This year has been odd. Because of COVID-19, we were told to stay away from each other and in our homes. We essentially missed the spring and have found ourselves in the heat of summer almost without warning. With that in mind, we want to keep as much heat out of our kitchens as possible. Cooking can leave you sweating and feeling drained. So, here are four vegetable dishes you can make that are delicious, low-carb and don’t require cooking.
We love that this recipe is more of a guide than a set of rules. You can throw in whatever you like. It uses flavorful, crunch vegetables for texture and a lot of taste. The instructions say you should put the dressing into a blender to fully emulsify it. But, if you don’t have a blender, just put it in a container with a lid and give it a good shake! You can combine the ingredients and get an upper body work out all at once. This is a salad that requires being tossed in the dressing to make sure everything gets coated. A serving has 108 calories and five grams of carbs. Get the recipe.
The secret to low-carb coleslaw is to make your own dressing. It’s not hard, but store-bought coleslaw dressing can be extremely high in sugar! Read the label, and you may be shocked! We love coleslaw for the crunch, and it’s nice that you can find bags of pre-shredded in the supermarket you don’t need to shred the veggies yourself, just make the lighter sauce! The instructions say to make the sauce is one bowl and then add it to the cabbage mix in another. We say skip the extra dirty dishes: make the dressing in a large bowl and add the vegetables into it once you’re done. A serving has 181 calories and five grams of carbs. Get the recipe.
Someone on our team grew up in New Jersey and, as such, spent her childhood eating tomatoes like apples in the summer. That’s why, when she read this recipe, she gave it a resounding “yes!” before even making it. You get the sweetness of the tomato being set off by the onion, garlic and vinegar. However, the person from New Jersey suggests using lemon juice instead of the vinegar. A serving has 108 calories and 5.9 grams of carbs. Get the recipe.
The author of this recipe was trying to recreate the marinated salads you sometimes get at Asian restaurants, and we think she nailed it. It’s cold and refreshing but also has a lot of Asian flavors in the mix. We are huge fans of this recipe but suggest letting it marinate in the fridge for about twenty minutes before eating it. It will make the dressing cold and let the flavor sink into the cucumber. A serving has 64 calories and seven grams of carbs. Get the recipe.
With these four recipes, you can eat healthily and fresh into putting too much effort or any heat into your evening. If possible, enjoy the beautiful weather while it’s here and eat outside!
