Kick Off to a Healthy Summer

By Amy Stagg, RD, LDN

 

As Summer comes knocking at your front door, the stress of looking good in your summer attire can hit like a heat wave. With five easy healthy summer eating tips all your worries can be washed away.

 

1. Extend your spring cleaning to include your pantry.  

Do you have any tempting food items lurking in your pantry?   Get rid of them. Toss out all of the sodas, chips, cookies, candy or other highly processed snack food items.   Take advantage of the colorful fruits and vegetables of the season (Hello, Mr. Side of the Road Produce Man and Farmers Market at our own Zachary Youth Park). Also, look for low-fat or nonfat dairy or soy products and whole wheat cereals or breads.   “Multi-grain,” “stone-ground,” “100% wheat,” “cracked wheat,” “seven-grain,” or “bran” are usually NOT whole-grain products, so read labels carefully.   Look for the word “whole” in the ingredient list, “good source” (indicating ½ serving of whole grains) or “excellent source” (indicating 1 serving of whole grains).

 

2. Just say NO to supersizing!  

We are all tempted to get more for less, but we will pay the price in the long run.   Portion control is key, A healthy serving size of meat, for example, is the size of a deck of cards, and a plate should look like a plate, not a platter.   Most of the time when you eat out, you should be able to take half of your meal home to eat at another meal time.

 

3. Drink more water/H20/aqua.  

Any way you say it, water is the best beverage to quench your thirst as well as keep you hydrated on these hot summer days.   If you are not careful, you can consume unwanted calories in liquids alone.   Fruit juice contains about 60 calories in half a cup, one can of soda about 150 calories, and those fancy iced coffees (my personal nemesis) can have as many calories as an entire meal!

 

4. Stop when your body says stop, not when the plate is empty.  

When we eat something that really tastes good, it is natural to want to eat everything on our plate.   We must learn to listen to our bodies and recognize fullness cues.   It helps to slow down, savor the flavors and enjoy our meals, instead of just chowing down.   Also, any successful weight management program includes keeping a food diary, try it for a week.   You may be surprised at not only what you are eating but how much!

 

5. Get moving.  

It should not be ground-breaking news to anyone that regular exercise is a must.   Begin at your current level of fitness and within your time schedule, but begin not tomorrow or next week, start today.   Aim to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day or most days of the week.   New research (for women especially) recommends 1 hour every day.   Try new activities within the community. Zachary offers a variety of facilities and classes to get results in fun, exciting ways.   Tennis anyone?

 

Fun Healthy Summer Recipe

 

Berry Patriotic Popsicles

 

Strawberries, chopped

Vanilla frozen yogurt

Blueberries

3 oz cups

Popsicle sticks

 

Put small amount of yogurt in cup, then a layer of strawberries, another layer of yogurt, then blueberries.   Repeat until cup is full.   Insert popsicle sticks and freeze.   Enjoy on a hot summer day!