It's hot! We hit 118 several days last week, and the heat has not let up much this week. People in our geographical area have experienced power outages, and the city sent out an e-mail asking users to conserve energy between 3 and 8 pm by using less appliances that take a lot of power (as dishwashers, ovens, etc.). Meal prep is part of our current way of life, but given the heat and the city's request, I needed to do things a little differently. That led to this low-heat meal prep.
What is low heat? Well, since we keep our house at 80 degrees already, that meant meals that created as little heat as necessary to make. The oven was definitely off limits, and I wanted to use the stove as little as possible. Additionally, I wanted meals that could be eaten cold, or reheated with little extra energy output.
Here is what I came up with:
Breakfast:
Carrot cake overnight oats (No cook/raw)
Stove-top granola (Not pictured)
Lunches:
Mexican chicken and vegetable bowls (Chicken cooked in the Instant Pot; eaten cold)
Sandwiches (Not pictured)
Dinners:
Ricotta/asparagus pasta salad with ham (Stovetop; eaten cold)
Spicy black bean and caramelized onion tacos (Stovetop; eaten cold)
Snacks:
Apples (Not pictured)
Bananas (Preferably frozen; not pictured)
Baked oatmeal (based on this recipe by Budget Bytes; eaten cold)
*I cooked this in the microwave for 14 minutes verses 45 minutes in the oven based on GE's microwave recipe conversion ratio.
Carrot sticks (Not pictured)
Cheese sticks (Not pictured)
Peanuts (Not pictured)
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Could I have reduced or eliminated stove-top cooking for this prep? Sure! I could have made raw meals, or solely used the Instant Pot, but this worked. I made the no-cook recipes at night, and spent a few mornings with the stove and voila, done!
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Readers, what are your favorite low-heat/no cook recipes? What do you eat to help survive the summer heat? Please share in the comments section.
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*For more inspiration, see Work Week Lunch's "Cold Lunch Ideas" blog post or no-reheat meal preps.
This was fun to read. Lydia’s packed lunch on Thursdays for “school” has to be something she can eat cold or room temp, as they have no microwave. Creative ideas you shared!
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