Beat The Heat With These Refreshing, Delicious Dishes

Beat The Heat With These Refreshing, Delicious Dishes

If you’re trying to make the heat a little more bearable, try whipping up one of these dishes that will cool you down and take little or no cooking (a hot stove = a hot home, and no one needs that right now).

Image from Heather Yamada-Hosley.

Ready in 10 Minutes or Less

Sometimes it is so hot all you want to do is lay on the couch in front of a fan, so a refreshing dish that’s ready in just a few minutes might be all you can manage.

Cold noodles: I made variation of this dish using glass noodles. The key is to cool your noodles in an ice bath before chowing down. Cut down on prep time by using as many raw or prepared ingredients as possible. Instead of broth, this dish uses a chilled sauce to add flavour without adding heat.

Corn, tomato and barley salad: Use a quick cooking barley. You can sub in another grain for barley. Couscous and quinoa are good options. You can use raw or leftover grilled corn to cut down on prep time. A bright vinaigrette and fresh herbs make this a refreshing meal.

Hummus, pita, and olives: Grab your favourite hummus, fluffy pita, and olives for a light meal. For an even easier dish, use olive tapenade instead of whole olives.

Caprese sandwich: A classic combination that takes no cooking (unless you like your bread toasted) and can go from fridge to your mouth in five minutes. Since there are so few ingredients, try to get fresh, high quality cheese, tomatoes, and bread to make this dish extra tasty.

Smoothies: Easy to throw together with whatever fruit, veggies and juice you have in your fridge and freezer. A quick trick is to put together ingredients that are in the same colour range. For example,

  • Mangos, orange juice, and pineapple
  • Strawberries, blueberries, and fuji apples
  • Spinach, kale, and green apples

Ready in 10-20 Minutes

Veggie sushi: Sticking to veggies means you don’t have to deal with cutting raw fish and you cool down with water-heavy vegetables like cucumber and lettuce. You’ll want to eat these fresh since sushi rice tends not to refrigerate well.

Spring rolls: This dish takes a bit more prep and cooking than some of the others on this list, but can really hit the spot with the combo of chewy rice noodles and fresh herbs. Make sure to pair with a great peanut sauce to bring out the filling’s flavours.

Ready in a Few Hours

With a little planning, you can have some cold dishes you can pull straight from your fridge or freezer as a cold treat.

Ceviche: If you don’t want to deal with raw fish in hot weather, or want to marinate for a couple hours less, try this vegetable “ceviche” instead.

Icebox cake: Cookies, whipped cream and a couple hours in the freezer, what’s not to like about this sweet treat?

Popsicles: As with smoothies, tons of options here. You can make them on the fruity side or more cream-based, go for boozy ones or classic juice. Just make sure you give them enough time to freeze solid.


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