These are all things that we know would make us healthier, but breaking out of our dependence on pre-packaged foods, take out, and sugar-laden beverages can be really hard. That is where taking advantage of the summer can come in.
You may be saying, “But summer is the time to relax? It’s the time to eat lots of ice cream and popsicles and cookout food!” That is true and I am actually not going to tell you to cut all of that stuff out (unless you want to!).
But I think that it is time to reframe summer a little bit. Summer can be the time of fun treats and relaxing, but it is also a time of abundant produce. Those fruits and vegetables that you are supposed to be eating more of all year round are in season right now! This is when they are at their freshest and tastiest. So why not use that to your advantage and try to use summer to get into the habit of healthier eating? Here are some different ways to set up some new habits:
Eating more fruits and vegetables. They are so delicious, so plentiful, and so cheap, why not take advantage and try to make sure you get at least one serving of fruits or vegetables at each meal. For breakfast that might be a green smoothie, some yogurt with fresh fruit, a breakfast burrito, or some scrambled eggs with sautéed vegetables. For lunch, maybe you pile extra greens onto your sandwich and a nice piece of fruit or perhaps you have a big, fun salad. For dinner you could have some pasta with a quick sauce (like this one), a veggie-packed waffle omelet, or barbeque with lots and lots of grilled vegetables. And for dessert? The Watermelon, stone fruit, and berries are all amazing!
Make more of your food. When the produce is this fresh, you don’t need to do much to it to make it delicious, so take advantage of that and start making some more meals at home. Salads, pastas, pilafs, and barbeques are all great ways to quickly get dinner on the table. Helps you to be healthier and is a nice way to save for that vacation you are taking…
Drink more water. You need to do it because it is hot out, so why not experiment with some fun ways to make drinking water more appealing. Infuse your water with some of the fresh fruits that are around (berries, stone fruit, and watermelon are all great for this) and some of those fresh herbs that are plentiful at this time of year are great too (I highly recommend mint and rosemary).
Getting even one of these habits started will mean that then when the Fall comes back around you will be ready to keep it going with the great fruits and vegetables that the Fall brings.
So which habit are you going to take on this summer?
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