With the sun shining and everything finally turning green, if you are anything like us, you want to spend as much time outdoors as possible. As the temperature rises we find ourselves drawn outdoors for all kinds of summer activities, it is truly a wonderful time of year. But when temperatures reach that 90-100 degree range (we know it’s coming) we would much rather hit the pool or relax indoors and crank up the AC. The absolute LAST thing we want to do on those sweltering days is even think about turning on the oven to Meal Prep! If you agree with us, we have some summer time meal prep ideas to keep you cool and out of the kitchen as much as possible while still eating delicious and healthy meals.
Here are some tips and ideas to inspire you to get creative and help us all survive Summer Meal Prep Season
Get Outside & Grill
Grilling let’s you enjoy the outdoors and doesn’t need to be limited to burgers and hotdogs. Grilled chicken and veggies are incredible and much more flavorful than anything you’d make in the oven. If you are scared of over cooking your chicken on the grill look into marinating or brining your chicken ahead of time it adds flavor and helps keep the meat from drying out. When it comes to side dishes don’t be afraid to grill them to! Just about any vegetable can be grilled, keep pieces large so they are easy to flip and don’t fall through the grate, if they are too small simply put them on a skewer kebab-style and a little oil always helps to avoid sticking to the grill.
Let Your Fridge Do The Work
With so much incredibly fresh produce readily available this time of year it’s a great opportunity to let simple flavors shine. Raw marinated salads are a simple side dish that taste so good with minimal effort. A great example is the classic cucumber or tomato salad. They consist of tomato or cucumber along with onions and a drizzle of good quality oil and salt and then the fridge does the rest. Let that salad chill for a few hours and you will have a delicious and surprisingly flavorful salad!
If You Can Boil Water
Ideally we could spend the entire summer season outside of the kitchen but sometimes that just isn’t possible, so opt for simple meal elements (protein, complex carbs) you can make by simply boiling water! Hard Boiled Eggs, Brown Rice, and Quinoa are all healthy elements used in many meals that only require one pot and boiling some water and can be prepped ahead, and in bulk for the whole week!
Go Raw
This may be too adventurous for some but fish like Ahi Tuna (sushi quality is important) can be eaten raw. Poke (pronounced POE-kay) is a Hawaiian dish that combines diced Ahi Tuna along with delicious seasonings to marinate and flavor the fish. Poke can be served on it’s own or with rice and veggies of your choosing for a full meal.
If totally raw fish is a little to scary for you but you like the no-cook idea then let me introduce you to Ceviche. Ceviche is a dish usually containing white fish that is doused with a lot of citrus juice and seasonings and left to marinate until the fish is ‘cooked’ by the citrus, leaving a bright tasting dish that is delicious scooped up with some whole grain tortilla chips.
We hope this inspires you to stick to healthy meal prepping even in those busy summer months.
Happy Prepping, Everyone!