Sunlight on a Plate: A Week of Seasonal Summer Meals for the Family
Summer meals find their way to the table effortlessly. A fruit bowl that keeps emptying, vegetables that hardly need cooking, something cool to sip while the children run barefoot in and out, leaving wet footprints on the floor. There’s more light than structure, but always enough to eat well.
This week isn’t a plan but the tempo of what we had, what we craved, and what came together with ease. Ripe fruit, cool bowls, and the kind of dinners that feel right when the sun hasn’t set and no one’s quite ready for bedtime.
So here it is — a week of summer meals, gathered straight from our kitchen, just as we lived them.
These meals aren’t designed for perfection — they’re made for real days, with little ones tugging at your dress and the sun slipping through open windows. Each one is shaped by what summer gives us: softness, sweetness, and simplicity. From early breakfasts to dinners that linger into dusk, this week of food is for the whole family — nourishing, uncomplicated, and full of light. A celebration of the season, one plate at a time.
Monday
Breakfast: Fresh peaches sliced into coconut yogurt with hemp seeds and a spoonful of honey. A few leftover almonds from yesterday’s walk tucked into the bowl.
Lunch: Soft boiled eggs (7 minutes), homemade sourdough bread, beef tomato slices with sea salt, olive oil, fresh basil and burrata.
Snack: Frozen watermelon and cantaloupe cubes with some lime eaten from a bowl on the almost cold tiles of the house.
Dinner: Zucchini and basil risotto, cooked while the children play in water bowls on the terrace. A simple green salad with balsamic vinegar. A bowl of apricots and grapes for dessert.
Tuesday
Breakfast: Banana smoothies, frozen berries, flaxseeds, and oat milk. Scrambled egg with feta cheese and spinach. Eaten in the garden before the sun hits too hard.
Lunch: Quinoa tossed with cucumber, avocado, grilled and shredded herbs chicken, with a tahini lemon dressing.
Snack: Cold orange slices with cinnamon. A ritual, somehow.
Dinner: Baked sweet potatoes with herbed tahini drizzle leftover from lunch. Steamed green beans with garlic. A peach cobbler made in the morning, cooled and served with yogurt or vanilla ice cream for the smaller ones.
Photo: Chilled Caramelised Oranges With Greek Yoghurt —Nigella's Recipes
Wednesday
Breakfast: Lime and coconut chia pudding made the night before, topped with crushed macadamia nuts. Kids love it!
Lunch: Chickpea salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, Kalamata olives, pickled red onions, dill, mint, olive oil, and vinegar. Toasted sourdough on the side.
Snack: Homemade popsicles made with mango and coconut milk. Sticky fingers, squeals, the good kind of mess.
Dinner: Grilled corn, marinated cod, and couscous with raisins and herbs. A plate of sliced cucumber with salt and vinegar to keep refilling.
Photo: Chickpea Salad (Mediterranean Inspired) - Chelsea's Messy Apron
Thursday
Breakfast: Poached eggs and avocado on toasted sourdough, served with a vanilla and date smoothie — creamy, cool, and just sweet enough.
Lunch: Homemade hummus and tapenade, roasted carrots, flatbread, and a pile of cherry tomatoes. A few hard-boiled eggs or slices of leftover roast chicken on the side for protein. Lunch eaten picnic-style on the living room floor because the table is covered in drawings and scattered bits of string and tape for the latest bug trap inventions.
Snack: A handful of grapes kept in the freezer for days like this. Cold, sweet, perfect.
Dinner: Lentil and tomato stew with rice. A crisp salad of fennel and lemon. Homemade sorbet of freshly picked wild blackberries, dark and cold and sweet as summer itself.
Friday
Breakfast: Banana pancakes with cinnamon, maple, and yogurt. Made slowly by little hands. Eaten faster.
Lunch: Rice noodles tossed with cucumber, corn, bell pepper, coriander, lime juice, and grilled marinated wild salmon.
Snack: Frozen blueberries with coconut whipped cream.
Dinner: Stuffed bell peppers with quinoa, courgette, and herbs. Roasted on a tray with olive oil. A small fruit crumble made with what’s left in the fruit bowl.
Photo: Chickpea and Quinoa Harissa Stuffed Peppers - Cupful of Kale
Saturday
Breakfast: A big fruit salad after a restock from the market — kiwi, mango, plum, melon, nectarines, and strawberries, all chopped and mixed while the house was still quiet. Served with toast and almond butter on the side.
Lunch: Watermelon, tomato, chili, and cucumber gazpacho — cold, bright, and just spicy enough to wake the palate. Served with slices of lonzo, coppa, and other cured meats brought back from Corsica, laid out beside sourdough bread and curls of fresh butter.
Snack: Whipped coconut yogurt and mango in a bowl with crushed pistachios. Licked clean.
Dinner: One-pot pasta with fresh tomatoes, olives, capers, sardines and spinach. Fresh basil from the windowsill.
Sunday
Breakfast: French toast made with sourdough, soaked in coconut milk and cinnamon, fried golden in butter. Topped with berries, peaches, and maple syrup. Messy and worth it.
Lunch: Cold herb-packed tabbouleh — sharp with lemon and full of finely chopped parsley and ripe tomatoes — alongside creamy mutabal and beetroot hummus, served with warm flatbread torn by hand. Watermelon slices for everyone, even the dog.
Snack: Iced tea and homemade raspberry and cream eclairs. Everything feels sticky, but happy.
Dinner: A frittata with zucchini, potatoes, and herbs. Served with a green salad and the last of the sourdough. Peach halves grilled with honey and served warm with yogurt to finish.
Photo: Little Sunny Kitchen - Traditional Mutabal (Charred Eggplant Dip)
Let the food be easy. Let the days be full. Let the kitchen smell of fruit and olive oil and summer skin.
You don’t need more than what’s already here.
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