Share your favorite light, cool and refreshing meals (nothing hearty or substantial)

No cooking. Bottle of store bought gazpacho. Olives, sheep cheese, bread, sliced cured ham, melon, cool wine. Easy peasy.

Sushi.

gazpacho

I love cucumbers but that looks disgusting, OP.

OP, Are you Baltic or Polish? That salad I s very common there.

McDonald’s drive-thru

Package of imitation crab, can of corn, clean lettuce, a pepper and shredded carrot. Dressing of choice. Enjoy.

Or a simple tuna salad.

I'm of Polish heritage, and we were raised to first slice, salt, chill and drain the cucumbers for a few hours before adding the salad dressing. That makes for crisper cukes and a less watery salad. Even so, I'm calling bullshit on this woman's claim that her version keeps well. Cucumbers plus salad dressing plus time = watery mess.

A glass of whole milk

Cum.

R8. Same.

Cucumber salad like that is very common - in the US. Have people never heard of this? Simple easy peasy to make.

Simple tomato salad. Use grape tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes on the vine. Slice them in half, toss with salt, EVOO and a splash of vinegar.

Angel hair pasta tossed with sautéed garlic & hot peppers, salt, pepper, and grated parm.

Pretty much any fruit salad combo works, but my favorite is mandarin slices, pomegranate seeds, and blackberries.

A few blades of grass.

Watermelon, arugula and feta cheese. Mint garnish optional.

[quote]I love cucumbers but that looks disgusting, OP.

Share a cucumber recipe that looks appealing to you, then.

I hate dill, but that is so pretty OP.

tea sandwiches made with sweetened refrigerated pickle slices.

I meant - refrigeratOR pickles. Where you slice cucumbers and soak them in sweet brine for a few days in your fridge. Drain and make sandwiches.

R17, this looks delicious. I don’t like creamy cucumber salads.

Fresh watermelon and berries with some crisp white wine.

This one is awesome

R8, same. Very thin slices. We’d salt and rinse them, then squeeze every bit of water out of them. Tomato and very thinly sliced onion, walnut oil and a little vinegar. It was best after sitting for a day in the fridge. It’s so delicious. I make it all summer long.

A Korean friend made a version with ginger, a drop or two of sesame oil and rice vinegar, It was delicious.

R16 almost made me puke 🤢

A salad I make is diced tomatoes, chickpeas, cut into small cubes avocado, cilantro, red or green onion (optional), juice of a whole lemon, a bit of olive oil and salt. It has protein, Omegas, vitamins and I chill and serve. The lemon juice is nice and cooling on days when the heat can make you nauseous. I serve it with some crackers to cut the acid in the lemon juice..

OP - no offense to our Polish sisters on here, but I am soooooo happy I was sent to this part of Romania when the company opened an office because Slavic countries are all mayo and sparse on tasty vegetables as I saw from my travels. Give me the roasted red bell peppers, the aubergines, and the endless array of fresh veggies and fruits here because Prague, for example, has been called the land vegetables forgot besides some cucumber and mayo (God forbid).

Why do so many new millennium recipes Include a mixture of wtf ingredients mixed together to form shitastic flavors?

Quinoa salad with roasted vegetables. Sometimes topped with crumbled feta.

Spring rolls stuffed with fresh herbs and whatever else you like, with a spicy peanut sauce

Zucchini noodles/zoodles. So good, I truly prefer it over pasta now.

Start a separate zucchini noodle thread if you have to go on with that shit.

Caprese salad

Lol r33

Sliced summer tomatoes and avocados with Triscuits and cheese. Maybe with olives if I want a bold flavor.

R33 ? There are two replies mentioning zucchini-based recipes. Are you ok? Or just not a fan?

I am not a fan, r37. Especially of people who say shit like 'I even like it more than pasta.' Take your zucchini and shove it up your ass. I'd say "using a repetitive motion until the white stuff comes out," but I am not convinced you have a prostate.

It's not a meal, but banana ice cream ("nice cream") is delicious and refreshing. All you really need is frozen bananas and a good blender/food processor.

Baked Camembert with fig jam on toast and a buttery Chardonnay.

R38 Lol you must be fun at parties. Do you have some unresolved childhood trauma related to a zucchini or something? It won't hurt you, you know. [italic]You don't have to eat it.[/italic]

I should have known: the banana non-ice cream is from the taste maven who brought us the zucchini faux pasta recipes.

I don’t have to eat fuckin ingredients that were never ever intended to be put together until millennials decided they must be because they fucked away their taste buds with too many dicks.

I don’t really buy zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash as a pasta substitute but enjoy them with a chunky tomato sauce and Parmesan as a meatless meal.

R43 Well, OP asked for light meals. Isn't food substitutions a natural go-to when you don't want something hearty or substantial? Both those substitutions somewhat mimic pasta and dairy ice cream, respectively, when it comes to texture and taste. It's hilarious that you're upset over it.

What are your thoughts on substituting cauliflower for potatoes? Or will the sheer idea of it give you an aneurysm?

R38 - I make real home-made gnocchi with a sauce that has zucchini ribbons that melt in real butter and cheese that I melt on top the.gnocchi with a dash of garlic. I know you would like it.

Not r38, and that sounds delicious r47 but hardly a light meal.

A light meal to me is a green salad, maybe with tomatoes and avocado to give it some heft. Or some fruit and a little cheese.

I enjoy a good steak tartare, as does my adopted daughter, Christina.

I find Japanese food the best in this category. Light, refreshing, healthful, yum. I want a Japanese bf who can cook.

Yeah when I want light cool and refreshing meals I turn to hot pasta and baked cheese. too!

R50 absolutely. I want to pursue a macrobiotic diet (aka the Madge and Goop diet) not for health reasons, but because the food just sounds so appealing to me.

For some reason, I find myself craving light meals more often then heavy ones.

Beans and a hot miso soup with plenty of tofu is enough protein and "heft" for me.

[Quote] For some reason, I find myself craving light meals more often then heavy ones.

Getting on in years, are we?

Thank you to those who did not say “easy peasy.”

Aguachile! Mexico doesn't get nearly enough credit for its light, cool foods.

Dilled salmon salad on toasted baguette slices.

Excellent salad.

Albacore chunks on any green salad

Halloumi pomegranate salad

A salad is not a meal, it's a dish.

Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad).

Any recipe will do. Cold, fresh ingredients. I personally toast the bread cubes slightly beforehand, but it isn't necessary, if you only plan to make enough for one or two meals. Toss lightly in a good bottled dressing (I like Zesty House Italian, but you can use anything you like), and you're done!

Of course, you can leave out the bread, but it's totally worth eating if you find a nice crusty herbed bread, or a loaf baked with whole cloves of roasted garlic.

R60 With a glass of cold chardonnay, for me...a salad is definitely a meal.

I like that site a lot, OP; I've tried a number of her recipes. All very good.

Julia's Child's Summer Dinner, of course — poached salmon with cucumbers and dill, chicken livers in aspic, buttered new potatoes, "very fresh spinach salad" and a savarin for dessert.

I've made two batches of Israeli Chopped Salad in the last week. I add crumbled feta, and it's a really satisfying meal.

R5 nope, just a Flyoverian who likes light refreshing meals

Bon appetit.

I just can't get over that some cunt posted baked cheese.

Sushi can be made to be either hearty or light so it’s a good compromise for lunch with people who have diverse taste or needs.

For light sushi you can have it made with vegetables with or without light protein like crab or omelette. For heartier varieties you can do Americanized Japanese sushi laden with multiple ingredients in same roll, like baked salmon, cream cheese, avocado, eel, tempura shrimp, teriyaki chicken, etc...

[quote]Toss lightly in a good bottled dressing (I like Zesty House Italian, but you can use anything you like), and you're done!

Bottled dressing? Ugh!

Toss your salad in olive oil and salt. When everything is coated, add vinegar and toss some more. Salad, dressed.

R68, I am that cunt. I’m not talking about a whole wheel of Camembert, you fat fuck. I cut a 1” wedge and heat it up until it is spreadable on a piece of toast with some jam.

Nothing with dairy, meat or alcohol in it is "light and refreshing".

At least r71's camembert is what it says it is, not frozen pureed banana calling itself banana ice cream. The banana "ice cream" cunt needs to be punched and deleted and then punched some more.

R71, ignore that bitch.

When I saw your post I thought it sounded divine as a pre-bedtime snack.

Sushi is definitely not a light summer meal in Japan. Crab and egg are just as heavy. The Japanese eat zarusoba or some other cold noodle dish when it's hot.

Here's my light and refreshing dish:

Garbanzo beans.

Grape tomatoes.

Baby cucumbers.

Feta cheese.

Dressing made of vinegar, garlic, cumin powder, & Tabasco sauce.

Vietnamese Rice Rolls

Now that's nice, r77.

I love how combative DLs Maiden Aunts get in these food threads

Another great dipping sauce for Vietnamese Rice Rolls.

r79 I love how OurMillennialNincompoop never has anything to say, other than to mock the eldergays. What did his parents do to him?

Shrimp cocktail

I like Vietnamese summer rolls a lot, but I don't like that thick hoisin / peanut butter-type sauce they give you. I prefer something thinner as well.

R83 I actually like to eat it plain without sauce but I think I’m in the minority on this.

I love how the pointless bitchery invades even a thread about light refreshing meals.

Never change, DL.

My favorite dipping sauce for rolls and many other things is chili sauce. Perfect for a lighter meal if you can tolerate the heat, otherwise use sweeter peppers. I make it with honey instead of sugar.

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How does adding a glass of wine to something insubstantial make it a meal? Wine is a beverage and it doesn't satisfy the urge to eat something. Also, watermelon and berries is not a meal.

[quote]I like Vietnamese summer rolls a lot, but I don't like that thick hoisin / peanut butter-type sauce they give you. I prefer something thinner as well.

Try the dipping sauce @ R80

1/4 cup fish sauce (brand I use is Flying Lion Phu Quoc )

1/2 cup water

3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice , or to taste

3 large garlic cloves (preferably mashed in a mortar and pestle but minced will work fine)

1 Tablespoon sugar , or to taste

1-2 fresh thai chiles , to taste

1 teaspoon crushed fresh ginger root (optional for another variation)

At my fav Vietnamese place they always serve the fish sauce dipping with the Rice Rolls, although I like the peanut dipping too.

[quote] How does adding a glass of wine to something insubstantial make it a meal? Wine is a beverage and it doesn't satisfy the urge to eat something. Also, watermelon and berries is not a meal.

For people who normally have a glass of wine with a "meal," it can make you feel like you are eating a "meal" rather than a snack or something to tide you over until mealtime.

I quit drinking, but when I did drink, alcohol (incl. wine) actually did satisfy my urge to eat.

Agree that watermelon and berries are not a meal.

R77 wins.

Some of you are nuts, others of you are “simple” and a few are interesting. But, hey, I’m a vegan so you all hate me, too!

R90, True - a glass of wine and a small bag of popcorn (or wasabi almonds) feels like a meal to me. Prob. due to the 200 cals in the glass of wine😉

Someone has never heard of Entree salads? Chicken or salmon or shrimp Caesar..Chinese chicken salad? These are abundant in restaurants you tool.