As the temperatures go from warm to hot and the air conditioner blasts all day long, I find myself looking for literally any way to escape the heat. This includes when I cook meals. There is nothing I hate more than sweating over a hot stove when I’ve already been sweating all day long playing with my kids outside! My husband and I both do not enjoy crockpot meals, so we have to get creative in the summer.
Salads
Our favorite salads are taco salad and cobb salad. For taco salad, the only heat you need is to quickly cook some ground beef on the stove. Once cooked, shred some lettuce, crush up some chips, and add the cooked taco meat to a bowl filled with your favorite taco toppings. Don’t have salad lovers in your family? Throw all the ingredients in a taco shell or tortilla.
For cobb salad my favorite no heat option is to buy a rotisserie chicken. I add that to salad mix with hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, canned corn, bacon, and shredded cheese.
Both of these are easy and filling options with minimal heat required.
Breakfast for Dinner
There are a lot of great heat-free breakfast options, and at 5 pm when the sun is blazing and I need to quickly feed the kids, bringing some typical breakfast foods into dinner time has been a real lifesaver.
One thing my kids really enjoy is cereal. We don’t have it often, so it is almost a treat for them. They love adding sliced bananas or mixed berries to their cereal bowl.
While not “no heat,” eggs make a filling and quick dinner. They cook so quickly you ALMOST don’t notice the hot stove. Almost.
Another kid-approved favorite is yogurt parfaits & smoothie bowls. They love to make their bowls look fancy while they fill them with their favorite nuts and fruit.
Kid’s Charcuterie Board
My kids call this “Crazy Mama Dinner.” I have no idea where they got that, but it’s an easy dinner on days they are about to drive me totally crazy!
I give each kid a 6 cup muffin tin filled with deli meat, cheese, fruit, veggies, popcorn, raisins, nuts, or fruit snacks. I have never heard my kids complain about this meal, so I’ll pull it out on a week we’ve had a little bit too much whining at dinner time! Mom and Dad get something a little more fancy, but still really easy and heat-free.
I hope these easy and quick ideas help you get through the hottest days of summer!
