# What are your favorite hot weather meals (that kids will eat!)?



## melissel (Jun 30, 2004)

This happens every spring--the warm weather hits and I don't feel like cooking, or eating anything heavy or hot. My mom was here yesterday and made meatballs and pasta for us all, but it was 85 degrees outside! I almost couldn't eat, had to wait until it cooled down a lot.

So what are your favorite warm weather meals? DH and I are salad freaks and would eat it every day, but neither kid will touch uncooked greens.

Help!


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## TwinMom (Dec 27, 2001)

Just posting so I know when replies are made, I need some ideas, too. Oh, wait, I thought of one--cold pasta salad. My kids have never liked it, but I'm hoping that if I offer it as a side dish often enough they'll try it, like it, and then it can be a main dish.


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## Rhiannon Feimorgan (Aug 26, 2005)

My kids like some kinds of pasta salad but not others. Their favorite right now is one I make with leftover BBQ slamon and orange slices. I dress it with a mix about 2-3 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, 2-3 tbsp sour cream, 1-2 tbsp EVOO, 1-2 tbsp apple cidervinigar, redwine vinigar or balsamic vinigar, 1-2 tbsp parmesan cheese, 1-2 tbsp basil, 1-2 cloves garilc and salt and pepper. I don't really mesure, just wing it. I'll also sometimes add chopped bell peppers and/or chopped spinich or other greens to the salad.

I will often BBQ or bake a whole salmon (we can get the small pink salmon quite cheep) but there is always leftovers. This is a good way to use them up!

Another hot weather meal we like are wraps of any kind. I will usually lay out a variety of fillings. Meat, beans, chicken or whatever, grated cheese, salsa, sour cream and various chopped veggies. The kids can put on (or leave off) whatever they want.


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## Mary-Beth (Nov 20, 2001)

1. A big salad with fresh strawberries and toasted walnuts.
Maybe some goat cheese on top.
A piece of pita bread and a couple pieces of sliced turkey.

2. Tacos.
Corn shells stuffed with refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, avocado or guac.

3. Turkey Wraps
Spelt oe whole wheat tortilla with a sprinkle of cheese, coked turkey scallopini, and your choice of cooked veggies like peppers and onions, or summer squash and zuch. Or, just fresh lettuce and shredded carrots instead of grilled veggies. wrap up and serve.


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## UUMom (Nov 14, 2002)

Ime, my kids like to eat much less at a time in summer, but more frequently, as they are so active.

I tend to do a lot on the grill when the weather warms. I don't like to heat up the house, so I will even steam things outside on the grill burner.

I also find a lot of non- meat things taste nice on the grill. Portabella 'bugers', salmon or talpia, veggie or turkey burgers, shrimp, chicken breasts or legs, all kinds of veggies on sticks (amazing what even little kids will eat off a stick lol. If you marinate zuchini, peppers, squashes etc, and then grill them, They taste unbelievably nice and summery. Just be sure to not overcook. Turkey dogs, marinated tempeh, grilled corn, potatoes cut in half and rubbed with oilve oil and sprinkled w/a little salt and pepper are other foods that do well on the grill.

Hummus, and plain yogurt with lemon juice and cucumbers served with pita, or rice chips is a favorite. It;'s a while meal with nice olives and roasted/grilled red pepper. Sometimes a whole meal can be made with lots of large fresh tomatoes, sliced thickly, & drizzled with a little oilve oil and red wine vinegar. My kids also really like large tomato slices grilled gently with sliced fresh Mozzarella cheese melted on them, and then tossed will some crushed basil.

My kids will eat lots of fruit & veggies i they are cut up. (Not saying they are lazy...lol I'm the same way). I am amazed at what my kids will inhale as I grill. lol One of our fav things is pulling fresh green beans off a vine and eating them right there. If you have some sun and a big pot, you can have whole meals of these in August! In fact, my dds won't touch green beans any other way!

My kids also eat lots of rice and pasta. If you add spinach leaves to hot rice, and toss with some seasonings, it's nearly as healthy as eating fresh lettuce. Finely chopped fresh parsely (and lots of it) mixed in with some hot pasta and tossed with lemon juice and a little bit of nice oil is very fresh tasting and not overwhelming in summer, too.

Edited for the typos, oh the typos!


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## Kodachrome (Aug 18, 2004)

Cold salads are a huge hit with our kiddos in the hot, hot Summer: Pasta salad, green salad, couscous salad, marinated veggies salad, and fruit salad.

Oh, and anything off the grill too: Fish, veggie burgers, grilled cheese (off the grill!), and veggie dogs.

We try our hardest in the Summer months to keep it quick and cooked off of the grill, or better yet, without the hot stove/oven inside in the kitchen.









Dips and wraps are other good ideas mentioned here on this thread already.


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## 20605 (Oct 11, 2004)

veggie night is a big hit in the summer - we all pick veggies we like raw, but I don't toss into a salad. Everything is chopped or cut up onto plates or in bowls. Then everyone mixes and matches their favorites. We might include cheeses or cold meats once in a while. When we can, we go to the farmer's market and get everything fresh for that night in the summer.

Typical items include: olives, cucumbers, carrots, celery, tomatoes, yellow pepper...

My dd hates dressing and leafy greens with only a few excepts - tho' the child will eat seaweed, so go figure, but anyway, hope this helps.


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## 425lisamarie (Mar 4, 2005)

I use the grill a lot in the summer. The kids are outside anyways, and I don't have all the mess in the kitchen. I make a lot of fruit salads, veggies that can be eaten cold, stuff like that.


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## Bex80 (Feb 8, 2004)

Subbing!


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## pixiesmommy (Apr 19, 2007)

My dd likes quesadillas- she can make them herself too with the ingredients set up in the fridge for her. We basically buy tortillas and I grate cheese and bag it up and then I cook up some chicken (or whatever kind of meat if you're a meat eater- you can do beef, etc. and use various marinades or spices). She puts it in the tortilla and microwaves it about 25 seconds and it's done.
Veggies trays and dips are great. Try different dips- hummus? ranch? etc....

We also make smoothies- try freezing sliced strawberries and tossing them into the blender with vanilla yogurt for a fast smoothie with no watering down from ice! You can add bananas, blueberries, raspberries, etc. (I don't freeze the bananas though cause they tend to turn black and icky.)

Our favorite fruit salad is: fresh pineapple in chunks, gala apple in chunks (skin on or off depending on your kids), grapes cut in half, and stawberries quartered (or cut up more if they are the big ones) and then mix it together with a drizzle of honey. It's better the longer it sits in the fridge and mixes. Also, the pineapple helps keep the apple chunks from turning brown.

How about sandwiches? Would they eat tomato sandwiches or BLTs? Grilled cheese with tomato? Those involve the stove, but not as much as baking, etc.

Another favorite is to use the crockpot (AKA slow cooker) for meals. There are great websites for recipe ideas- you can even bake cakes in them and they don't make the kitchen hot. If you have a bread machine, you can do a meal and bread without much work!
Favorite crock pot meal is roast. Get a small beef rump roast or some stew beef chunks and toss it in with some carrots, quartered red potatoes (or those tiny ones you can leave whole- I like the skin on, it gets very soft) celery, and either pearl onions or some cut-up onion. You can marinate the meat in a bought marinade or use a packet of seasoning OR use 1 cup water and mix celery salt, pepper, some worcestershire, garlic powder, and anything else that sounds yummy on meat and pour it over the roast.
It usually takes about 8 hrs on low or 6 hrs on high to cook.

Typical day for my dd is
cereal, yogurt and some fruit for breakfast
veggie snack or cheese and crackers, water
lunch is pb&j (natural and no sugar added) with more fruit, milk
snack of more yogurt or veggies and dip or fruit pop
dinner- a couple of veggies like steamed carrots and brocolli, we usually have a starch and most times have a meat. I tend to cook with lots of cheese too.
Bedtime snack- water and something else I deem healthy (I try to look at her day and think about what food group she skimped on!)

I feel like she's a pretty healthy eater, and not much of that involves cooking.

My 2c!
'Manda


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## Phyra02 (Sep 29, 2006)

Hamburgers, turkey burgers, veggie burgers. Salads, every type conceivable. Grilled chicken and veggies. This is all I can think of so far. I need to seriously think about my summer menu. Last summer I ate alot of cornflakes. LOL.


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## cristeen (Jan 20, 2007)

As a kid, my mom could never get us to eat regular old green salads. There were 2 that we would dive into headfirst, though. Every kid I've ever fed these to have approved.

Taco salad (needs something sturdy like sliced romaine or leaf lettuce, definitely not baby greens), with any or all of the following: cooked ground meat (beef or turkey), refried beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, chopped onions, tomato, avocado, shredded cheese, olives, green chiles/jalapenos. Topped with a dressing of mayo and taco sauce (La Victoria Red Taco Sauce, Medium is my fave) to taste. Served with chips.

Tropical salad: Any greens, topped with chopped/shredded/leftover chicken, a sliced banana, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes (optional), chopped onion, shredded coconut, and peanuts. Dressing of 1 c white vinegar, 1/2 c neutral oil (not olive), 1 c sugar, 1 clove garlic (crushed), 1/4 tsp basil, 1/4 tsp dill, 1/2 tsp paprika. This dressing is tart and sweet, but will cook the lettuce pretty quickly, so don't dress the salad beforehand.

How about cold soups? Fruit based, yogurt based, whatever... cantaloupe soup, cucumber yogurt soup, gazpacho, vichyssoise, bread soup, avocado soup, tomato soup...

We like pasta salads with lots of stuff in them... my personal fave is artichoke hearts, olives, feta, balsamic vinaigrette.

Broccoli salad is also good, and works well with bacon in it, chopped egg, shredded cheese, nuts, etc.

I like grilling in the summer, as pp have mentioned... one of my fave meals is something along the lines of a gyro. Make skewers of marinated meat, put it on a pita, top with some tzatziki, yum. DH hates it cause it's messy, but kids usually like messy.

Most veggie dips... tzatziki, hummus, baba ganoush, with something to dip in them, pita, endive, carrots, fingers, spoons...


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## UUMom (Nov 14, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cristeen* 
snip
s
a pita, top with some tzatziki, yum.
snip

Most
ns...


For me, nothing says July like tzatziki lol More than anything I can think of, this tells me it's summer. I'm not Greek, either.


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