6 Tips for Healthy Summer Eating from Online Nutritionist

 

It’s been a long winter, and summer has arrived, almost like a surprise. We’re probably not alone when we say we’re feeling grateful and hopeful. After a year of Covid-19 food bingeing and indulgences, after some pretty tough months, everything feels different – possibility, health, and hope.

Now is the perfect time to reboot with healthy habits to boost your energy levels, enjoy the flavors of summer, and give your immune system a much-needed boost. Here’s how:

  1. Focus on the “how”. Enjoy your food. Be mindful of what’s on your plate. Turn off electronics (including your phone!), sit at the table, and enjoy the meal that is before you with the people who are with you.
  2. Try virtual nutrition therapy with a telehealth dietitian nutritionist. Not only for the healthy, plant-based Mediterranean diet, but also the slow food movement. This movement goes beyond enjoying a beautiful meal. It promotes reducing our carbon footprint (eating clean, shopping at farmer’s markets), supports everyone’s right to access healthy food at a fair price (no more food deserts), whose manifesto defends everyone’s right to pleasure.
  3. Put the calculator down. Instead of counting calories, establish healthy eating patterns.
  • Choose in-season fruits, vegetables, and fish. It’s summer! In-season fruits and vegetables are generally less expensive and more environmentally friendly – fresh cherries, berries, corn-on-the-cob and more.
  • Make cut-up vegetables and fruits your go-to snack. Cut up your carrots, jicama, wash your peas in a pod, and have them ready for you to grab out of your fridge. Freeze grapes and make fruit kebobs (with cubed cheese for a protein punch).
  • Replace simple grains for whole grains – quinoa, whole-grain rice and pasta, whole oats, buckwheat.
  • Go nuts. Literally. Add a handful of nuts to your morning yogurt. Pack them up as a go-to snack instead of crackers and chips. Nuts and seeds are the perfect way to include healthy fats in your diet.
  1. Keep an icy jar of water in the fridge. Add lemon slices, cucumber, and other fruits to give it a little citric punch. Many people confuse dehydrated with hungry. And most of us don’t drink enough as is. Put on a timer. Have a water bottle beside your desk. And drink up!
  2. Get colorful. The more colors on your plate, the healthier the meal (and prettier). Go to a local Farmer’s Market and experiment with new flavors.
  3. Reduce salt by using delicious homegrown herbs and spices. Oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil … are all easy to grow on your windowsill, just waiting to spice up your meals.

It’s all about moderation, modification, and celebration. We believe everyone has the right to enjoy their meals. Start the summer off with a reboot – reboot your diet, your eating patterns, and habits. Feel healthier and more energized with online nutrition therapy from a telehealth dietitian nutritionist.