Just about every year I’m surprised by how much summer changes the way we eat. Suddenly we’re outside all day or heading off to the beach or park, and my usual time for cooking seems to disappear.
There are meals planned, but preparing them often takes away from the very things I want to enjoy most about summer — long afternoons outside, slower evenings, and extra family time.
For years I kept trying to cook the same way in summer that I did the rest of the year — larger meals, longer prep, more time in the kitchen. It just didn’t suit the rhythm of summer.
Eventually I realized summer meals needed a different approach. I need to keep homemade food manageable without sacrificing the best parts of summer.
Batch cook when possible
Summer meals really benefit from a little batch cooking. When I grill burgers one night I’ll fill the entire grill with food for later meals. Extra meat and veggies that I can quickly reheat later in the week.
Help from the crockpot
The crockpot is a summer meal saver. A few minutes of prep in the morning delivers and easy dinner after a beach day. I especially rely on this plan on days when we know we’ll be gone most of the afternoon.
Simple, low heat/no heat options
Many summer meals consist of a lot of quick to serve foods like quesadillas, sandwiches, and salads. Not every summer dinner needs to feel like a full production. Sometimes a simple meal eaten outside together is exactly the kind of evening everyone will remember anyway.
Easy sides
Side dishes are often low/no prep items like fresh fruit, fresh veggies, and salsa and chips. These are the light kinds of foods we’re craving anyway, so I just lean into that.
Here are a few dependable meals and sides that regularly make their way into our summer rotation:
- Grill: burgers, barbeque chicken, polish sausage, corn on the cob, asparagus
- Crockpot: “pulled” barbeque chicken, salsa chicken, barbacoa beef, pork carnitas
- Sandwiches: chicken gyros, quesadillas, chicken salad, BLT’s
- Dinner salads: Ranch and chicken pasta salad, Cobb salad, antipasto salad
- Sides: watermelon, strawberries, peaches, Salsa Verde & tortilla chips, guacamole, coleslaw, baked beans, cucumber salad
These days, summer meals are less about elaborate cooking and more about supporting the season we’re in. I still want nourishing homemade food on the table, but I don’t want the preparation to take away from my summer enjoyment. The long evenings outside, slower afternoons, and the freedom to enjoy this short season with my family are something I don’t want to miss.
Simple meals, a little preparation ahead, and a flexible approach make that possible.
Summer rhythms can feel wonderfully full, but also a little chaotic. Having a simple kitchen plan helps me stay a step ahead without spending all day managing food and dishes.
If you’d like a simple way to help organize your own meal prep, reset tasks, and kitchen flow, you can download my free Kitchen Rhythm Planner here.