It's Too Hot to Eat - Need Food Ideas

I am not a fan (nutritionally speaking) of cereal. But I live where it is hot too, and in the summer I sometimes eat cold cereal with milk for lunch. Seriously... a bowl of Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies can be refreshing. :)

I also will eat a bowl of cut up watermelon to refresh myself.
Fresh cucumbers with a little salt is a cool munchie as well.

There are a lot of really great cold soup recipes out there ... you might want to try www.allrecipes.com first ...

BLT's ( the pre-cooked bacon /you can zap in the microwave) it really isn't that bad.
Chicken salad stuffed in a tomato.
Tuna salad in a pita.
Cubed cold chicken with crunchy noodles in a salad with poppy seed dressing
cheese and crackers and salami
Gazpacho is cold tomato soup it is amazing!
My mom used to live off "quick nachos" in the summer she would just zap it in the microwave
Guacamole and chips/salsa
3 bean salad
yogurt
cottage cheese ( I can eat this with peaches or with diced veggies!) Yumm
Sub sandwiches

Updated

BLT's ( the pre-cooked bacon /you can zap in the microwave) it really isn't that bad.
Chicken salad stuffed in a tomato.
Tuna salad in a pita.
Cubed cold chicken with crunchy noodles in a salad with poppy seed dressing
cheese and crackers and salami
Gazpacho is cold tomato soup it is amazing!
My mom used to live off "quick nachos" in the summer she would just zap it in the microwave
Guacamole and chips/salsa
3 bean salad
yogurt
cottage cheese ( I can eat this with peaches or with diced veggies!) Yumm
Sub sandwiches

*Taco salad (you have to brown the ground beef but I make it every summer, mix w/shred lettuce, diced onions and tomatoes, can of kidney beans, crushed tortilla chips and thousand island dressing)
*Sandwich night (all meats, the fixings)
*Sushi Take out
*Any take out for that matter
*Tuna fish sandwiches
*Tuna melts in a counter toaster oven (less kitchen heat. worth investment)
*You can make smoothies w/frozen strawberries, yogurt, ice, orange juice
*Ground beef in lettuce cups
*Pre-made shrimp ring w/cocktail sauce, baguette of bread
*Hot soup.......... KIDDING!

Potatoe Salad

Macaroni Salad

Fruit Salad

Yogurt with your Fruit Salad

Sub Sandwhiches

Wraps

Coleslaw and may different variations

Make Homemade popsicles with your son

Good luck and stay cool

How about cottage cheese with tomatoes or fruit? Or tuna, chicken or egg salad?

Sandwiches? Try buying different breads, meats and cheeses.

Cold soups?

Watermelon is the answer! Whatever you eat, pair it with out-of-the-fridge watermelon slices!

How about any kind of pasta salads. You can put anything in them and add any dressing. THey have endless possibilities. What a BBQ outside?? During the summer time I have my DH grill alot. I can't work a charcoal grill so thats why he does it. I won't repost alot that was already posted. But I make alot of what the other ladies suggested.

Every once is a while we will have a cold dinner here. Cut up apples and green peppers, cucumber, cheese, tomatoes, grapes, etc (whatever you like) and grab some hummus and maybe another type of dip and some fresh bread with a few pieces of cold cuts. Mmmmmm and the best part is that there really isnt any clean up except for the dishes you eat off of and the cutting board
So good and so good for you
Good Luck

Tuna salad on croissants! (I add cubed apples to my tuna salad--YUMMY!)

I love this cold salad:

1 pkg shelled edamame
1 can white cannellini beans
1 small container of crumbled feta cheese
1 TBL fresh rosemary chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic minced
olive oil
black pepper

Drain and rinse the white beans and pour into a large bowl with the edamame. saute the garlic in olive oil just until you can smell the garlic cooking. let cool for a minute and pour garlic and the oil it cooked in into the beans. add the chopped rosemary, black pepper, and feta, stir. yum!!! even better the day after you make it!

Cucumber salad:
(peeled, sliced to bite sized pieces, sour cream, a little lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 1 or 2 minced cloves of garlic - YUM!)

Easy Gazpacho:
a quart tomato juice (I like Campbells, but you can use V8), peel and dice up 2 cucumbers (I like bite size pieces), dice up 1 green pepper, mince in a clove or 2 of garlic (I LOVE the garlic), a squirt of lemon juice, a tablespoon of olive oil, a bunch of fresh finely minced parsley (some prefer cilantro - I prefer curly). Mix it up in a pot, chill and serve. It's cold, crunchy and delicious! (My husband likes to add some Tabasco to his serving.)

how about some spreads? hummus, babaganous, black bean spread? tacos with cooked but cold meat?

I just made a Mexican Chicken Salad that is to DIE for! If you use a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken it would mean nothing hot from your kitchen! Here is the recipe:

4 c. chopped cooked chicken
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
2 TBS. chopped green pepper
2 TBS. chopped red pepper
16 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
4 oz. can chopped green chiles
1 medium onion, chopped (can be omitted or put on the side)
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix

Mix first 7 ingredients together. Mix sour cream, mayo, and taco seasoning together. Put sauce over the chicken mixture. Chill until ready to serve.

You can then put this mixture on tortilla chips, lettuce, add tomatoes, avocado, olives, whatever floats your boat! My hubby HATES mayo and sour cream and was thrilled with this. Kind of like having tacos without any sort of heat. (I feel your pain...we have been in the 100s the past few days as well and I am 7 months pregnant...thank goodness for meals like this!)

smoothies are great with fruit juice instead of milk ... I do a 4oz cup of ice with juice add in frozen mixed berries and poof! yummy smoothie.

Grilled cheese with lunch meats (use a grilled cheese maker).
Grilled chicken (foreman grille) with a peach/mango salsa served chilled you can serve on lettuce and make a salad of it
Sliced cucumbers, shredded cabbage (2:1 ratio white:red), sliced red onions, sprouts, small sweet red peppers soaked in white vinegar, red vinegar, honey, seasoned pepper, garlic salt (lawry's seasonings), put in fridge for a day to soak it all in and serve YUMMY!!

Cheese plates (cut up cheese, summer sauage and crackers).

Fruit smoothies (very healthy!).

Fruit salad.

Carrot and raisin salad.

All the above can be served with a tuna sandwhich and ice tea.

((By regular salads I'm nixing chopped salad, chicken caesar, shrimp louis, caprese))

Gazpacho!! I LOVE this one (although it puts me in anaphylactic shock, so I can't have it again, because of the watermelon) http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/watermelon-gazpacho-re...

Shrimp Po' Boy

Sammies. I'm talking SERIOUS sammies. Cut a loaf of Como, or a baguette. Layer on garlic mayo, spinach, roasted red pepper, roast beef, purple onions. Or foccacia and mozerella and tomato and basil and spinach. Or whatever your favorite sammie is from your local restaurant. Cheaper by far to make at home. A panini grill, if you don't already have one, is fairly inexpensive and makes MARVELOUS baguette-wiches. Plain old Pepperjack, or arugula and roast beef and horseradish.

Asian Noodle Salad

- Somen Noodles cooked per package direction (HAHA... by "cooked" they mean soak the noodles in cold water... no real "cooking" needed unless you want them done faster. 10 minutes per soaking or 2 minutes for boiling)
- Fresh veggies sliced thin
- Pour over Asian dressing, stir, eat
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil (not olive oil)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
dash of toasted sesame oil

Combine all.

- Outdoor Cooking: BBQ obviously... but don't forget if you have an electric wok, toaster oven, slow cooker, panini grill, or electric skillet that you can plug them into an extension cord and cook outside!!! My favs are deepfrying in the electric wok. Tempura or Tostones dipped in guacamole!!

A house favorite is also virgin Pina Coladas. Just use the mix and add ice and whirl. Yum.

I also often go buy a few pounds of Gyro meat and then make tzatziki, chop up some tomatoes and onions, cook the flatbread on the griddle outside, and make 10 gyros for the price of 2.

I am wondering if you have a plug in fan, actually. It can really cool things down. We lived in an upstairs apartment and it was so hot and then we got a fan to circulate the air and it made all the difference in the world and it is usually cheaper to run than an air conditioner. Also putting a damp cool towel or neckerchief around your neck really helps too. That even works outdoors at summer camp! Hang in there.

I know this is an old question but I live in AZ and have asked this a few times also. You can look it up in my history if you like. Anyway, I don't cook at all during the summer. One of the things my family loves is tostadas. I buy the precooked shells, can of refried beans, shredded lettuce and cheese and some salsa or hot sauce. Cheap, cool and easy! Also nachos. Bag of tortilla chips with a can of chili, chopped tomatoes, olives, cheese, sour cream, whatever you like. Both of these are heated in the micro so no heat at all. We will also do burgers and hot dogs on the Forman grill inside. I can't imagine standing outside when its 118 grilling on a hot grill! HELLO!!!! Obviously those people who suggested that don't "get it!". Anyway, we also do chinese chicken salad, taco salad and sandwhiches. Good luck!

So many great answers! I feel the same way on these hot days.

Watermelon is the best

One meal we like is Ritz crackers with Laughing Cow wedge, grape tomatoes, grapes, and cucumbers

One mom posted making Popsicles....I agree. We stay stocked up on store bought ones and homemade ones. Here is a wonderful recipe from SkinnyTaste.com

Mix 1 can of Coconut milk lite (the kind you would make curry with, not drink) with 1 can of fat free evaporated milk. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and two tsp coconut extract or vanilla extract and a dash of cinnamon. Pour into popsicle molds and a few hours later you have a delicious treat. Easy for kids to help make and weight watcher friendly too :-)