Healthy Meals You Eat Cold

[iamerm]

Most of the meals I prepare ahead of time require reheating. Does anyone have any meals that they regularly eat cold?

I'm thinking about this now for 2 reasons:

1) The temps have hit 100 degrees the past couple days where I live. When it's that hot, I don't always feel like putting hot food into my body.

2) It's nice to have something simple that doesn't require a microwave - something quick & easy that you can just pull out of the cooler & eat anytime/anywhere.

Anyway, any suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated.

[paolo59]

I love cold roast beef, or even chicken breasts sliced up on a plate. Perhaps a little sharp mustard on the side. A good tomato and onion salad with a drizzle of low fat Italian Dressing with some oregano and basil sprinkled over the top, fresh raw brocolli, squash, or cauliflower and a couple of slices of a good sharp cheddar cheese! Quick, easy, refreshing, and cool!

[NYkarate]

One of my favorites is sardines on salad with some Italian dressing. You could sub chicken or tuna.

[djflex]

Cold meatloaf sanwhich ftw.

Surely i am not the only one?

[latebloomingmom]

Cold meatloaf sanwhich ftw.

Surely i am not the only one?

cold meatloaf? yes, indeed a tasty sammich

now let me think, if you grill up a bunch of chicken breasts you can throw them on all kinds of salads all week.
oh, how about boiling some eggs for chef salads too?
hummus is a nice cold dip for raw veggies
tabboulah-not sure how to spell that but it's kinda a salad that is made with bulgar wheat and cucumbers, tomatoes and maybe some olive oil and lemon . It can be served cold and is a whole grain.
fresh fruit like slices of melon if you are eating that
hmmm. tuna salad, smoothies, whole wheat pitas stuffed with all kinds of goodies.
maybe a cold pasta salad if you are eating noodles?

[crupiea]

I had some egg salad sandwiches yesterday. very good.

Of course just now i ate a california burrito. fantastic.

[latebloomingmom]

I like to grill when the weather is hot and then serve it with a salad and some fruit for the kids
oh I was gonna say shrimp dont take very long and are good cold.
you can stuff a tomato with all kinds of fillings too
I forgot about egg salad
cucumber salad is good but might not be good for you. what goes in that anyhow? seems like sour cream.
slices of ham, some nice cheese, maybe some raw almonds make a quick meal too

[paolo59]

Somebody mentioned hard boiled eggs. Good stuff! 2 or 3 of those with a nice tuna salad with onion/apple/celery/tomato on a piece of whole wheat toast. Pretty good eats! When it's 103 out, I don't much like to fill up with a hot meal either.

[paqua17]

I pretty much eat everything I take to work unheated given I'm too lazy to walk down a flight of stairs to the microwave.

- Chicken
- Pasta
- Rice
- Chili
- Steak
- Veggies

You name it if it was in my bag it was eaten

[Dr.Griefo]

Great thread, great ideas...I like mixing a tin of tuna with salsa and putting on top of 1/4 head of lettuce, salt and peeper to taste.

[alex2363]

pizza............

[milo123]

Ive been eating a ton of melon and berries. The melon cools me off, rehydrates me fills me up and isnt too high in calories. (Im on a diet trying to lose some weight) Rasberries are excellent because I can forage them from around my part of town so ++.

[IronCharles]

I agree with the hard boiled eggs. I also snack on beef or pork jerky, and protein bars if I'm not dieting. A tin of smoked oysters is always good, too. When I'm dieting, I like to eat rice cakes between meals.

[dungeonmistress]

Generally my lunches are merely leftovers from the dinner the night before - meat and veggies unheated, or if I made a salad I make sure to not put dressing on the whole bowl, that way it's still fresh enough for lunch the next day with a little evoo and balsamic vinegar - and some nice tri-tip sliced into it.

[Getsum]

Many different types of cold sandwiches:

Roast beef
Turkey
Ham
Tuna
Chicken Salad

I also like cold pork chops and leftover turkey for some odd reason.

Cold pizza is great.

Cold meatloaf is great but I haven't had that in ages. Putting in a request first thing in the morning though.

[GhostAvenger620]

Romaine, ragadiccio, spinach and sardines with garlic, olive oil and a dash of sea salt and cayenne. Yum, yum!!!

[uncbob]

I love cold red salmon right out of the can

I also get a roasted turkey breast from the local Super Market and carve it up into 6 or more servings for my wife and I --keep it refrigerated and use in a salad

[hikeyosemite]

I lean toward vegan and vegetarian because I have atherosclerosis (and keeping saturated fats out of one's diet is always good), so here are some of my faves:

nonfat cottage cheese and nonfat yogurt

hummus with whole grain pita bread or delicious Indian flat bread (can't recall the name--maybe naan?)

quinoa salad with garlic, veggies and olive oil/lemon juice dressing

(Be careful of quinoa. It's a supergrain nutritionally, but if it's not rinsed before cooking, some folks are sensitive to the saponin residues.)

peanut butter toast with sliced bananas (okay, somewhat cooked, but not warm to eat)

other nut butters on toast with banana and sunflower seeds (adding crispy lettuce can be good, too)

smoked cold salmon or trout with a bit of lowfat cream cheese on a whole grain bagel (fresh dill is nice too)--not vegetarian, but good for you

for breakfast, cold muesli (oats with raisins, nuts, etc.) and skim milk or soy/almond/rice milk

fruits and raw veggies, of course--raw greenbeans, peppers, carrots mixed greens, snap peas, etc., etc.

[kenjen]

As far as meat is concerned I can eat any of it cold, no problem. One time my wife made meatballs. My step son was over the next day. I took the meatballs out of the frig and started eating them. He said gross. I said don't knock it till you try it. He said never. A month later he said he tried it and liked it lol.

[tobymax123]

Excellent suggestions here. For chicken, cold is my favorite way to eat it. It's kind of impossible to slice a cold chicken breast with the plastic utensils we have at the office, so if I'm eating in private I just pick it up with my hands and dig in.

I'm not much of a pork chop fan, but I have to admit a cold pork chop is pretty darn good.

And yes, a cold meatloaf sandwich is one of life's greatest pleasures. I put mustard and a leaf of iceberg lettuce on it. I have an excellent healthy recipe for turkey meatloaf that you would never know is turkey instead of beef.

[Zjunky]

Several good suggestions above, but one of my favorites hasn't been mentioned yet.

Pork tenderloin. Marinate and bake one day and you can get a dozen meals out if it. Refrigerate a couple days worth and freeze the rest.

[iamerm]

Thanks for ALL of the suggestions!

I put mustard and a leaf of iceberg lettuce on it. I have an excellent healthy recipe for turkey meatloaf that you would never know is turkey instead of beef.

Meatloaf keeps coming up. Anyone care to post their meatloaf recipes?

[BlondeAmazon]

I know alot of you avoid fruit like the plague but I am mostly vegan now and its hotter than hell here in south florida and I am LOVING my blender

One apple skinned
15 dates pitted
ice and water-- nummy

15 dates pitted
2 mangos skinned and tossed in
ice and water-- NUMMY even more

Bananas and strawberries
ice and water

I suppose you could add protein to any of these and there are tons more combos that are good--

4 kiwi and 4 stalks of celery with 2 bananas is grubbin also...

[CaleW]

Kangaroo snags are loaded with protein and go down well hot or refrigerated after cooking, potato salads with plenty of extra celery and low fat ingredients are packed with carbs, bagels and cottage cheese is another good one! Just gotta go back to basics!!

[pvsampson]

And how much roo do you actually eat?? Snags or not.

[yettiatcpg]

My wife makes lasagna and I just eat it cold the next day in my lunch. it has enough cheese and meat in it that it makes a nice cold lunch. I also like her chicken fettuccine cold.
for a couple tips the french like to prep meals for cold consumption, you may find several recipes for cold served meals searching things that way.

[BloodySalad]

I have a cunning plan...

Why not have the hot food you like but put it with a nice, cold salad?

Yes. The best of both worlds is available to you my friend.

[andreynort]

meat+eggs = super

[pharmamarketer]

Anchovies! Steak, chicken, protein shake, HB eggs

[becksy]

Crustless Quiche

no crust. olive oil to fry 1 onion chopped Capsicum, chopped. (Amount to your liking) 3 eggs (at room temperature) 1 & 1/2 cups of milk 1/2 cup of self raising flour, I use wholemeal self raising flour 1 cup light grated cheese (you can leave it out) Salt and pepper Ham or bacon. ( can be left out ) I use about 500 grams for 6 quiches. Vegetables of your choice. (I put in a 1 kg bag of frozen diced mixed vegetables and frozen spinach.)

1. Preheat oven to 200c (390F) 2. Spray 24cm quiche dish with cooking spray (do not use olive oil for this part, it makes the quiche stick to the dish) 3. Heat olive oil in a non stick pan over medium heat and fry vegetables and ham. 5. Cook stirring often until vegetables are cooked and tender. 6. Whisk flour, eggs, milk, cheese and salt and pepper together until well combined. Stir in veg and meat mixture. 7. Pour into quiche dish and bake for 30-40 mins or until set in centre. Allow to stand for 10 mins before serving. I usually wait until mine cool then cut them into quarters and bag and freeze them.