Summer can be brutal, and when the kitchen is already hot before you turn anything on, the last thing you want is to stand over a stove for thirty minutes. Heat also reduces appetite for a lot of people but you still need to eat. If you find yourself eating less in summer, getting protein into the meals you do eat matters even more than usual.

If you find cooking harder when it’s hot, this list is for you.

These are the meals I rotate through on the worst heat days. None of them need the oven or stovetop. Some don’t need any cooking at all.

Chickpea “egg” salad – This is simply a can of chickpeas drained, rinsed and mashed with a fork or food processor. Add seasoning and mayo and you have a chickpea “egg” salad. Chickpeas are an incomplete protein, meaning they lack adequate amounts of the essential amino acid methionine. To build complete proteins that your body can easily use for muscle repair, pair your chickpeas with dairy, seeds or nuts. My personal favorites are pumpkin seeds (pepita seeds) or feta cheese. 

2. Shrimp and avocado bowl with feta and lemon

This is my absolute favorite on a hot day. I try to keep a bag of frozen shrimp / prawns in the freezer as often as possible because they’re so versatile and easy to use.

To make this, use about 150g / 5oz of frozen cooked shrimp and defrost them in cold water for a few minutes. Tip them into a bowl with half an avocado, sliced or roughly chopped. Crumble some feta over the top. Squeeze a lemon over everything and season to taste. 

Protein: about 35g.

3. Rotisserie chicken wrap

Rotisserie chicken is one of the best hot weather protein sources because somebody else has already done the cooking.

About 120g / 4oz of pulled rotisserie chicken meat gives you around 30g of protein. 

Put the chicken into a large tortilla or flatbread with salad ingredients that you have on hand like lettuce, tomato and add some hummus or mayo.

One chicken usually gives you a few meals worth.

Protein: about 32g 

4. Smoked salmon, boiled egg and avocado on rye

If you can boil eggs in advance (or buy them pre-boiled), this comes together in two minutes.

Two slices of rye (or any) bread, two hard boiled eggs sliced on top. 80g of smoked salmon, which is one of those small supermarket packs. Half an avocado smashed on the bread underneath.

This feels like a meal you’d order at a cafe. The salmon and eggs together get you well past 30g of protein without needing anything else added.

Protein: about 30g.

5. The big antipasto plate

When I genuinely don’t want to make anything, this is what I do.

Put a plate together of sliced deli chicken or ham (100g / 3.5oz is about 16g of protein), a boiled egg or two, some hard cheese, olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and whatever vegetables or dips are in the fridge.

Protein: about 35g.

If it all feels like too much on a particular day, a glass of milk, a boiled egg, and a handful of nuts will get you to about 20g of protein with zero effort. Better than nothing, and better than skipping a meal.