5 Nutritious Eating Tips to Help You Get The Most Out of Your Summer: Part 1

Summer is in two days…TWO DAYS!!!!  Can you believe it?  Obviously I can’t.  Instead of working on a summer body, or trying to lose weight, or even eating healthier, I’m going to just aim to treat my body right.  The summer is go-go-go, and I need the energy to keep up, and the mental sharpness to turn on a dime, like when the weather changes our plans.  All of this can be helped with foods that help me run better.  Here are my go-to tips for getting in those much needed foods.

1. Up your water intake.  When you’re dehydrated, you can feel sluggish and a little dizzy, and perhaps a headache pops up. So, instead of fixing these problems when they start, how about preventing them to begin with?  Yes please.  My suggestion before aiming to chug a bunch more water is to take a good look at your water intake over the past few days.  What’s your average- 2 cups (8 ounces)?  4 maybe?  Be honest.  Do you struggle with water in the morning, or perhaps the afternoon?  Are you drinking a lot of other drinks that could be subbed for water?  Once you identify your weakness, make a plan of attack.  If it’s the morning, start drinking a cup of water before your first sip of coffee.  If it’s the afternoon, could you make yourself a nice glass of water with fruit infused to make it more appealing?  Maybe you drink 1 too many diet sodas.  Swap one out.  Once you hit one small goal, keep building!

1. Eat regularly throughout the day.  I don’t know about you, but between camp schedules for the kids, hitting the pool, summer outings- eating constantly throughout the day can become an issue.  When you miss meals or undereat, you can run out of steam, or worse- get hangry.  This never helps anyone.  PLAN AHEAD.  If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times.  And this doesn’t mean weeks in advance.  Look at tomorrow, what’s on the schedule.  Should you throw some snacks in your purse?  If you go to the pool, does it have a snack bar?  If not, can you bring food with you?  Make sure you wake up with enough time to get something in during the 1st hour or two of your morning.  Snacks can be combined to make a meal, or just buy you an hour or two to get to the next meal, and they can be very healthy.  Check out our blog here with lots of healthy snack ideas.

1. Bring your favorite dish to the BBQ or picnic.  Going to a BBQ with lots of heavy meats, potato salads, dips, chips, etc.  I can easily overeat and regret it the next day.  It’s all so good.  BUT, if I also bring a delicious dish, that dish can help fill me up while still letting me enjoy a smaller amount of my favorite foods- like German potato salad.  My go to dish is an avocado, black bean, corn salsa. My healthier dish changes depending on my mood, what I have in the fridge, or what I happen to snag (or forget) at the grocery store.  It can be an app, a topping on a burger, a side dish.  I make sure my dish is full of veggies and so fresh and light so, why wouldn’t I bring it?.  Another one I constantly volunteer to bring is fruit.  A fruit salad or watermelon.  Works as an app, side dish, or even dessert!  Very popular with kids and adults. 

1. Farmer’s markets, backyard gardens, and produce stands are your friends.  We have a house a couple doors down whose garden is so big, they offer a bunch of stuff for free at this adorable little veggie stand at the end of their driveway.  So fresh, and interesting.  I don’t often buy collard greens or pattypan squash (had to google that one last year on how to prepare it).  When food is in season and fresh, it is at its peak nutrition profile, so eat up.  It couldn’t be any better for you.  And lots of places pop up at different places at different times.  You can take a leisurely stroll during the farmer’s market on Saturday and then stop at the produce stand at the farm on Wednesday after work and never run out of fruits and vegetables, and they tend to be very budget friendly when they’re in season.

1. Surround yourself with fresh herbs.  They are plentiful in the summer, and easy to grow, even inside.  Use them to season your chicken or fish, add to salads, pair with fruit (mint and melon- yum!), or freshen up your water.  Nothing is better than a tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad.  Using herbs as flavor in place of salt can help cut back on bloating and water retention.  Mint has a connection to gut health, basil supports your immune health, and lavender is a known stress reducer (to name a few).

These are just a few tips (more to come next blog!) to help you out this summer to get the most nutrition out of your food.  If you’re going to eat something, might as well make it work for you.  Once you practice these tips for a few months, they’ll become second nature and you’ll be good to go for fall, just switch up your produce with the seasons and get a heat lamp for that grill:)  Stay tuned for Part 2 with 5 more tips for a nutritious summer.

Stay Happy, Stay Healthy

This blog was written by Chris Henigan MS, RD, LDN, co-founder of Simple Start Nutrition.  For more blog posts and nutrition information follow @simplestartnutrition on Instagram and Facebook.  Also feel free to contact us, by visiting our website (simplestartnutrition.com) to schedule an appointment to discuss your nutrition related needs.