If you think summer is a tricky time to eat healthy (with all the ice-cream, icy poles and barbecues going around, we don’t blame you!), you’d be mistaken.
The warmer months are the perfect opportunity to overhaul your dietary habits and put into place some healthy new habits – we’re talking a diet full of healthy fruits, nutritious veggies and lots and lots of water.
Okay, we may not have sold you on healthy eating during summer just yet (it’s a little tricky for a fruit kebab to compete with pavlova and truffle, we’ll admit), but that’s why we’ve spoken to health and fitness expert, founder of Fitness In The City and Voome’s ‘Healthy on a Budget’ four week program instructor, Lee Sutherland.
Lee is an expert on all-things health and fitness, so we picked her brain about delicious healthy, summer meals, the vitamins and nutrients we need to function optimally and how we can eat healthy when in vacation mode.
Summer is here and we’re looking forward to entertaining guests! What are some healthy dishes we can serve that guests will like?
How lucky are we that Christmas falls across summer for us here in New Zealand?
There’s so many amazing fruits and veggies in season to take advantage of, and eating lighter, fresher foods is that much easier, and often more pleasant, due to the warm weather.
Our go-to healthy dishes include:
• Prawn with avocado and mango salads (plenty of baby spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes)
• Roast veggies with grilled fish
• Healthy chicken skewers with a home made honey glaze
• Simple boiled eggs or devils eggs to accompany salads
• Mixed stone fruit salad with a side of Greek yogurt
What seasonal foods should we take advantage of this silly season?
Eating seasonal is a New Year’s resolution we can all keep in 2019! Summer in particular spoils us with an amazing variety to use not only in our Christmas dishes, but in the days between as well.
Shopping from the markets is a good way to ensure it’s in season.
The following foods are plentiful during summer:
• Blueberries
• Mangoes
• Cherries
• Grapes
• Melons (Watermelon, Rockmelon etc)
• Avocados
• Nectarines
• Plums
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Asparagus
• Beans
• Beetroot
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Capsicum
• Cauliflower
• Lettuce
• Mushrooms
• Snowpeas
• Sweet Corn
What about those traveling over the break, do you have any advice for those who are away from home but still want to eat well?
While it can be easy for your eating habits to also take a vacation over the holiday break, its all about the 80/20 rule.
A majority of the time try and eat like an adult (yes, lose the candy guys!) and continue to eat fresh wholefoods. By that I mean balance your plate with good carbs like rice, sweet potato etc, proteins and good fats then when you indulge the other 20 per cent of the time, it won’t affect you as much.
But keep in mind, alcohol falls into that 20 per cent so don’t go crazy there either!
What nutrients and vitamins should we be looking to consume lots of in summer?
Summer is generally when everyone takes time off work, and often when sneaky illness creep up on us!
To make sure your immune system doesn’t shut down as well, look at investing in an immune boosting supplement which includes zinc, garlic, vitamin C and herbs like Echinacea, Astragalus, Golden Seal.
Chlorophyll or a type of ‘green drink’ to drink daily will help improve circulation and keep tissues free of toxic substances. Lastly, a vitamin B complex with activate enzymes to support healing and recover from those boozy lunches!
What healthy foods should be on our grocery lists?
• Include food medicines such as garlic, chilli, ginger etc
• Omega-3 fatty acid rich foods like fatty fish and or flaxseed oil
• Try foods like Asparagus which is warming in nature, bitter to stimulate digestion
• Onions are a superfoods often forgot! Include in your diet and they can help decrease catarrh (phlegm and inflammation of the nose and throat), inhibit allergic reactions and help with the common cold
• Include a wide range of colour when selecting fruit and veggies. For example yellow/orange has bioflavonoids, quercetin and vitamin C to stabiles cast cells.
Lee Sutherland is a Health / Fitness Expert and Director of Fitness In The City (Personal Training, Certified Health Coach and blogger on all things health, nutrition and fitness). She recently teamed up with Voome to create her Healthy on a Budget 4 week program.
