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How to Stay Cool During a Heatwave – 10 Helpful Tips Plus Recipes!

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There’s one thing on everyone’s minds at the moment – how to stay cool during this heatwave!! Man alive it’s HOT here in the UK! We’re waving goodbye to the 20 odd degree mark as we sail through to the mid 30’s and potentially beyond (unprecendented here on our little island!). So I’ve put my thinking cap on and gathered together a super helpful list of food and drink tips for how you can stay cool during a heatwave.

Water glasses and a jug filled with ice, cucumber and mint

These 10 tips will have you well on your way to making the most of this glorious weather instead of cowering away in a corner. If you make it through to the end you’ll be rewarded with a CRAZY delicious collection of recipes that are perfect for keeping you cool on a hot day. Well worth a read given today’s temperatures I think!

a jug with blackcurrant juice in and a straw

How to Stay Cool During a Heatwave

1. Freeze bottles of water

Simple but effective! They will stay really cold for MUCH longer than a drink with ice in. They also double up as an ice pack that you can press onto your wrists and the back of your neck to bring down your temperature. 

2. Your Microwave is Your Friend

Generating next to no heat compared with your oven – the humble microwave is great for making meals in a jiffy and keeping the heat in your kitchen to a bare minimum!

3. Eat Light, Plant Based Meals

Plant based meals like light salads are much easier to digest and therefore generate way less internal body heat. Add ingredients like watermelon, cucumber and mint which are either high in water content or have cooling/refreshing properties. This will boost your hydration and also help you feel much cooler.

4. Drink Plenty of Water

This is a no brainer but has more positive effects on the body than we could ever imagine! The best thing of all is that it keeps your body functioning as it should – which helps to keep you a little cooler and helps to minimise exhaustion. Meaning you will feel more awake and more human. See? No brainer!

5. Use More Mint

Mint is an incredible herb. It’s menthol properties have a great cooling effect on our body! Utilise in salads, drinks and basically anything else you can think of. 

6. Cook Outdoors Instead of Indoors

Yes a BBQ is hot but would you really rather be switching on your oven and turning your kitchen into a sauna? NOPE! Using a BBQ opens up way more options as far as food goes too, just make sure you stand under a parasol and/or lather up in sun cream. Also be aware of tip no.7…

7. Avoid Meat and Carbs

Digesting meat (proteins) and carbohydrates is very difficult and generates a  lot of internal body heat (through thermogenesis). Instead, opt for plant based foods as suggested in tip no.3.

8. All Hail the Slow Cooker!

For the same reason as your microwave – the slow cooker is KING in a heatwave! You can make an endless amount of great meals without switching your oven on and generating unecessary heat in your kitchen. (See further down in the post for some seriously delicious recipes!)

9. Wonderful Watermelon

Watermelon is ruddy marvelous. Not only is it refreshing but it’s high water content is CRAZY hydrating (nothing but a good thing during a heatwave) and, apparently, it also aids blood circulation. Which, you guessed it – helps to keep you cool! This one is a total heatwave winner.

10. Outsource

When all else fails and you’re just too hot to do anything – outsource! Pick up the phone and have someone else make your dinner and deliver it to you. God bless the takeaway!

 

Want more? Keep scrolling for some CRAZY delicious recipes that are perfect to make during a heatwave…

lime and a straw in a glass of water

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How to Stay Cool - Perfect Recipes to Make During a Heatwave!

We're going to hit the mid 30's here in the UK today! Make smarter choices with your food and drink and it could help you feel much cooler!

Have you made any of these recipes?

Will these easy cooling Summer recipes be making an appearance in your household? I’d love to know if it is! Send me your pics and comments on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram or email me at emma@kitchenmason.com.

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Water glasses and a jug filled with ice, cucumber and mint and a jug with blackcurrant juice in and a straw

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