Meals that Beat the Heat!

Does the hot summer sun have you running from the kitchen with a take-out menu in-hand? Don’t sweat it! You can make healthy and delicious meals for your family without heating up your kitchen. Our“Beat the Heat” meal ideas include healthy, convenient items prepared in kitchen appliances that don’t
produce a lot of heat. Here are some of our keep cool meal ideas

1. Meals from the microwave.
ShopRite carries a variety of microwavable meal starters and side dishes in our frozen food and grocery aisles. Here are some ideas:

· Frozen shrimp – Microwave frozen cooked shrimp on high until heated through, about 2 minutes. Toss with olive oil, lemon, and chopped garlic. Make it a meal and serve with one of our ShopRite frozen vegetable blends and microwaveable brown rice
· Microwavable turkey meatballs paired with jarred pasta sauce. Serve in mini whole-grain sandwich rolls with a sprinkle of shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese.
· The microwave is also great for heating up side dishes in a flash. Try ShopRite steam-in-bag vegetables, frozen edamame (or soybeans), Birds Eye lightly sauced sides, and Ore Ida Steam n’ Mash cut russet potatoes for lighter options.

2. Switch on the slow-cooker.
The slow cooker is a “cool” alternative to the oven. Just flip the switch, then closer to dinner-time, pair with a few quick and easy side dishes. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

· Make over pulled pork sandwiches. Sprinkle two 1.5lb pork loins with garlic powder and pepper. Place into a slow cooker with chopped onion and 1 cup of your favorite barbeque sauce (Try Kraft Light Original). Cook on low for 8 hours. When finished, shred pork with a fork and stir to combine all ingredients. Serve on a whole-grain bun.
· Flavorful seasonings. Try McCormick’s slow-cooker seasoning packets available at your local ShopRite. Choose varieties made for lean meats like chicken breast, center cut pork chops, pork loin or 90% lean ground beef. Each packet contains a recipe, so just assemble a few microwavable side dishes and you’ve got dinner on the table.

3. Make it a combo.
Try the traditional combo of a sandwich and salad for dinners that require zero cooking time. The best part, you can create these meals with whatever you have in the fridge and pantry. Here are ideas for a great combo:

· Spread honey mustard onto whole-grain bread and layer with sliced turkey, avocado slices and alfalfa sprouts. Serve with a Mexican flair salad made with romaine lettuce, canned corn, black beans, diced avocado and chopped tomatoes. Toss with a low-fat ranch dressing.
· Stuff a whole-grain pita pocket with shredded rotisserie chicken breast and top with ShopRite hummus, diced cucumbers and shredded carrots. Pair with a field green salad with dried cranberries and crumbled low-fat feta cheese. Toss with your favorite low-fat vinaigrette.