This is where we share our favorite tips, tricks, secrets, and ways to "think like a healthy person" so that you can find your own delicious path to healthy living.

"Feel-Good Mondays" are meant to help us get back into that place of feeling energized, nourished, and ready to take inspired action for the week ahead.

It’s hot. It’s humid. I come home from soggy and sweaty from walks around my Brooklyn neighborhood, and the last thing I feel like doing is cranking up the oven or hovering over a hot stovetop.

So, I usually don’t! These days, most of our meals consist of no-cook (or little-cook) options to get food on the table in the minimal amount of time possible.

Here’s a list of my summer favorites to enjoy on those steamy summer days:

Smoothies: This is our weekday go-to breakfast. Quick, easy, and cool, it’s perfect for hot summer days. Smoothies are a great way to pack of a lot of nutrition into a simple, breezy meal. And they’re not just for breakfast! Whir up a smoothie for a light, healthy lunch or dinner when you want to give your digestive system (and oven) a break. Download my free Breakfast Book for my favorite smoothie recipes.

Extraordinary Summer Salads: It’s no surprise that I make a lot of salads during the summer. Check out my salad guide for easy ways to elevate your next salad experience: A how-to on making extraordinary summer salads

Massaged Kale Salad: Did you know there’s more absorbable calcium in a cup of kale than there is in a whole glass of milk? YEP! Dark leafy greens are powerhouse veggies, and raw kale salads are an easy (no-cook) way to get them on your plate. I love this massaged kale salad recipe because it’s so simple, super tasty, and can last a couple of days in the fridge. Here’s a great, basic recipe to use as a base. I like to add shredded carrots, diced avocado, chopped tomatoes, and whatever veggies I have laying around to this salad: Massaged Kale Salad

Lentil Salad: Another family favorite that I make a lot, especially because you can eat the leftovers for several days and it can be eaten hot or cold (which makes this a good choice for Rye’s summer camp lunches).

This is a flexible, simple recipe that you can adapt according to your mood and what you’ve got in the fridge. Combine cooked green, brown, or black lentils with sautéed carrots and onions and cooked greens of your choice (sautéed or steamed spinach, kale, chard, bok choy) and some good glugs of olive oil. Season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Sometimes I’ll top this with bacon (organic turkey or pork bacon, or shiitake bacon) when I’ve got it around. It would also work great with some crumbled feta on top.

Smoked/Canned Fish: I always keep smoked salmon in my fridge and canned tuna or canned mackerel in my pantry for a quick, no-cook protein option. Plop the fish of your choice onto a salad, cooked veggies, or even a roasted sweet potato for healthy meal in a flash.

Pesto Pasta: You know by now that I am a huge fan of lentil pastas, because they’re such a speedy, healthy way to get in filling, plant-based protein. And yes, you technically have to “cook” them, so this isn’t exactly a no-cook meal, but you can still have dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes (with much of that time being waiting for the water to boil). I like to mix one of my favorite cooked lentil pastas (Modern Table or Tolerant Foods are my current faves) with a summery pesto. Here in NYC, I love prepacked Gotham Greens Vegan Pesto.

Frittata: Yes, you have to cook a frittata…BUT – you can bake it once on the weekend and eat it (cold, room temp, or reheated) for a no-cook meal throughout the week. Like smoothies, frittatas can be a great way to sneak in easy nutritional boosts (like dark leafy greens, onions or garlic, and pretty much any veggie you can salvage from your fridge bins). Here’s a great basic, healthy frittata recipe that you can riff off of, depending on what you have on hand: Whole30 Veggie-Packed Breakfast Frittata