6 easy tips to make healthy summer meals and snacks

• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Google
• LinkedIn

There are so many foods to enjoy more than usual during the summer! Many of them are amazing ingredients for healthy summer meals. Other foods and drinks are just ideal for hot weather and a special part of summer vacation!

The key principals of healthy eating are the same throughout year. However, here are three extra tips to keep in mind to you plan your food list for the summer:

• Stay hydrated. Proper hydration is always important, but especially during the summer it can reduce the risk of heatstroke and help you feel energized when it’s hot!
• Prefer meals and snacks that keep you cool and full at the same time. Fried foods and takeaway meals can be hard to digest and make you feel even warmer.
• It is alright to enjoy your favourite summer snacks and desserts as a part of a balanced diet!

Here are a few tips to eat healthy in the summer without putting too much effort!

1. Meal prep can be more helpful than ever!

Preparing healthy meals for the next week it’s an excellent summer hack to support your fitness journey and to avoid heat stroke episodes as well!

• Summer weather is ideal for outdoors activities and travelling. It is perfectly alright if you do not want to spend your evenings cooking from scratch. Spending one or two evenings per week to prepare your main meals could keep you away from many unnecessary calorie-dense takeaways!
• If you have some food ready you will not have to spend time over the kitchen hob and the oven when the weather is too hot. So, meal prep could keep you away from heatstroke!
• Overall, avoid frying and preparing stews when the sun peaks, especially if there is no air-conditioning.

2. Keep your fresh fruit and vegetables safe from the heat

Fruit and vegetables in hot weather are the best foods to keep you extra hydrated.  They can go bad sooner than usual though because of heat! Here are a few tips to keep them fresh and avoid wasting food:

• Prefer purchasing frozen fruit and veggies or produce you can store in the fridge.
• Keep the fresh produce you cannot chill away from the sunlight! Find a cupboard or a corner away from warm windows.
• Avoid keeping ripened fruits, especially bananas and apples, close to fresh produce. Many ripen fruits produce ethylene, a gas that can induce fresh fruit’s ripening too. That’s a useful tip throughout the year actually!

3. Use fruit and plain yogurt to make frozen desserts

A food processor is all you need to make frozen low calorie desserts full of vitamins within minutes:

• Mix different kinds of fresh fruit juice, add fruit pieces and poor the mixture into popsicle moulds. Freeze and you will have delicious ice lollies!
• Fat free plain yogurt or coconut yogurt and add any fruit you love to make frozen yogurt or ice cream.
• Bananas are a staple for vegan low calorie ice creams. Click here for instructions!

4. Stock up on low calorie ice cream

Ice cream is of one the top favourite cooling foods for hot weather days, especially for dessert lovers. They are is nothing wrong with enjoying all types of ice cream in moderation! If you enjoy ice cream on a daily basis though (or more than once a day!) low energy ice cream tubes can be very useful.

Here are a few tips to enjoy low calorie ice cream without unnecessarily increasing your energy intake:

5. Experiment with salads

Leafy greens and raw vegetables are the best ingredients for refreshing healthy summer meals. Their high water content will help you to stay hydrated and they are high vitamins and minerals to keep you full of energy. They are also quick and easy to prepare and you won’t have to cook from scratch in the hot weather!

• Try adding a tablespoon of vegetable oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and plenty of fresh or dried herbs.
• Avoid high fat dressings with added sugars.
• Add any protein source you prefer and you already have in the fridge; legumes, prawns, low fat cheese, hard boiled eggs, low fat hummus, fish or any type of lean meat you prefer.

6. Keep your smoothies healthy!

Even though eating whole fruit is the best way to eat fruit, a smoothie in the summer can be a lovely healthy snack! Here are some tips to avoid adding extra calories to your smoothies:

• Avoid added sugars and syrups as much as possible.
• You can try vanilla essence, cinnamon powder and a teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
• Add a lean source of protein (like Greek yogurt) to feel full for longer.

References