On a hot summer day, you don't want to spend a lot of time at the stove, and food has slightly different requirements than in the cold season: it should not only satisfy hunger, but also refresh. For this reason, light and easy-to-prepare meals are so popular in hot weather.
Make a cold soup for lunch as a main course. There are many recipes for such dishes: okroshka, beetroot, gazpacho, tarator and many others. The preparation of such soups does not require much time and effort, and their benefits are undeniable. Cold soups saturate, replenish the lack of fluid in the body, and refresh in the heat. In addition, thanks to the fresh vegetables and herbs found in most of these soups, they are rich in fiber, vitamins and trace elements.
Make use of the variety of vegetables, fruits and herbs available in summer. It is best to use them fresh in salads, because heat treatment destroys most of the vitamins. However, do not fill them with mayonnaise, try to abandon it altogether in the summer. As a dressing, you can use healthier products: olive oil, lemon juice, sour cream, natural yogurt, wine vinegar.
However, vegetables can be eaten not only fresh. The healthiest ways to process them are steaming, stewing, and baking. Vegetables cooked in this way are delicious both hot and cold, so add a variety of vegetable stews, eggplant or zucchini caviar, and ratatouille to the summer menu. Another advantage of these dishes is that you can constantly experiment with the ingredients.
Prefer more filling meals, but don't want to spend too much time at the stove? Bake meat or fish in the oven. To do this, wash and dry the meat, salt, sprinkle with pepper and rub with your favorite seasonings. Wrap in a sheet of foil and place in a preheated oven. To make the finished dish softer, you can pre-marinate the product. For meat, you can use wine, soy sauce, kefir, wine vinegar, mineral water, kiwi as a marinade. For fish - lemon, soy sauce, white wine. Please note that fish, unlike meat, cannot be marinated for a long time, otherwise it will lose its taste and fall apart when baked. Use herbs to decorate ready-made meals.
Delight your household with light fruit and berry desserts: jellies, smoothies, mousses, fruit soups and salads. With a blender or food processor, they can be cooked in minutes. By chilling these desserts in the fridge, you can offer your family a healthy alternative to store-bought ice cream.
Remember to drink more in summer. If you are tired of ordinary water, you can replenish the loss of liquid with compotes, fruit drinks, lemonades prepared at home. However, don't make them too sweet. Tea is also good at quenching thirst - herbal or green tea without sugar.
