15 Easy and Healthy Choices to Make Over the Summer
Summer just seems to lend itself to healthier choices. More daylight hours help us get out and get active, gardens and markets overflow with seasonal fruits and veggies, and summer heat steers us toward more healthful eating and active living.
Whether you’re at home or eating out at a restaurant, these wholesome choices can help you and your family boost nutrition and energy as the weather heats up. This is a message that is vocalized by the nationwide Together Counts™ program, an organization that we are proud to partner with that inspires healthful eating and active living. While your family’s health, happiness and energy balance all require a year-round commitment, when it comes to food, these are some of our favorite choices to make over the summer months:
- Stay hydrated throughout the day. Sometimes we mistake thirst for hunger when our body is really just asking us to replenish the liquids we sweat out in the sun.
- Add seasonal veggies as a side at backyard barbecues and restaurants.
- Snack on frozen grapes for a sweet treat with the benefit of fiber, vitamins and minerals.
- Keep prepped fruits on hand at home for quick and easy snacks for the whole family to grab when hunger strikes.
- Choose veggies and a wholesome dip for a fast snack or side to boost veggie servings and nutrition during the long summer days.
- Pick pumped up salads with cool whole grains at restaurants and at home for added B vitamins, fiber and iron.
- Order cold fruit- or vegetable-based soups like gazpacho at restaurants for a fun and vitamin-packed twist on the soothing winter classic.
- Blend veggies like mushrooms, carrots and zucchini into burgers to cut fat and calories and up flavor and nutrition.
- Grill fruits like watermelon, pineapple and peaches for a sweet side that everyone in the family can help select and then savor.
- Choose garden-fresh herbs like basil, dill and parsley to season meals with powerful summer flavor and added antioxidants.
- Try versatile, grilled lean proteins when ordering at restaurants or planning family dinners.
- Get everyone involved in selecting new restaurants serving family-friendly choices to try during the summer months. Opt for Healthy Dining and Kids LiveWell menu choices at restaurants to guide your choices all year long.
- Try one new fruit or veggie every week at home or when eating out to make eating and adventure and part of the summer fun.
Making healthier choices over the summer is a natural! What does your family do during the summer months to boost nutrition and health? Search for participating restaurants near you on HealthyDiningFinder.com.
ABOUT HEALTHY DINING
Healthy Dining’s signature web and mobile site, HealthyDiningFinder.com, is the only search engine of its kind providing personalized dining out recommendations validated by Healthy Dining’s team of registered dietitians. HealthyDiningFinder.com features more than 4,000 menu choices from participating restaurants nationwide enabling diet- and nutrition- conscious consumers to find nutrition information and Healthy Dining options emphasizing lean protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and unsaturated fats. HealthyDiningFinder.com also features a Kids LiveWell platform, a program developed by the National Restaurant Association, to help parents find restaurants offering healthier meals for children. With 25 years of expertise in the restaurant industry and hundreds of thousands of restaurant recipes analyzed for nutrient content, Healthy Dining is the most experienced restaurant nutrition services provider in the world.
For more ideas to make your summer active and healthy, take a look at these other sweet reads from Together Counts!