Healthy Suggestions for Summer Fun

With summer on it’s way I am sure you are getting excited for going to the beach, going on vacations and overall just having time to relax in the sun.  Yet with all the excitement summer brings, many of you spend a lot of time worrying about your beach bodies and vacation weight gain.  Doesn’t that defeat the point of the joy that summer brings?  Just because you have tons of graduation parties, barbeques and beach bashes coming up, it doesn’t mean you have to disregard your healthy lifestyle plan.

Here are some easy ways to stay healthy during the summer months!

·      Summer salads: Potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni salad, these are staples at most barbeques and so is the heaping amount of mayonnaise that usually finds it’s way into the recipe.  Try and moderate your portions of these salads, or opt for versions that use vinegars instead of mayonnaise.

·      Dip into something healthier: While onion dips and creamy ranch are delicious on vegetables and chips, the calories can add up pretty quickly.  Use nonfat, plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream or flavored hummus for dips instead of regular sour cream and mayonnaise to get the same flavor without the saturated fats.  Or use guacamole for some healthy unsaturated fat!

·      Burger makeover: While there is nothing like a juicy burger off the grill, there can be a lot of hidden fat inside that patty.  Make sure you are using lean ground beef, or make a veggie burger using lentils or black beans to still get a hearty flavor.  Top with avocado instead of cheese for an extra nutrient boost!

·      Dessert Decisions: Balance is key when it comes to dessert selection at a summer party.  If you decided you wanted to eat some classic potato or macaroni salad, scale back on starchy, high fat desserts like cakes and cookies and opt for fruit salad.  There are so many delicious fruits in season in the summer and their juicy, good for you flavor is better than most store bought desserts anyway.  Try utilizing the grill and making fruit skewers out of pineapple, melons and cherries.  The heat from the grill will caramelize the natural sugars in the fruit for a sweet, savory and nutritious treat!

·      Easy Exercise: One of the best things about summer is that the nice weather begs for outdoor activities.  Whether you join a summer team for softball, play volleyball whenever you are the beach, or just start taking daily walks or runs in the gorgeous summer mornings and nights, it’s easy to increase your activity level and calorie burn when the weather is on your side!

Summer is a time for relaxation not worry, so as long as your mindful of balance in the foods you are choosing and remembering to stay active you’re sure to be healthy and look great doing it! 

“Volumizing”—Not Just for Your Hair!

One of the first things that I’m sure you think of when it comes to being healthy is that you should probably cut down on the amount of foods you eat.  Depending on the types of food you are consuming, this does not need to be true!  By adding volume to your diet, you can actually increase the amount of food that you eat, while also adding more vitamins and nutrients to your diet.

The term that is the key to portion control and balancing consumption of certain foods is “energy density.”  Energy density refers to whether the calories in one serving of a food is very high or very low.  The more calories per serving the more energy dense something is.  You would figure this out by dividing the number of calories per serving by the number of grams one serving is.  If something’s energy density falls between 0-1.5, it is low in energy density, if it is 1.5-4.0 it is medium, and 4.0-9.0 is high in energy density.

In order to maximize the amount you eat, you want to choose more foods from the low energy density group because you can eat more of them for less calories or “energy.”  If you wanted to eat one serving of plain, vanilla ice cream that would be ½ cup and roughly 150 calories.  Yet if you wanted to eat more, you could eat 2 cups of berries with whip cream for the same amount of calories.  That’s 4x the amount of food for an equal amount of calories plus a lot more fiber and nutrients.

Here are some easy ways to add volume to your meals:

Breakfast: If you like oatmeal, cereal or yogurt to start your day, add fruit, nuts and seeds to fill you up and start your day great.  If you have a little more time in the morning, add vegetables to your omelets.

Lunch: If you prefer to have a sandwich, instead of loading it up with cold cuts, use spinach, slice veggies, use spreads such as hummus or avocado instead of mayonnaise and cheese.  If you are making a salad, use beans and nuts to make it more filling instead of fried proteins or other energy dense toppings.

Dinner: Still want pasta?  Go for it! But instead of piling it on your plate, shred zucchini with your vegetables peeler into spaghetti like strands, or better yet, hollow out spaghetti squash which looks exactly like the pasta.  Sautée it in garlic and oil and toss with your pasta dish.  If you like mashed potatoes, use roasted or boiled cauliflower in place of half the potatoes.  Blend or mash them together and you will lower the calories and up the nutrient content!

Eating healthy does not need mean eating less!  Use energy density to help you understand portion control and you’ll be full and feeling great!  Let us know about any meals you volumize this week!

Make Friends, Not Enemies, with Your Food

I was recently giving a presentation to a group of high school cheerleaders.  I had mentioned early on in the presentation that there is no such thing as dieting, and that no food should be “off-limits”.  When it came time to ask the final question, one of the girls raised her hand and asked, almost as if she were sharing a secret, “Can we really eat anything we want?  Like cookies?”  The question struck me as interesting, because it was as if I was giving her permission to do an illegal act by saying, “Yes you can eat cookies if you want to eat cookies.”

I thought quite a bit about this question in the weeks that followed.  I realized that our culture has made food out to be the enemy.  There are certain foods on the “Top Ten Most Wanted List” that we do not want to be “caught” with because it is a reflection of our healthy, or not so healthy habits.  But it is time to give food back its innocence!  There are so many ways any foods, even those previously deemed “criminal” can find a place in a healthy lifestyle.

Try out these tips for fitting in some of your favorites!

·         Moderation: When I was asked about the cookies I told the young lady who asked she could eat them every day if she wanted to.  I cautioned however this does not mean eat the whole box of Oreo's®, or a cookie from the deli that’s the size of your face on a daily basis.  Make serving sizes your friend and you can include anything in your eating plan in moderation.  Sharing always works too so everyone gets to enjoy!

·         Simple swaps: Maybe you love chips and dip, or you can’t resist ice cream.  Use healthy swaps with same taste and texture profile in order to curb your cravings.  For example, use nonfat, plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream for your favorite dips!  When making mashed potatoes, use half the amount of potatoes and the other half blended cauliflower!  Bake your own oven fries instead of going through the drive-thru!  There are tons of ways to have the foods you want, but optimize their health benefits at the same time.

·         Balance your Indulgences: You can’t always say yes to every food you desire throughout the course of the day.  For example, if you decide to go with the blended coffee drink at breakfast that has a little more sugar than you would normally start your day with, that’s fine!  But maybe later in the evening pass on the ice cream for dessert, and go with yogurt or fruit with a little whip cream to balance out your earlier treat.

There is always a way to have your cake and eat it too…pun intended!  So use your intuition when honoring your indulgences, and balance those decisions with healthy choices as well.  You will find yourself satisfied and unrestricted, while still maintaining a healthy lifestyle!

Want more information for how to make food your friend?  E-mail me at shelbi@cheer-360.com!