SUMMERTIME FOODS

 

LIGHTEN UP 

Summertime and the living is easy, and at this time of year we don’t want to be bogged down with lots of stodge.  Summer’s a good time to lighten the load and enjoy some good fresh choices. 

 

SALADS

Versatility and the options are endless.  Vegetables are a good way of getting lots of useful vitamins, minerals and fibre all in one place.  Have you thought about refreshing your salad choices and adding new things?  Fruit, nuts, seeds and things that you’d usually only cook like broccoli or cauliflower are delicious to add crunch, texture and some interesting taste variations.  Or try shredded red cabbage and fresh shucked peas are sweet and delicious eaten raw. 

Why stick to ham or chicken, there are loads of other nutritious ways to introduce protein; pulses, fish and Quorn are all interesting especially when pepped up with some cous-cous or quinoa.

 

One good test of the diversity of your meal is to look at it.  If you can see lots of colours on the plate then there are lots of different fresh ingredients all packing a punch to keep you revved up and raring to go.  Don’t think of them as carrots and peppers, think of them as vitamins and antioxidants. 

 

DAIRY DIARY

Lots of people believe that avoiding dairy can help in weight control as it’s feared that cheese and cream are choc full of calories. 

 

Greek yogurt is packed with protein, far more than in normal yogurt.  In fact in may surprise you to know that around a 4oz serving contains almost the same amount of protein as an equivalent amount of steak.  Add to that the calcium and microbes, vitamins and potassium and you’d be mad not to.  And you may have seen on the internet that there have been some studies directly linking eating yogurt regularly with weight control. 

 

So by missing out on dairy you could be missing out on a whole range of benefits too.  Try low fat options but remember for bone density, brain health and big time protein it’s worth getting some dairy in your diary. 

 

JUICE

Juice can be tempting but the problem with it is that it concentrates the sugar and doesn’t fill you up in the same way that chewing does.  Eating fruit rather than drinking it also gives you a fibre hit which simply isn’t contained within a juice drink so only enjoy it in moderation.

 

PASTA

Did you know that courgette is the new pasta and you can even get a ‘spiralizer’ now to make the process quick and easy at home.  This new gadget can spin a courgette into a plate of spaghetti style guilt free pasta in moments.  Or that’s about 20 calories per portion versus around 450 calories for an equal measure of normal spaghetti and it’s delicious too.  You can top this with a traditional pasta sauce or maybe experiment with something altogether new and exciting for a light and delicious lunch, like sautéed mushroom and walnuts or toasted garlic with mixed pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds.  Yummy.

 

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