The Herb Stop Blog
Our Top Tips for Adding Zest to No-Cook Meals + A Delicious No-Cook Recipe We Love!
The last thing most of us want to do when temperatures soar is turn the oven on or work over a hot stove making a stir-fry.
Instead, turn to incredible, tasty no-cook meals to keep cool during summer.
Bland food is never the answer, so we’re sharing our favorite ways to add zest and pizzazz to your no-cook meals and desserts in this article. Keep reading for our no-cook meal tips and a delicious pinwheel recipe that you can use for an entrée or side dish and easily adjust to your taste.
How to Take Your No-Cook Meals to the Next Level
Most people add salt, pepper, or other seasonings to a stir-fry or chicken bake but don’t think twice about adding seasoning to no-cook meals.
Unfortunately, many no-cook meals, such as salads, wraps, and sandwiches, can quickly become boring if you don’t mix them up with different ingredients or season the food well.
Add zest to your no-cook meals with these incredible spices and sprinkles:
- Salad Sprinkle: Stop boring salads in their tracks with this incredible Salad Sprinkle. This sprinkle contains sesame seeds, bell peppers, lemon peel, chives, black pepper, parsley, and more to spruce up and complement any vegetable! Another great way to incorporate this into no-cook dishes is adding it to other vegetable dishes, veggie wraps, or dips.
- Taste Without Salt: This is a must-have seasoning if you’re trying to cut back on salt! We’ve combined yellow mustard, garlic, parsley, dill weed, onion, and more to create this punchy salt substitute. Fantastic on salads, vegetables, and potato salad!
- Smoked Applewood Salt: Love barbeque, but looking to skip the heat? Try this amazing Smoked Applewood Salt. It’s impressive on any type of meat but also fabulous on salads, veggies, avocados, pasta salads, and sandwiches.
- Dill Weed: Perfect for fresh salads, pasta, sauces, and dressings! This aromatic dill weed enhances light dishes that stronger flavors can easily overwhelm.
- Za’atar Blend Seasoning: Give your no-cook recipes a tangy, herbal infusion of flavor with this punchy seasoning. We love adding this to olive oil and dipping sauces! It’s also excellent for adding zip to marinades, salad dressings, veggies, and yogurt.
Take your summer desserts to the next level with these amazing additions:
- Strawberry Sprinkle: Top your desserts with this sweet, mouth-watering strawberry blend crafted from maple syrup, vanilla bean, and freeze-dried strawberries. Sprinkle this on top of a chocolate or fruity dessert for a delightful flavor. We even love adding this to salad dressings and marinades for extra sweetness.
- Coconut Sugar Crystals: If you’re looking for a great alternative to cane sugar, try coconut sugar which has a much lower glycemic index measurement. You can replace cane sugar with Coconut Sugar Crystals in a 1:1 ratio for any of your favorite desserts!
- Ceylon Cinnamon Ground (True Cinnamon): This fantastic cinnamon is terrific in savory and sweet dishes. You can also sprinkle it on top of any of your favorite foods, vegetable dishes, desserts, and more to take the flavor to the next level.
A Delicious Summer Pinwheel Recipe
These darling pinwheels are made with cold cuts, cheese, veggies, and a scrumptious (and easy!) spread. Here’s how we make them.
Servings: 2
Prep time: 15 minutes
Ingredients (many vegetarian and vegan meat-substitute options are available to replace any of the meats in this recipe. You can also thinly slice veggies, such as jícama or zucchini to replace the meat in this recipe)
- 2 large tortillas (burrito-sized)
- 8 slices of pepperoni, or vegetarian substitute
- 8 slices of salami, or vegetarian substitute
- 4 slices of ham or turkey, or vegetarian substitute
- 1 cucumber (thinly sliced)
- 4 slices of provolone (pepper jack cheese is a delicious alternative for a spicier take!)
- 2 large romaine lettuce leaves
Spread Ingredients (A premade flavored cream cheese or hummus are other fantastic alternatives if you’re running short on time)
- 6 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 1 tablespoon Italian dressing
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅓ cup banana peppers (sliced small)
Directions
- Mix all of the spread ingredients until blended and creamy.
- Spread a thick layer on each tortilla, then layer the other ingredients on top evenly.
- Tightly roll each tortilla and slice it into one-inch-thick pinwheels.
Bonus tip: If your pinwheels start to come apart, use a toothpick to keep them together, and top the toothpick with a delicious olive.
These pinwheels look stunning, with a bright burst of color in the center. You can serve these as a fun entrée for a picnic or a beautiful appetizer or side dish for your dinner party. These also keep well and make great make-ahead lunches!
Summer Beverages
Iced tea is the perfect cool and refreshing drink to pair with your no-cook meals this summer. Stay cool with these delicious herbal teas, which are amazing hot or iced!
Here are a few of our favorite summery tea options:
- Watermelon Supreme Herb & Fruit Tea: Watermelon is the quintessential summer fruit. This juicy, sweet watermelon tea is refreshing with watermelon, cranberry, and hibiscus notes. It also makes a fantastic mocktail - simply add a bit of lime or mint!
- Cherry Black Tea: If you love sweets, you’ll love this luxury black tea with dried cherries and rose petals. A beautiful tea with a caffeinated punch makes this an excellent choice for a daytime picnic.
- Lavender Lemonade Herb & Fruit Recipe: This bright, citrusy tea is blended with calming lavender, apple pieces, lemongrass, and blue cornflowers. Visually stunning and caffeine-free, making it a fantastic option for any time of day.
- Apricot Honeybush Tea: Our Apricot Honeybush Tea is a refreshing, mellow, and crisp tea perfectly suited for a hot summer day. This tea is naturally caffeine-free and ultra-smooth.
- Strawberry Black Tea: Try our fabulous, bright Ceylon black tea for a caffeinated tea option. Plenty sweet without any added sugar!
Love mocktails? Check out our previous piece on Herbal Mocktails That Wow! for more inspiration.
We hope these no-cook summer recipes, drinks, and tips inspire you to have fun with your food this summer!
Stay Cool!
Herbalist Natalie & Herbalist Leilah