Summer Foods!
Isn’t it so funny how your appetite changes so much in the summer as opposed to say, the winter? In the winter it’s like I want to eat all the time and crave soups and stews and just heavier meals in general. In the summer, my appetite wanes quite a bit and all I want are really light and refreshing meals. And if I spend any time in the hot sun, man, my appetite pretty much disappears, so I have to really make sure that I’m eating properly. Here are some things that I love to eat in the summer:
Bean Soups:
(I eat these soups indoors, not outside, since I don’t think hot foods – in terms of temperature not spice – would make me feel any better outside in the sun!)
Oh man, I love this bean soup! Seriously, I want to make it all the time. And one of the reasons why is because it’s one of those meals you just throw together and takes five minutes to make. So my friend actually came up with this “recipe,” so I’ll ask if it’s okay to post it. But really, there was nothing to it. He just combined a few ingredients he thought would go together, and there you go, an amazing meal! It was really funny – we thought it would just be okay, and then we tasted it, and whoa, this is definitely a staple meal! And I liked this soup so much that I think it would taste perfect cold, but haven’t tested (just wrote “tasted,” haha!) that theory out yet!
Another bean soup I love is:
Now, I actually don’t like lentils all that much (prefer kidney beans) but I tried this soup and really liked it.
The nice thing about it is that it is so easy to make since all you have to do is tear the packet a little and heat it in the microwave:
It’s perfect on those days when you just don’t feel like cooking or it’s too hot to turn on the oven or stove. But I do think that the next order of business is learning how to make it (shouldn’t be too hard, there are only a few ingredients) and then maybe when it’s not so hot outside I can make a big batch of it and then just reheat it the next few days. And the nice thing about making foods from scratch is that it’s less expensive, and with soups, you can control the sodium level! So it’s a win-win all around!
Smoothies
I love, love, love smoothies! My favorite one to make is a strawberry smoothie:
Easy peasy to make – just blend together frozen strawberries, water, and a little bit of apple sauce. The apple sauce is the key ingredient – it makes the smoothie nice and thick!
I love drinking smoothies when it’s really hot outside because they are so refreshing! I find it really hard to eat anything outside, so typically I just drink smoothies. In the winter I always eat a snack or meal when I have my smoothies, because even though the sugars in it are all natural (just use frozen strawberries without any added sugar and all natural apple sauce without any added sugar) it helps to eat other things along with it so as not to just be adding a bunch of sugar to your body all at once. In the summer, though, I pretty much just drink the smoothies by themselves since I find a lot of foods to heavy to eat with it. And sometimes if I’m out for a long time, a smoothie is the only thing I’ll have in my system – so I’ve been thinking that maybe in the summertime I’ll add protein powder to my smoothies to help make it more balanced.
What are you favorite protein powders? I’ve tried gotten smoothies before with protein powder from smoothie places, but sometimes they tend to kind of have a chalky taste to it? Do you have any recommendations as to ones that blend in really well to your drink?
Watermelon
Ah, watermelon! So refreshing! You know, even though I drink a ton of water when I’m outside, it almost feels like it does nothing for me since I just drink it and then it will cool me off a little and will help with hydration but not so much with my appetite (because sometimes you want to eat but everything is too heavy, or even if your appetite is not there, you know you should eat something). Watermelon is awesome because it cools you off, hydrates you, and is so refreshing! And having something with a little flavor is nice! I think that’s why in the summertime I like having drinks with flavor – smoothies and things like gatorade – not just water, because since they have some flavor and things like vitamins/minerals/electrolytes, they help make you feel a lot better and like you actually drank something since it had taste, whereas with water it hydrates you, but then it’s like you want something more.
Avocado
At nighttime, when it gets cooler, I can eat things that are a bit more filling, such as avocado.
Try adding some ground black pepper and garlic powder to it – it makes it taste even better. Just don’t mix the avocado together with the spices or else you won’t be able to taste it!
If you want to make it a meal, not a snack, then add some watermelon on the side, plus half a bagel (or a whole bagel, depending on your appetite). Then you can either eat the avocado on the side or spread a little bit on your bagel instead of cream cheese.
Banana Smoothie
Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while knows that I go in phases with drinking milk. Part of that is because I only like to drink milk with breakfast foods and desserts. I also tend to go in phases with breakfast foods, so if I don’t have breakfast foods I won’t have any milk. And then with desserts, if I’m eating a cookie or something, I won’t plate it even though I know I should. So if I don’t plate my dessert, like a cookie, then it will be gone before I even remember to pour myself a glass of milk!
Anyway, I decided that maybe I need to try adding milk to a smoothie, because I love smoothies and always look forward to drinking them! So I blended together some milk along with a frozen banana, and oh my goodness, it tasted so good! As in, it tasted so good that I actually want to drink milk now! And all the smoothie was was just two ingredients – the milk and frozen banana. Awesome! And if I want to change it up a bit, I can always add a little peanut butter to it for some more flavor. But as it is, I think it’s fine for right now. I like to have this smoothie for dessert since it’s really filling and satisfies my sweet tooth, yet is not so sweet that it has me craving more sweets!
Other staple foods in the summer:
- Pretzels
- Crackers
- Nuts – peanuts, cashews, walnuts
- Veggie Sandwiches
- Bell peppers
- Cucumbers
- Salads
- Fruits
What are your favorite foods to eat in the summer?
July 16th, 2010 at 9:02 am
Frozen Yogurt is a must in the summer..I try to limit myself to once a week though
. And SALADS and type of green goodness will do!! And yes FRUIT, all and any fruit!
July 17th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Mmmm, I love frozen yogurt! Such a good summertime treat!