Summer Can Be Unhealthy If…

We talk a lot about different “healthy” foods here and how to prepare them to enhance their nutrition, but did you know one of the biggest issues to eating healthy great foods is summer. Yup, eating good is all hooked to the season of the year! Now I know your thinking, “This guy has just flipped out! … Is he trying to get into the climate change issue?” Well it is sort of a climate change issue in that the temperature does change every year between May to September. If you will hold on and take a few minutes to read through how I am seeing things,  you may just agree! Summer Can Be Unhealthy If…

All right let me lay out my case. During summer the kids are out of school, great vegetables and fruits are in season, and time for vacation is here! Yet there are issues…

Busy Days = Quick Food Choices

The kids are out of school and it is the time to relax, right? That may seem like a good idea but reality sets in. Daylight lasts longer so it is the time to be out doing things that don’t get done when it is cold and dark. Staying at home is the last thing anyone wants to do, kids have friends to see and catch up with. Then there is that list of places to go and things to experience that winter time holds us back from. All these day trips add up to quick food choices, ie. processed “fast”  foods. It’s just easier to grab something from the fast fill, amusement park or local fast food establishment. We tell ourselves when night comes we will have a great home cooked meal to make up for it all. Often though, home cooked meals take time and someone would have been left at home, out of the fun.

Eating out becomes the normal summer experience. Pizza, burgers, hotdogs, etc… These are all the foods that were held back during the winter, now they flow and it adds to the fun experience, maybe? Remember these food sellers are there to make a profit, which usually means cutting costs by using the lowest cost ingredients possible. After all they call these items “junk food” for a reason. Maybe, Summer Can Be Unhealthy If…

Vacations

It has come to the event of the year, a vacation! The family has been talking about the trip all winter. Planning where to go and what to see, so many choices to make. It comes down to the final choice of what to do… and the decision is made. Let’s see everything! After all we are going to a new place, spending all that money, and there is a limited time there. So get up early grab a quick bite and hit the trail. One event after another with just enough time to catch a breather, another bite and off again. Does this sound like what your vacation is like?

Ever notice how many people get sick on vacation or shortly after? I see it all the time. Is it the poor food choices or maybe the poor food itself? The stress of the constant rush to have fun and experience something new or see something not seen before… hmmm.

Summer Can be Healthy If…

I am sure now you can complete my idea, Summer Can Be Unhealthy If… in a million different ways. But how about this one, Summer Can be Healthy If… Some pre-planning can really help avoid some of the quick stop food choices.

Portable Foods To The Rescue

Fruit is a portable food that is packaged by nature and often it is in single serving size. Great thing is fruit does not need refrigeration and is easy to carry along. Add to these easy facts that it contains enzymes that slow digestion and since it is usually a fructose based sugar it is slower to digest. This all adds up to a snack that gives energy, vitamins, and nutrition with holding power. Fruit can be found at many markets so it can be just as quick a stop as the fast food joint. Even on vacation you can find fruit easily. Bonus Tip: When out look for organic fruit, since you may not have the ability to wash it your concerns are less.

Nuts are one of the original portable foods. Pick up some raw nuts and make a homemade trail mix before the hunger hits. Nuts with some, raisins, coconut flakes, and banana chips makes a super duty snack! Keep a bag of your homemade trail mix in the car, office drawer, locker, carry bag, etc. and you will never be without a snack that holds. Raw nuts are high in protein and fats which equals holding power for hours. On vacations I make a gallon bag of trail mix up and it often lasts the entire time we are out of town. All that is needed is some water and the nuts to equal a meal replacement.

Planned Eating = No Bad Choices

One thing is certain, you will have to eat every day. We have been doing it as long as we can remember. So why do we get caught starving and end up eating “whatever”! All it takes is a little pre-planning. With your snacks (fruit or trail-mix) along you will be able to hold on until you can make a better, wiser meal choice. Dinners can be planned and some foods made beforehand for quick, easy assembly when getting back to the house after a long day out. When on vacation plan where you will eat so it can be part of the experience while being a healthy choice. 🙂

There are many other ideas that can be employed so that Summer Can be Healthy If…

Comment and share with us some of the ways you keep summer healthy.