Chill Out: Great Summertime Foods

Summertime! That means sun, sun, sun!
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It’s summer. I hope that you’ve already realized that significant fact, but if you hadn’t, at least now you know for sure: it is, in fact, summer. For many, summertime means a rise in temperature and the un-hibernation of shorts, tank tops, and dresses to compensate for more sun.

Like the change in clothing, there are also some changes you can make to your diet to help compensate for the heat. Foods that are rich in water will help your body stay hydrated and cool. Consider these five foods:

1. Watermelon: With a water percentage of up to 92%, this sweet treat is bound to keep you cool. Some research has even suggested that watermelon may be even more hydrating than a glass of water, since its natural sugars, calcium, potassium, and sodium help replace electrolytes in the body. 
2. Cucumbers: Believe it or not, cucumbers contain even more water than watermelon. At 96% water, they are crisp and cool, and include vitamins C and K to help replenish your body.
3. Celery: Also 96% water, celery is a good source for sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. Like cucumbers, the nutrients in celery help carry the water content efficiently throughout your body, hydrating you more than drinking twice the amount of water would.
4. Tomatoes: 94% water doesn’t mean they’re not full of nutrients. Tomatoes are incredibly good for your health, and are thought to reduce the risk for heart disease and cancer. They are also full of the antioxidant lycopene.
5. Spicy Food: Wait, hot food to cool down? It may seem counterintuitive, but spicy foods also help flush your skin, creating a surge of blood that, once dissipated, will make you feel cooler. Pretty cool, huh?



Watermelon is 92% water and helps replace electrolytes.
Image: Shutterstock

6. Coconut Water: Another reason to drink coconut water! Like I discussed before, coconut water is now being used as a sports drink replacement since it helps replace carbs and electrolytes used up during exercise. Plus, it’s free of fat and cholesterol and is potassium-rich.

What are some of your favorite water-rich summertime treats? Share in the comments below! 

Have a Happy, Healthy Valentine’s Day

Try some healthy alternatives to the traditional sugary candy.
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Holidays are the death of healthy eating. We’ve developed a habit of wanting to celebrate by eating sugary, fatty, unhealthy food—under the assumption that if it tastes good, it must not be good for you. Wrong! Some of my favorite foods are also incredibly healthy. Consider these fun Valentine’s Day themed food treats this year as an alternative to the traditional candy and sugar overload:

Smooties: Combine your favorite berries with yogurt to make a healthy treat. If it’s ice cream you’re craving, use frozen berries!

Fruit Bars: Blend together strawberries and bananas, then freeze them onto popsicle sticks. Give it a few hours, and then you’ll have a fresh, frozen treat!

Chocolate avocado pudding is healthy and sweet!
Image from wholefoodsmarket.com

Fruit Kabobs: Pick out three or four of your favorite pink and red fruits, then cut them up and make kabobs out of them. If you’re feeling really indulgent, get some pure dark chocolate and melt it for dipping sauce.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding: Sounds strange, but I’ve heard nothing but good things. This recipe calls for avocado, banana, cocoa powder, dates, and vanilla extract—that’s it! Top with a few raspberries or strawberries to brighten it up.

Watermelon Hearts: Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut watermelon into tiny hearts or use a paring knife to do the same to strawberries. Serve with a tiny bit of fresh whipping cream.

Watermelon hearts are cute and healthy!
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Tomato Tarts: If you want something a bit more savory, try these heart-shaped tomato tarts. All you need is puff pastry, Dijon mustard, and tomatoes.

Love Day Punch: To avoid sugary drinks, try making a healthier version using cranberry juice and seltzer water. You can even make heart-shaped ice cubes using pink lemonade or add fresh fruit.

Do you have any other healthy Valentine’s Day treats you’ll be trying at home this year? I plan on making the chocolate avocado pudding, hands down. If you have any other ideas or recipes, please feel free to share them here! Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

15 Cleanest Foods to Buy

Onions are the least likely to be contaminated with pesticides.
Image: Alexandre Dulaunoy via Flickr CC

In my last post, I talked about foods that were best when bought organic because of the high occurrence of pesticides found in them. That list included popular fruits and veggies like apples, strawberries, and spinach (read the full article here!). Pesticide contamination for apples was around 98%, and some other food items were likely to be contaminated with dozens of chemicals and pesticides of varying toxicity. On celery and strawberries, one sample revealed the presence thirteen different pesticides on each. Yikes!

But enough about the contaminated foods. You can read about that in the other post. Here I wanted to talk about the 15 cleanest foods to buy. These are the foods that, if you can’t afford to buy everything organic, are much less likely to be contaminated with pesticides in their non-organic forms. Here are the “Clean 15” as provided by the Environmental Working Group (EWG):

Watermelon is among the cleanest of produce.
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1. Onions
2. Sweet Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Cabbage
6. Sweet Peas
7. Asparagus
8. Mangoes
9. Eggplant
10. Kiwi
11. Cantaloupe (domestic)
12. Sweet Potatoes
13. Grapefruit
14. Watermelon
15. Mushrooms

If you can’t afford to buy all produce organic, these are the safest produce items to purchase non-organic varieties of. The health risks from consumption of pesticide-contaminated foods are grave. Because health risks depend on the amount of pesticides consumed and the toxicity of individual pesticides, avoiding the most contaminated foods while eating more of the least contaminated foods will help keep you out of harm’s way.