It’s summer (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), the sun is calling, and even I don’t always feel like cooking. So, here’s a list of no cook meals for one person that require no boiling, sautéing, roasting or toasting! And, since there’s no cooking, you can make them all in less than 15 minutes.
Fruit and Vegetable Salads
Cottage Cheese Yogurt and Fruit Salad
Healthy and easy to make. If you have frozen mango, you don’t even have to chop anything. Just defrost, pour everything into a bowl. Done!
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Balsamic Dressing and Feta Cheese
This salad is both colorful and tasty. The sweet fruit contrasts with the tangy cheese and the vinegar.
Blueberry Spinach Salad with Feta Cheese and Walnuts
I liked the strawberry salad so much I decided to make a variation with blueberries and add some mushrooms and walnuts too.
Chicken and Fish Salads
These two require a bit of help from some leftover chicken or your local market to get a rotisserie chicken
Single Serving Asian Chicken Salad with Cabbage Recipe
Colorful, slightly spicy, and appealing even when the heat spoils your appetite.
Chicken Salad Recipe with Greek Yogurt and Dried Currants
No mayo needed to make this chicken recipe. Instead it has Greek yogurt and currants (or raisins or even dried cranberries if you prefer).
Italian Tuna with Beans: 1 can white beans, 1 can tuna, 1/4 C chopped red onion, romaine lettuce, 1 sliced tomato, 1 small mini bell pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Drain the beans, rinse, and pour into a bowl. Add the tuna, and onion. Mix together. Serve on top of romaine lettuce with tomato and pepper. Season to taste. Make dressing with 3T olive oil and 2T lemon juice. Pour over tuna.
Sandwiches
Peanut Butter and Cucumber on Rye
I know this sounds weird, but it’s really good. My mom invented it. The cucumber gives it crunch and the peanut butter makes it salty and slightly sweet (if you use the sweetened kind). Make sure to use rye bread.
Italian Tuna Sandwich: one can of tuna (packed in olive oil), 2 tsp chopped red onion (or scallion), 1/2 tsp capers, olive oil to taste, 2 T lemon juice, 1 T basil leaves (chopped), plus salt and pepper to taste. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Eat as a sandwich, or serve with a green salad.
Turkey and Avocado Sandwich: Sliced deli turkey, sliced avocado, roasted red peppers, honey mustard on whole grain (or even better 7-grain) bread. You can toast the bread if you like (even though that’s cooking, sort of.)
Tuna and White Beans: If the tuna/bean salad is too much effort, just mix tuna and beans with some olive oil. Put the mixture in a wrap or pita bread and add lettuce and tomato.
Platters
Rosemary ham, goat cheese spread, crackers, olives, fruit, and a lovely glass of red wine.
Goat cheese spread: Take the goat cheese out of the fridge ahead of time to soften it. Add a bit of milk to make it more spreadable. Then roll it in ground almonds.
Israeli salad, pita bread, hummus, olives, and feta cheese. Or add some pickled herring.