The secret is to drink first. After work, I'ma going to Shake Shack up in Madison Square Park. Hopefully it'll live up to the hype.

Greek salad and Confetti Cous-cous. You can make it and eat whenever... After the sun goes down. In front of the fan/ac.

Yep, it's happened to me too. It was way too hot and humid to eat yesterday, in PA. dame, I think it's your body's way of conserving energy so that it can cool you off. Digesting food takes up incredible amounts of energy, and your body senses that it needs the energy for something else (regulating your body temp), so it kills your appetite. The body's infinite wisdom and all that. It's really a pretty fascinating thing. The bod knows best. Long live the bod.

Salads, fresh fruit and vegies. Pick up some baba ganoush, Antipasto, tzatziki etc. Snack lightly through the day.

The heat affects my appetite, too. I have been eating pears, strawberries & cantolupe and staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water which seems to help.

Hm, interesting, iconomy. Only the problem is my body doesn't know that it needs to go swim 3500 yards at eight and must be fueled up. Plus, it's screwing with my brain's need to eat at the same time (why yes, I am compulsive). Whole Foods, beware, for I come for your veggies and fruits tonight.

More hot weather food suggestions, please!

Granita. I have been making cantaloupe granitas every few days. Delicious.

I always have no appetite when it's hot and muggy like this...i eat cold stuff, and less of it. Salads, gazpacho, cold sandwiches, an orange and a croissant is a good lunch for me too, sushi, cold leftovers (pizza, fried chicken, leftover steak, etc)...

Gazpacho is great. Garnish it with slices of cucumbers and a dollop of sour cream. That'll cool you off. Also, I make a killer black bean salad. I will now share the recipe with you even though you didn't ask for it ;)

One can black beans drained
a thick slice white or red onion, finely chopped
half cup corn kernels
a thick slice red bell pepper, finely chopped
one clove garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper of your choice to taste
a chopped bit of fresh parsley, cilantro, or maybe fresh mint if you have it
a tbsp olive oil
a tsp balsamic vinegar, or any good vinegar

Toss it and refrigerate until chilled. Really great with toasted pita or tortilla chips, or alone. It's light and refreshing, but has a bit of 'stick-to-it-iveness' that makes you feel like you've eaten something substantial.

Possibly you're dehydrated, that can mess with your appetite too.

No way, Capn! My pee is as clear as a mountain stream.

*pauses, whist bending to fill up water bottle in mountain stream, opts for water cooler instead*

You know what else I hate? When you go steal your roomates' salad, and then you put too much dressing on it, and then you have to go get more salad to soak up the dressing. I hate that. Yes, yes, I'm going back to work now . . . Sheesh.

My pee is as clear as a mountain stream.

So let your love flow...

I eat Lebanese food.

Yep, it happens to me a lot here. Here's a salad recipe that I find particularly refreshing in the summer.

Kicking-Lemon Salad: Take two decent-sized cloves of garlic, put them in your mortar throw some salt over them, mash them up good with the pestle. Take a lemon, grate/zest about half of it (approx. 1 tablespoon). Cut it in half and juice it (approx. 1/4 cup o' juice). Put the zest and the juice in the mortar. Take about 2 tablespoons of whole-grain mustard (like the grey poupon, or better brand, country style) and put it in the mortar too. Now add some olive oil (maybe a 1/3 cup or so). Stir that all up. Now you have yummy salad dressing to put on your mixed greens (I like boston and some romaine maybe with a little bit of arugala too). Toast up some walnuts on the stove (maybe half to a whole cup). Throw those guys in the salad and toss it with the dressing. Top that with some grated parmagian or romano cheese (maybe a little fresh ground pepper, too) and you are good to go. Want stronger flavor? Add more Garlic, lemon and mustard to the mix. Need to bulk it up because that's all you are eating? Cut up some Ginger-marinated Seitan or Lemon Tofu in small cubes (my favorite is "lemon pepper tofu" by fresh tofu inc - it's already baked and so good). It is worth noting that some people like a little less kick to the dressing, in which case, simply reduce the garlic, lemon, and mustard. (I like more zing.)

Additional Variations:
Stepping out of my vegetarian box: You can also cook up chicken and mix it in with the salad described above. No real need for the tofu then.

You can also slice up an avacado and mix it in with the salad for another variation on the flavor factory that is Kicking-Lemon Salad.

Originally posted as an askmetafilter answer and since its a thread about salads it might be of use to you as well.

OK so we've had a music swap and exquisite corpse ... is it time for the MetaChat cookbook?

My NYC heatwave menu is: grapefruit Juice on ice all day long, seriously carry a bottle with you at all times. Lots of healthy stuff in there that your body needs in the heat. Watermelon bits for snacks, Light green salads for lunch and for dinner gazpacho soup (spicy please). If I can (which I usually can) I wolf down a cold bagel with plain cream cheese in the morning together with my iced coffee to keep me going. Cold bagel? Yeah, spread the cheese on a fresh one and stick it in the freezer while you take a cold shower.

Hot season in India prompted me to eat foods that are said to be cooling to your digestive system: basically lots of raw fruits and veggies, cooked grains, and water.

Try raita, it's made from all "cooling" ingredients: cucumber, yogurt, onion, and cumin. And try sprinkling some cumin in lemonade; sounds weird but is delicious.

Most important to keeping cool: don't drink cold liquids! I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but I swear that during hot season, all people drink is hot tea. You feel sweaty while you're drinking it, but afterwards, you really do cool off, I swear. When you drink cold liquids, your core body temp goes down, and your body heats up to get your internal temp back to normal, and you end up feeling hotter than before.

By the way, I think a MetaChat cookbook is a great idea! I'm totally stealing your idea and gonna post it, matildaben.

Toast and tomato sandwiches. Good summer tomatoes are the reward for all that heat.

In the blistering heat of Summer all I seem to think about is beer and sandwiches. Past salads and cous cous seem to satisfy as well.

So, do you ever get too hot to eat?

I don't know...ask my husband!

(thanks, I'll be here all week)

Pee as clear as a mountain stream? You need some salt.

This is a Lebanese variation on Specklet's yogurt recipe - very refreshing.

1 quart of plain laban (yogurt)
2 cucumbers sliced whisper thin
1 clove of garlic
2 tsp dried mint
salt
Mix ingredients. Add salt to taste. Refrigerate til ready to serve.

Ease up on the difficult to digest foods like fatty meats and dairy. Before meals have a salad with a vinegar dressing, kim chee, anti-pasto, or veg in rice vinegar - these promote digestion.

Spicy foods are great for cooling off the body.

Seafood is easier on the body and can address the protein needs.

Soup. Cold potato soup is great in weather like this.