Cool Summer Meals: Take the Heat Out of Your Summer Cooking

By MoreFood

Although we are at the end of a hot summer, the last thing you want to do is make your house even hotter! This blog will help you keep your house cooler and help you use your SNAP benefit dollars. We will introduce a main dish recipe and a snack/dessert recipe, both of which do not require the use of the oven or stovetop. Using the microwave helps to save on energy costs and save time on preparing a meal! Each recipe should take no more than 10 minutes to prepare.

Enjoy these meals on days when you are in a pinch for time and need something healthy and budget friendly. Be sure to check your pantry and refrigerator to see what ingredients you already have. This will help you save money and use food before it goes bad. You may have some of the ingredients in your pantry already, but you can always go to the farmer’s market or grocery store to use your SNAP benefits to buy the remaining ingredients you need.

Black Bean Burrito Recipe

4 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 4 tortillas, corn or whole wheat
  • ¼ cup red onion, diced
  • ½ cup tomatoes,chopped OR ½ cup salsa, low sodium
  • 2 Tbs cilantro, chopped
  • Optional:
    • 4 Tbs plain, low fat yogurt (this is a healthy substitute for sour cream)
    • For additional flavor, try adding 1 tsp of Taco Seasoning

Directions:

  • Heat beans in the microwave for 1 min or on the stovetop until heated through.
  • Microwave tortillas between two sheets of slightly damp paper towels on high for 15 seconds.
  • Divide beans, tomatoes, and red onion between each tortilla.
  • Top each with yogurt and cilantro, and fold each tortilla to enclose filling.

Easy Fruit Salad Recipe

14 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (16 ounce) drained fruit cocktail
  • 2 sliced bananas
  • 2 oranges cut into bite-size pieces
  • 2 apples cut into bite-size pieces
  • 8 ounces yogurt, low-fat pina colada (or another fruit flavor you enjoy)

Instructions:

  • Mix all fruit in a large bowl
  • Add yogurt and mix well
  • Chill in refrigerator before serving.
  • Optional:
    • Save leftover fruit salad to go with other meals, or as a snack for work/school.

Meals like these can come in handy on days when the “to do” list is long or we are rushing from one event to another.  Save these recipes in your “Quick Meals” file for easy access throughout the year.

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This blog post used information from the following websites:

https://www.snap4ct.org/black-bean-burrito.html

https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Easy_Fruit_Salad.pdf