a salsa\ndressing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Pasta salad with chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, fresh\nbasil, and Italian dressing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. Spaghetti with a soy-sesame dressing tossed with cubes\nof baked tofu and steamed (or microwaved) broccoli<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14. Rice salad with adzuki beans, diced carrots and\ncucumbers, and a sweet chili sauce<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15. Peanut noodles with water chestnuts and red pepper\nstrips<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16. Taboulleh (bulgur with parsley, scallions, mint,\ntomatoes, and cucumbers in a lemon-olive oil dressing) with chickpeas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17. Three bean salad<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18. Shredded cabbage in a soy-sesame dressing with baked\ntofu or seitan strips<\/p>\n\n\n\n

19. Quinoa and bean salad with shredded kale and a cumin-lime\nvinaigrette<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20. Chef salad with strips of vegan deli slices and cubed or\ngrated vegan \u201ccheese\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miscellaneous<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

21. Veggie sushi \u2013 homemade or purchased<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22. Smoothie made with plant milk, silken tofu, fresh and\/or\nfrozen fruit; can add nut butter and leafy greens for a meal in a glass<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23. Vegan yogurt with berries and chopped nuts on a toaster\nwaffle<\/p>\n\n\n\n

24. Gazpacho garnished with croutons, chopped tomatoes and\ncucumbers, and avocado slices<\/p>\n\n\n\n

25. Rice paper wrappers filled with rice noodles, shredded\nNapa cabbage, baked tofu, cubed mango, and chopped peanuts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD When it\u2019s hot outside, and maybe even hotter inside, the soups and hearty casseroles we crave in cooler weather don\u2019t sound appealing. Besides, no one wants to have the oven heating up their kitchen or to spend time over a hot stove on a steamy summer day! Some of these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17718"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17720,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17718\/revisions\/17720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}