Healthy Summer Salads to Keep You Cool

The scorching sun is shining brighter than ever! The resulting heat wave can have an impact on our health and appetite. During summers, it is important to watch what we eat. To balance the heat, we have listed a few scrumptious summer salads to help you stay cool!

Watermelon Feta Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 big bowl of Watermelon cubes
• ½ cup crumbled Feta Cheese or Paneer.
• 1 medium bowl Cucumber cubes
• Handful of Mint leaves
• 1 tsp Honey and Olive oil
• A pinch of rock salt
• 1 tsp Lemon juice

Method:

• For the dressing combine Honey, Lemon juice, Olive oil and rock salt
• In a large bowl, take the Watermelon and Cucumber cubes
• Add the finely chopped Mint leaves to it along with the dressing
• Garnish with Feta Cheese or Paneer
• Serve chilled

Healthy Benefits: High water content of Watermelons makes it an ideal fruit during summer. Feta Cheese is comparatively low on calories and is loaded with calcium.

Hung Curd Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Hung Curd
• 1 cup Chickpeas
• ½ cup each of Tomato, Cucumber, Onions and Bell Pepper.
• Juice of a Lemon
• Handful of Coriander and Mint leaves.

Method:

• For the dressing, mix the Hung Curd, Lemon Juice, Rock Salt and Pepper
• In a bowl, take Chickpeas, add finely chopped Tomatoes, Cucumber, Onions and Bell Pepper
• Add the Hung Curd dressing and garnish with Coriander and Mint leaves

Healthy Benefits: Curd is an excellent probiotic. It helps in keeping stomach ailments away during summers. Chickpeas provide the much needed proteins and the veggies add a dash of freshness.

Mint Paneer Salad

Ingredients:

• 200 gm Paneer
• 1 cup thick Curd
• Chopped Cucumber, Tomatoes and Onions
• 1 cup Lettuce leaves and Salad leaves
• Lemon juice and Lemon rind
• 1 cup Bread Croutons [non fried-tossed on non-stick pan]
• Handful Mint leaves
• Salt and Pepper
• Tandoori masala [store bought]

Method:

• For the dressing, whisk half of the curd with mint leaves
• Add Lemon juice and Lemon rind to it along with Salt and Pepper
• Marinate the Paneer cubes in thick curd along with Tandoori masala
• Shallow fry on a non stick pan till golden brown
• In a large serving bowl, add roughly chopped Lettuce and Salad leaves
• Add chopped Tomatoes, Onions and Cucumber followed by the Mint dressing and mix to coat well
• Adjust the seasoning if required. Add the Bread Croutons and Paneer cubes.

Healthy Benefits: This is a perfect summer pot meal to cool you down. It has a good amount of fiber and proteins. The mint leaves aid digestion and take care of skin allergies during this harsh weather.

Hope you enjoy these summer salads! To make them more interesting, try adding these refreshing, low calorie summer drinks to your meal. If you’re looking for more healthy recipes, tune in to the Simple Healthy Cooking class by Arooshi Garg on GOQii Play. Download the app now!