Simple And Healthy Cooking Recipes For Summer

Summer is almost here and the beach is calling out. You want to enjoy the outdoors and get a little tanned. It’s time for picnic lunches but you don’t want to get carried away by the burgers and hot dogs. Summer is an exciting time and you want to embark on gastronomical adventures. But it’s also a time to cook healthy, beat the sun, and stay fit. So pull out your barbecue grills, fill up your produce bins with crisp vegetables and juicy fruits, and get ready to spend more time outdoors than indoors.

Fun With Cooking This Summer

The best part about the summers is the availability of a variety of vegetables and fruits. Coupled with the chance to cook outdoors, this can be the perfect time to substitute high calorie foods with their grilled alternatives, which will tingle your olfactory senses and make you want more. Experiment with different flavors, textures, and colors.

Vegetables, meats, and tofu can be marinated and kept overnight. Choose low fat marinades such as salsa, low calorie yogurt with herbs, wine, and citrus juices. Vegetable, meat, and fruit kebabs are excellent substitutes for fat laden burgers and hot dogs. When it comes to meats, stick to lean cuts like round and sirloin cuts. To increase flavor without adding to the fat content, tenderize meats. It enhances texture and brings out the flavors of the meat.

Fondue parties and potlucks are ideal for weekend cooking when you want to invite the family and friends. Stick to foods that can be made couple of hours before and still not lose flavor. Potato salad, cold pastas, finger foods with a variety of dips can be made before hand and kept refrigerated. Edible flowers and garnishes can make even the most finicky taste buds drool. Rose, violets, mallow, and daylily buds can make a dull salad look appetizing. Insulated jugs and casseroles come in handy to maintain the temperature of food and drinks. It saves on heating time and gives you more time to soak up the sun and deepen your tan.

What is summer without ice-creams and desserts? Occasional treats are great, but if you want to have them time and again, try opting for fruit smoothies and sorbets. Home made popsicles made from fresh fruit juices are refreshing and healthier alternatives as they contain no added sugar and sodium. To pep up the flavor add a dash of lemon or ginger juice, it will bring out the flavors of the fruit and add that zesty tang to the popsicle.

And lastly don’t forget to stay hydrated. Who said plain water is the only way to get the fluids in your body. Opt for fruit waters. Steep water with fruits and lemon wedges and keep sipping it through out the day. Another combination that beats the summer heat is cucumbers, ginger, lemon and spearmint leaves immersed in water and kept over night.