When the mercury rises, who wants to turn the oven on? And, while grilled food tastes great in the summer, even standing near a hot grill can be unbearable when the weather is hot.

If the heat has you down, perk up with some delicious -- and healthful -- no-cook meals. Some ideas:

• Tomato-Watermelon Soup. Chilled or at room temperature, this blended soup is a unique taste, and it's rich in lycopene.
• Artichoke and Beef Lettuce Wraps. Roast beef from the deli is tossed with artichoke hearts, chickpeas, zucchini and other healthful ingredients in this tasty lettuce wrap.
• Salmon and Cucumber Boats. Skip the bagel -- instead pair lox with cucumber and fiber-rich triangles of pumpernickel.

It's also helpful to think ahead when you know you're not going to want to cook. When cooking dinner one night, think ahead and see what you can cook for later in the week. For example, if you're baking chicken for dinner, bake an extra piece or two for use in a cold chicken salad later in the week. Or, save a bit of grilled salmon and use it on top of a mixed greens salad another night.

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When the temperature soars, the last thing you want to do is slave over a hot stove. Personally, I have many days when I'm perfectly comfortable in my own home then, after cooking dinner, I feel prickly and hot and miserable. If I didn't think it was so important to feed healthful foods to my family (not to mention avoiding the high costs of eating out), I'd skip it altogether.

Shape Magazine comes to the rescue with great ideas for healthy meals with no cooking required. With so many fresh fruits and vegetables available at this time of year, there's no shortage of no-cook ingredients available to you. Some of the ideas include chilled soups and stuffed fruits or vegetables.

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