The mercury is now on the rise and I am sure you all must be getting the feel of summer. The transition of the weather from winters to summers makes the body more vulnerable to illness. In addition to this, the body is still adapting to the changing temperatures. Skin and hair dryness is very common in this transition.

  • Reduce foods that increase the body heat- hot beverages like tea and coffee, high-fat foods, sesame seeds, bajra, hot soups, spicy foods. Calorie-dense foods tend to increase the body heat.
  • Replace calorie-dense foods with lighter foods like salads, fruits, keeping the meals smaller and more frequent. In place of hot beverages choose drinks that are cool like nut milk, milk, and smoothies.
  • Hot soups can be replaced with cold versions of them like a cold cucumber soup, watermelon gazpacho.

Watermelon feta cheese salad

Serves 4

For Salad : Water melon 6 cups, Feta cheese 200gms
Dressing : ¼ cup olive oil, 1tbsp lime juice, ½ tsp lemon zest, Salt to taste, Freshly cracked black pepper, ¼ cup mint leaves

Method

  1. Prepare the dressing in a bowl.
  2. In the same bowl add the watermelon cubes and mix well
  3. Arrange in a plate and top it with crumbled feta cheese

Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g |
Protein: 9g | Fat: 25g

Classic Greek salad

Makes 4 serve

For the salad we need : 10-12 cherry tomatoes, 1 cup cucumber, ½ cup pitted olives black, ½ cup onions sliced, 100g feta cheese or tofu

For the dressing : 3 tbsp virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1tbsp lime juice, ¼ tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp oregano, ½ tsp salt

Method

  1. In a bowl mix all the salad dressing ingredients and whisk well.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss lightly. before serving add the feta cheese

Calories: 410kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g |
Protein: 9g | Fat: 37g

Strawberry walnut salad

Strawberry walnut salad

Serves 4

200 gm fresh strawberry, 2 tbsp virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp crushed pepper

For the salad : ½ cup walnuts, 500 gm baby spinach, 50g strawberries, ¼ cup sliced onions, 50g feta cheese

Method

  1. For the dressing puree the strawberries and add the rest of the ingredients to it and whisk in a bowl.
  2. In the salad bowl add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
  3. Top it with feta cheese before serving

Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g |
Protein: 7g | Fat: 14g

Doodhi flax seeds raita

For 4 serve

Ingredients : 500g Bottle gourd (doodhi) grated, Salt to taste, 200 gms curds, ½ tsp cumin powder, 2 tbsp roasted flax seeds, ½ tsp sugar

Method

Add the ingredients in a bowl mix it well and serve along with meals

Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g |
Protein: 10g | Fat: 5g

Watermelon Gazpacho Soup

Ingredients : Watermelon  –1 bowl Seedless fully ripe watermelon, Cucumber – 1 cup, Tomato 1 cup, Red Bell Pepper ½ cup, Red Onion ½ cup, Garlic 1 clove, Fresh Mint 1 handful, Green chilli chopped 1 small, Salt & Pepper – according to your taste, Olive oil – Extra virgin olive oil is best option.

Method

  1. Cut watermelon. Discard any seeds if it has and chop into pieces.
  2. Seed tomatoes (optional step). And dice it.
  3. Seed and dice cucumbers. You can peel the skin as well. I prefer to keep the skin on English cucumbers.
  4. Chop red bell peppers (remove the seeds).
  5. Dice red onions.
  6. Peel a garlic clove. Chop jalapeno.
  7. To the jar of blender add the watermelon, red bell peppers, tomatoes, red onion, chilies, garlic, mint leaves, pepper and salt to taste. Puree.
  8. Add olive oil, red wine vinegar(optional) and pulse.
  9. Puree the soup to desired consistency. You can keep it chunky and coarse or you can blend it until it’s smooth.
  10. Taste and season if it needs extra salt or pepper. Refrigerate watermelon gazpacho for minimum one hour to 4 hours, so it’s chilled. You can even make it a day ahead and chill it in fridge.