This article is part of our Nutrition + Dining series. Here we explore holistic health topics and share favorite dishes from aligned restaurants.
4 essentials for a deliciously healthy Summer
With warmer weather and longer days, Summer is the perfect time to tune your diet and lifestyle to support good health.
Whether you’re planning a road trip, grand vacation, or staycation this Summer — we’ve got your healthy eats checklist to keep you happy and nourished along the way.
As always, listen to your body and prioritize healthy whole foods.
To stay happy and healthy while beating the heat, consider these four essentials:
#1) All-organic green juice
Nothing says “hello, healthy” quite like a fresh, cold-pressed green juice made with all-organic veggies! (Bonus points if they’re local for that extra fresh nutrition!)
Juicing can be a refreshing way to get your greens on hot days.
Benefits:
- Alkalizing Hydration: Keeps you hydrated and helps balance your body’s pH.
- Nutrient-Rich: Packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants for an instant nutrient boost.
- Clean & Pristine Feel: Makes you feel refreshed and energized.
Tips:
- Go Green: Stick to seasonal greens, celery, cucumber, and parsley. Save fruits and starchy vegetables like carrots and beets to eat whole, as juicing removes their fiber and can increase sugar content.
- Verify Freshness: Ensure the source is fresh and clean, using organic or better practices.
Go-To Example:
Great Green Juice at For the Health of It in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. Made with seasonal greens and a touch of lemon. Perfect for conquering post red-eye flights!
If you have a medical condition restricting greens and have never juiced, avoid it.
Green juice is a pick-me-up and nutritional boost, not a meal replacement. It lacks fiber and roughage, which brings us to our next essential…
#2 Seasonal Salads
Channel your inner Alice Waters, the ultimate salad muse. A sensational salad on any menu often signals more deliciousness to come.
Benefits:
- Whole Food Nutrition: Provides essential vitamins and minerals from fresh, high-quality ingredients.
- Hydration: Crisp, cooling plates keep you refreshed without weighing you down. Think: cucumbers, watermelons, cantaloupes, summer tomatoes, and more.
- Antioxidants: Seasonal veggies like carrots and cucumber, plus berries like strawberries and blueberries and more are packed with antioxidants.
Tips:
- Look for Fresh and Seasonal Ingredients: Scan menus for salads with simple preparations using high-quality ingredients.
- Avoid Sad Salads: Steer clear of wilted lettuce and lackluster colors. Bright, varied colors are markers of nutrition.
- House-made dressings. Always! Think: lightly dressed with fruity EVOO, herbs, salt, and vinegar.
Go-To Example:
From the muse: the classic Chez Panisse Local lettuces with baked local goat cheese, Rocket and Fennel Salad with Toasted Hazelnuts and Pecorino, and more…
Little Gem Salad at Pizzeria Delfina, SF Bay Area. Crisp, vibrant, and featuring sustainable greens.
Photo courtesy of Pizzeria Delfina
#3 A Proper Breakfast
There’s something to the adage – eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a queen – that we love… and it’s the emphasis on breakfast. Starting your day with a balanced, nutritious breakfast sets the tone for sustained energy and a stable mood.
Benefits:
- Sustained Energy: A balanced meal with protein, fat, and carbs fuels your day.
- Balanced Blood Sugar: Proper nutrition helps maintain stable blood sugar levels.
- Brain Fuel: Provides essential nutrients for cognitive function and mood regulation.
Tips:
- Prioritize Quality Ingredients: Choose organic pasture-raised eggs, seasonal greens, and whole grains. Yes you should get your greens at breakfast too!
- Avoid Refined Carbs and Poor-Quality Ingredients.
- Recommended dishes:
- Seasonal frittata with garden vegetables and arugula.
- Organic pasture-raised eggs with seasonal greens and avocado toast.
- Plain local yogurt made from organic pastured dairy (or organic coconut). Top with a modest amount of organic fruit, granola, or honey for a touch of sweetness as needed…. Omega-3 Bonus: add fresh ground flax &/or chia!
Go-To Example:
Season’s Harvest Cafe in Cypress, TX. Enjoy dishes like fresh-milled organic whole-grain pancakes and house-made granola with local yogurt.
Photos courtesy of Season’s Harvest Cafe
#4 Healthy Indulgences
Exploring new areas this Summer? Seek out local artisan treasures and treats you can’t get anywhere else.
Benefits:
- Support local: Connects you with passionate artisans and supports local, sustainable food systems.
- Nourish your soul with Balanced Enjoyment: Indulge in moderation while ensuring adequate veggies and clean nutrition.
Tips:
- Seek Artisan Products: Look for handmade bakery treats (fresh-milled and long-fermented sourdough), small-batch cheeses (pasture-raised or vegan), artisan coffee or tea, locally-made Kombucha, and biodynamic and low-intervention wines.
- Maintain balance: Keep the indulgences balanced within the context of a varied, healthy diet. At any given time, you should never feel “full” (aim for a 7-8 out of 10!)
Go-To Example:
The French R-evolutions in Vermont (formerly in Paso Robles). Parisian-born traveler and home-baker Laure Torkler painstakingly prepares specialty rye breads “energy bread”, pain au chocolat, and more out of her home boulangerie and former proprietor of the Vermont B&B now named Wonderhill.
Enjoy handcrafted European breads, like energy bread made with whole grains, apples, and nuts. (The energy bread is great fuel for holiday hikes and bikes, or as a quick satisfying breakfast (see #3). It includes whole wheat and spelt with apples, cranberries, raisins, nuts, and honey.)
Photos courtesy of The French R-evolutions
Your Path to Healthier Summer Travel Starts Here
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