Top 10 Meals: Easy Summer Recipes

Summer has not yet told us the sacramental "sorry, goodbye", and warm September, generous with its fruit, berry and vegetable abundance, is ahead. So it's time to enjoy light, vitamin-rich meals prepared according to simple summer recipes. The question "What to cook in the summer?" occurs often, because food in hot weather is special: the body hardly accepts heavily digested fatty meat dishes, pastry pies and hot borscht soups. And he will be grateful for easily digestible food from vegetables and fruits. Our portal will share recipes for such dishes, which, among other things, have another definite plus: they are prepared quickly and are inexpensive.

Vegetable Snacks: Simple Summer Recipes

The abundance of vegetables in summer and early autumn simply obliges you to make light, unusual snacks. When it’s very hot, but you don’t really want to eat at the same time, then such dishes will pass for the main ones. The simple summer snack recipes offered by our portal are also good because the ingredients in them are interchangeable. For example, no broccoli? Use cauliflower. Replace zucchini with cucumbers. In general, judge for yourself:

1. Broccoli flan

In terms of the amount of minerals and vitamins, broccoli can compete with many vegetables. Selenium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, zinc, copper. Vitamins of groups B, C, PP, K, U, beta-carotene. Broccoli should be eaten by those who take care of their heart, hair and nails, who struggle with arthritis, atherosclerosis, constipation, who need to remove heavy metals from the body.

Ingredients:

• small broccoli;
• half a glass of sour cream/cream;
• 3 eggs;
• bulb;
• salt, white pepper to taste.

Cooking:

• Chopped broccoli leg and onion boil until soft, then add the "rosettes" broccoli, cook 2 more minutes;
• remove from heat, drain water, set aside 6 whole broccoli florets, chop the rest with a blender along with sour cream and eggs; salt, pepper;
• Pour the mass into molds (for example, for cupcakes), put a “rose” into each, bake for 20 minutes. at 170⁰ C.

2. Pickled zucchini: a simple recipe — fresh taste

Vitamins of groups A, B, C, E, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus — and this is not all the wealth of the cheapest, but extremely healthy summer vegetable. It is recommended to include it in the menu for a problem stomach, cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, hepatitis, hypertension, nephritis, atherosclerosis.

Ingredients:

• 2 courgettes;
• any greenery;
• 1/2 tsp salt;
• 2 Art. l. vinegar (wine/apple);
• 1 st. l. liquid honey;
• 50 ml of any vegetable oil;
• pepper, a few cloves of garlic.

Cooking:

• cut zucchini (finely cubes, thin strips or rings), salt, set aside for 30 minutes;
• mix vinegar, honey, vegetable oil, pepper, chopped herbs, garlic;
• squeeze the zucchini, pour the resulting sauce, put in the refrigerator for several hours.

Greens, as it was said, you can take any for simple summer recipes. But try not to interrupt the tastes and aromas. For example, basil, celery, and cilantro don't do well together, so use one of the herbs. But dill is picky: they can be supplemented with any of the spices listed above. And, of course, the classics of the — it's dill and parsley.

Summer salads: delicious vitamin bomb

When else do you have salads, if not in summer?! In the heat, you need to eat as many cucumbers and tomatoes as possible — they help to maintain normal water balance. But in order for these vegetables to benefit, you need to remember a few rules.

When it's hot, you want freshness, lightness. In everything. And in food as well. Therefore, recipes that include fatty, heavy for the body, long-digestible foods, it is better to postpone until winter. And in the summer, enjoy light, healthy, full of vitamins, quick-to-cook meals.

Firstly, do not mix cucumbers with vegetables containing vitamin C (tomatoes, sweet peppers, parsley…) in the same dish, as cucumber kills ascorbic acid. Secondly, do not think that you can overeat salads without measure. Try to eat no more than a handful of salad at a time — with a larger "dose" it will be difficult for the liver to cope. However, you should not overeat not only salads, but in the summer you should eat less and drink more pure water.

3. Quick Cauliflower Salad

We will not list how many benefits cauliflower boasts. Believe — many, very many: there is much more ascorbic acid alone than in white cabbage. Cauliflower is indispensable in dietary nutrition, as it is recommended for gastrointestinal problems. Good for seborrhea, diabetes, bronchitis, diseases of the gallbladder, liver, kidneys, as a prevention of cancer (mammary and prostate glands).

Ingredients:

• small head of cauliflower;
• 20 g of any cheese;
• 10 dried tomatoes;
• a handful of shelled sunflower seeds;
• 1 st. l. fresh lemon juice;
• salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking:

• blanch the cauliflower florets in boiling water: they should be crispy but not raw;
• grate the cheese on a coarse grater, cut the sun-dried tomatoes into strips;
• everything, including seeds, mix, pepper, salt, sprinkle with lemon juice.

4. Italian potato salad with tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 2 pink tomatoes;
• 30 g cheese;
• 2 potatoes;
• ½ bell pepper;
• green onion feathers;
• basil;
• 1 tsp black sesame;
• 1 st. l. fresh lemon juice;
• olive oil, salt, pepper;
• white bread croutons.

Cooking:

• tomatoes, boiled potatoes, cheese, diced, bell pepper — straw;
• season with salt, pepper, chopped onion, lemon juice, oil, mixing gently. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top, lay out croutons, garnish with basil leaves.

Refrigerator — the easiest summer soup

It is difficult to overestimate the benefits of first courses for stomach health. But in the heat, hot soup or borsch is not very good. The cooler will come to the rescue — easy summer soup. The main condition: let the cooked dish reach the desired condition in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, so to speak.

5. White chilli with celery

Celery is rich in amino acids, essential oils, vitamins of group B, K, E, A, C. This root vegetable is recommended to be added to the menu for patients with diabetes. In addition, it acts as a natural sedative and can even slow down the aging process.

Ingredients:

• a small celery tuber;
• 3 green apples;
• 2 medium bulbs;
• nutmeg, salt and pepper mixture;
• 4 st. l. butter (vegetable/butter ghee);
• 1.5 liters of water, vegetable/meat broth.

Cooking:

• onions, celery, apples finely chopped;
• Sauté onions in oil, add chopped vegetables, sauté for approx. 10 minutes — until the celery is soft;
• add broth or water, boil for approx. 20 minutes, season with nutmeg, salt, pepper;
• Puree the soup with a blender (if it seems too thick — add boiled water), let cool, put in the refrigerator for 5 hours. Serve cold, you can with herbs.

6. Spicy Fridge with Pickle

The pickle is often underestimated and is simply thrown away after eating the vegetables. And in vain, because he — source of minerals and electrolytes. Cucumbers, thanks to fiber, activate intestinal motility, and easily digestible iodine compounds, which are rich in green vegetables, will help those who have thyroid problems.

Ingredients:

• 0.5 l pickled cucumber brine;
• 2 medium fresh cucumbers;
• dill.

Cooking:

• cut cucumbers into cubes, pour over brine (if too spicy — dilute with boiled water), sprinkle with finely chopped herbs. Everyone!

This cooler — champion in speed and simplicity. But at the same time very tasty. Ideal paired with young boiled potatoes.

7. Bulgarian tarator with natural yogurt

The combination of sour yogurt, vigorous garlic and juicy cucumber is invigorating, refreshing and just made for hot summer days. If you list all the useful substances of natural yogurt, you will get tired of reading. Let's talk about the main ones: calcium, phosphorus, iodine, B vitamins, protein, potassium, zinc, probiotics. Natural yogurt is recommended for those who want to lose weight, those who struggle with gastrointestinal problems, heart and vascular diseases, gum disease. According to the latest research, regular consumption of natural yogurt helps prevent certain types of cancer (colon, breast, bladder).

Ingredients:

• 400 ml natural yoghurt;
• 2 Art. l. sour cream;
• large cucumber;
• garlic clove;
• 1 st. l. olive oil;
• dill;
• 1 st. l. shelled walnuts;
• salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking:

• mix yogurt with sour cream, refrigerate;
• finely chop the cucumber or rub it on a coarse grater;
• grind minced garlic with salt, pepper, olive oil;
• cut dill, chop nuts;
• mix yogurt with prepared ingredients, put back in the refrigerator.

Summer dessert: cold and sweet

In the summer you want something cold. Even dessert. Ideally — ice cream. And even better — sorbet: it is not so high in calories. And of course, sweet fruit drinks are indispensable in the heat. Our portal offers simple summer dessert recipes.

8. Refreshing sorbet with your favorite fruits

The main advantage of sorbet (besides taste) — low calorie. This easy dish is easy to cook at home even for a beginner in the kitchen. It is perfectly refreshing, and thanks to the content of fruit puree, it is suitable for both lovers of tasty and healthy food.

Ingredients:

• 500 g of any fruit or berries (you can mix it);
• a third of a glass of sugar;
• a third of a glass of water;

Cooking:

• use a blender to make fruit puree;
• dissolve sugar in water, simmer syrup for 2 minutes. Cool down;
• mix the pirée with the syrup;
• place in the freezer for 3 hours, stirring the sorbet every half an hour;
• serve with whipped cream or fresh fruit.

9. Blackberry Lemonade

Fructose, sucrose, glucose, organic acids and a lot of vitamins — it's a blackberry. It is recommended for strengthening the body, improving blood composition, with atherosclerosis, nervous disorders, angina, stomatitis, heart neurosis, postoperative adhesions.

Ingredients:

• 1 glass of sugar;
• 1 glass of lemon juice;
• 1 liter of water;
• a quarter cup of berries;
• a few mint leaves;
• ice;
• lemon slices.

Cooking:

• Make a syrup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Cool, add lemon juice, mix;
• grind berries in a blender, mix with syrup and remaining water. Add ice;
• garnish with mint leaves, berries and lemon wedges.

Baking: simple, quick and delicious

And in the end we will curtsy to those who cannot live without baking. Of course, such food cannot be called particularly useful. But it's delicious!!! So occasionally and a little bit. Keeping in mind that in the heat you want to spend as much time as possible in nature and as little as possible at the stove, we offer a simple summer recipe for unusually tasty, crispy toasts from purchased puff pastry. When choosing puff pastry, pay attention to its ingredients. Supplements in the form of vitamins (PP, A, B, E) should not be embarrassing. Unlike various dyes, preservatives, flavor enhancers.

10. Crispy puffs with vegetables

Suggested Recipe — with vegetables. But such puffs can be made sweet — with any seasonal fruit.

Ingredients:

• puff pastry packaging;
• olives, tomatoes;
• seasoning to taste;
• egg white;

Cooking:

• cut thin layers of dough into small squares, grease with protein, put slices of tomato, olives on top; bake on medium heat for approx. 15 minutes;
• sprinkle the finished pastry with spices.

Such puffs can be used instead of bread with any dish — appetizer, salad or soup.

Vegetables, fruits, berries, which are generously shared in summer and early autumn, can be not only appetizing food, but also delicious medicine. After all, they are rich in vitamins, microelements, acids useful for the body.

As you can see, in order to cook delicious, light, healthy summer meals, it is absolutely not necessary to spend a lot of time in a hot kitchen and spend a lot of money on food. Even those who reduce breakfast, lunch and dinner to a glass of cold water or a maximum of kvass in the summer heat are unlikely to refuse savory snacks, vitamin salads, refreshing cold drinks and delicious desserts, the simple summer recipes of which were offered by our portal. After all, after such a meal, the heat is not terrible, because you feel vigorous and fresh. Bon appetit!