Too Hot To Cook?

I grew up in New York in an 1887 Victorian Home.   Why is it necessary to mention the type of house my parents bought?   Because in 1887, there was no air conditioning and my Dad, being the traditionalist he is opted to leave the house as much true to its roots as possible.   Translation:  in the summertime, inside of the house would be baking hot.  Sure, we had fans but when it’s 90 degrees and humid, hot air blowing around is far from comfortable.

On those hazy summer days, the last thing anyone would want to do is to add more heat to the house by turning on the oven.  Sure,  you could fire up the grill and have a cook out but sometimes your body is just so hot you don’t even want to eat or drink anything that’s not cold.

If you’ve got leftovers in the fridge, they can make for an easy meal on the fly with zero prep, which also happens to be quite cold.

However, you can also make your meal with the theme being ‘no cook’, regardless of if you’re creating a breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner for yourself.

Some easy to make ideas include:

• For breakfast, make a protein veggie smoothie.  Use water or chilled herbal tea as your liquid base, then throw in some kale leaves, some blueberries, two fresh raw eggs (if you have access to a safe source; or use pasteurized liquid egg whites) half an ripe avocado, and a dash each of turmeric, ginger and cinnamon.  Whiz in the blender with some ice and top with a dash of nutmeg.    Stick in a straw (and add an umbrella, too!) and enjoy on the go.
• At lunch time, create a chilled soup.   Cucumber slices, avocado, some of that pastured chicken broth you make and keep on hand (because you do that by now, right?:), a little spinach and some dried kelp thrown in the food processor and then topped with some fresh dill, served with some wild salmon sashimi is a perfectly Paleo, balanced lunch that’ll be sure to keep you cool.
• When dinner time rolls around, go for a cold salad with protein.   A bed of arugula, shredded radicchio and red onion with a nice portion of grass fed carpaccio or steak tartare and some extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top will hit the spot and leave you feeling satisfied and balanced but not overly stuffed.
• Lettuce Wraps make a great snack in the morning or afternoon.   Wash and spin dry Bibb Lettuce and fill with layers of avocado, shredded swiss chard, thinly sliced peach and whatever protein you have leftover in the fridge.

Keep cool and Stay Paleo!