I love summer so much because it makes me want to eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and light meals. I typically meal plan for the whole work week on Sunday nights but that leaves Sunday night open and also our weekend lunches. Friday and Saturday nights are our times to go out to eat or have meals with friends.
As usual, if I don’t have easy go-to meals that are healthy and quick, I end up making what I consider bad choices. For example, McDonald’s or delicious pasta like ravioli. Summer makes it easy to have a few things in the back of my mind that don’t require lots of meal planning or prepping AND are healthy.
Below are the three categories that I like to draw from. Feel free to adapt them using your favorite seasonal ingredients.
- A hearty salad. Although you can go wrong with salads if you fill them with croutons and creamy dressing, a nice salad can be made in minutes at home without maxing out calories. I love baby spinach as a base or romaine lettuce. Pick a lean protein, like sliced turkey, tuna, or grilled chicken if you have any already cooked in your fridge (or those bags of pre-cooked grilled chicken strips). Add as many veggies as you like. I love adding cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, corn, and peas. Feta cheese is my go-to cheese for salads. I like to use olive oil for my dressing and sometimes a little balsamic. You can really get creative with fruits in the summer and add sliced strawberries, pears, peaches, or even clementine. If I go with fruits, sometimes I add pine nuts and use raspberry vinaigrette as my dressing.
- The left-over rotisserie chicken meal. You can always just make that your meal but if you have left-over chicken from another time, you can use that in many ways. One can be a hearty salad as mentioned above but you can also use it for a healthy chicken salad that uses avocado instead of mayo or you can make tacos with soft, whole wheat tortillas.
- Fancy sandwiches. I love making sandwiches for lunch on the weekends or if we are doing picnics with the kids. This summer, we have been going to the pool around 5:45pm since it stays open until 8 and it doesn’t get dark until almost 9 o’clock. I always use whole wheat bread or a multi-grain one. Hummus or peanut butter is what my kids like. I prefer turkey, avocado, and cheese (or light mayo if avocado is not available). You can get very creative here. Hummus pairs well with veggies. You can choose a wrap instead of a sandwich and you can combine the rotisserie chicken left-overs with a little bit of mayo, dried cranberries, and curry powder for a curried-chicken salad wrap.
Half the summer is still ahead! I hope you get some healthy and quick ideas when you are feeling stuck when choosing dinner. I would love to hear what your easiest and healthies summer meals are!