When the summer temperatures start climbing, we often don't feel especially hungry. The temperature extremes of the hot blasting outdoors and freezing air conditioned indoors sometimes takes away our appetite. Here, though, are ten good snacks for for when you feel like it's too hot ot even eat!
1. Chilled Hard Boiled Eggs: They're small, easy to consume and pack a punch of protein. Add a sprinkle of salt and you're all set.
2. Smoothies: The ultimate vessel to deliver whatever nutrients you require to last you throughout the day. Although smoothie shops sell you ridiculously large portions, a small 12 ounces is enough to get some serious nutrition without leaving you with a growly stomach.
3. Frozen Grapes: There is a severe cult following for this simple snack, just toss any bunch of grapes straight in the freezer. The end result is something that requires chewing and has a pleasant tang without being a milk-based dessert or snack.
4. Cold Noodle Dishes: It might be Soba or some Buckwheat noodles, but either way you can create sauces with big flavor and deliver them in a crisp, cool manner. Check out more cold noodle dishes here.
5. Ice Cream: Although it might not offer anything nutritionally, it is still the go to snack for many that are staring high temperatures in the face. A cool bowl of almost any flavor is usually more than welcome (even if it's only breakfast!).
6. Water: Even though you don't eat water (though we've lived in some cities we swore we did), it's a great way to cool down your insides and put off hunger for a little while longer until you're ready to consume a real meal instead of snacking.
7. Spicy Foods: Many will tell you that a good and spicy curry (Indian or Thai) is the way to go because it makes you sweat. We're still not 100% sure of the science behind this method, so if it works for you, awesome, if not, see number 5!
8. Jerky: Although there's tons of fresh fruit available during the sweltering heat, you might not always want the sugar (even if natural) that comes with it. A nibble of homemade jerky is a great alternative, plus gives you some substance unlike some of the other options above.
9. Watermelon: Growing up, Sunday dinner in the summer was 1/4 or 1/2 of a watermelon and a spoon. We're not sure if it was the cool melon itself that made us feel better or the eating process where we got a fare amount of it on us during the process, but either way, watermelon is slushy and juicy without busting out a blender!
10. Spring Rolls: We have to say up front that any food shaped like a burrito is a winner in our book, but when the summer sun heats up, spring rolls are an easy dish to throw together, especially if you take a few minutes to do the prep work ahead of time. Add your choice of protein and you have a complete meal without adding any heat!
Do you have one to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below!
Related: 7 Summer Sweets In 7 Minutes Or Less
(Image: Flickr member Stevendepolo licensed for use by Creative Commons)

Comments (21)
cold soups--cucumber, gazpacho--are a must for me
Love the ideas, and spring rolls is a great way to eat cold leftovers (I would never sit down to a bowl of cold left over stir fry, for example, but throw it in a spring roll wrapper and I'll gobble it up).
Love smoothies in the summer! We have trouble finishing bananas anyway, so as soon as they're ripe I sliced them up and freeze them for blender concoctions later on. Left-over pasta dishes straight from the fridge are always nice. So are sandwiches (my latest fave is avocado, tomato, basil, and olive tapenade on baguette). Lately I've been into crackers with organic cheddar cheese and tomato. And juice mixed with water or seltzer and lots of ice is a nice, easy pick-me-up.
Oh and cold tofu! I learned this easy recipe from my sister: cube drained tofu (not silken) and toss in a sealed container with a little soy sauce and sesame oil and perhaps a bit of chili-garlic sauce. Let marinate in the fridge for a short while and then snack away!
During the summer my dinner consists of plain yogurt, granola, and berries at least once a week. Satisfying, nutritionally sound, no heat and minimal effort required.
Frozen peas. There the perfect snack when you want something cold but not sweet.
I prefer mine after they've sat out on the counter and defrosted a bit.
put some tajin on that watermelon, some lime (or lemons) and you got 9 & 7 down!
And if you can't find tajin at your grocery store, pico de gallo chili powder packs more punch and less sweetness than tajin
You missed the whole salad category! We've been living on caprese salad for the last few weeks - it never, ever gets old.
And we've been making taco salad at once a week.
<at least> once a week.
(We often make it using vegetarian bean chili.)
My fixes come out worse than my original comments. "At least" once a week. I'm done now.
Hot one today here, my cold plate supper was perfect:
Hummus, pita bits, melon balls from a c'lope, slice of deli tukey rolled up finger-food style, and sliced cukes. Just a couple bites of each, perfecto.
I'm going to make a gazpacho sorbet when the tomatoes come in. Because I am awesome.
Ceviche is great for hot weather. Hurrah for cooking with acid!
Spring rolls and lettuce wraps are a summer staple for me and now salads too since I've got so many leafies in the garden. In summer I'm happy to subsist on raw crisp moist wonders fresh from our little patch of dirt or the farmers market.
Ah the bounty of summer...
Watermelon watermelon watermelon! I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday for the rest of my life. There is NOTHING more satisfying than eating a slice of watermelon ... or two ... or the whole thing!
There is NO such thing as too hot to eat! :) or if there is, I wish I had it. Summer eating could be a new style of diet... I like to drink hot tea on a hot day -- I think it is more refreshing than an iced drink! Yeah, I know, crazy!!
Cherries! And the great mint ice cream sandwiches from Trader Joe's. Popsicles from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Lots of watermelon.
Tabouleh!
homemade popsicles are the best, and if you use your smoothie recipe they can be awesomely healthy, too.
I agree with a comment above-- chilled soups!
This week I have been living off cucumber-feta-mint salad, as well as avocado-tomato-cheddar melt sandwiches, which requires only a few minutes in the toaster just to melt the cheese on the bread. Then add avo and tom, salt and pepper and bada bing.
Cold marinated baby eggplant with fresh herbs; Greek-style yogurt with honey or olive oil and herbs; Caprese salad; butter pecan ice cream; iced coffee; chardonnay spritzer with strawberries; yellow fin tuna in olive oil with cannellini bean salad...
i also vote for gazpacho! make a big batch and keep it in the fridge, pure pleasure when it's hot.
another summer fave is melon with raw ham (e.g. cantaloupe and parma ham). and carpaccio... if you can buy it sliced from the butcher, it's quick and easy.
one other thing - cold ratatouille. in the south of france, people eat it cold in summer with a quarter lemon on the side as an appetizer, it's delish.
What about cold sandwiches and wraps, pasta salads, and slaws?