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Tips for Healthy Eating This Spring and Summer

 

Tips for Healthy Eating This Spring and Summer

 

When spring and summer arrive, eating healthy can get a little challenging. Traditional spring and summer foods usually include BBQs, burgers, or pasta salads covered in thick mayo, which is not exactly healthy. Plus, if you have school-aged children, your schedule can change substantially. This can make finding time to cook and eat healthy meals more difficult, especially if your children are involved in lots of activities or are constantly coming and going.

Odds are, since most families vacation in the spring and summer, you might be planning on traveling as well. Traveling can make healthy eating an even bigger challenge as you are forced to eat out more or grab fast food en route to your destination.

All these factors can come together to make healthy eating tricky, but it doesn't have to be. You can protect yourself against junk food and keep the whole family eating healthy this spring and summer!

 

Eat Healthy On The Go

Spring and summer are usually the time for travel, camping trips, and family excursions. Eating healthy while on the go is more difficult than eating healthy while at home. However, it isn’t impossible and can be done as long as you focus on healthy options.

If you’re traveling, plan your stops beforehand. Travel and Leisure offers plenty of good information and tips on how to plan ahead for stops. If you stop to eat where there is only fast food, you’re going to have to eat fast food. Instead, aim to stop somewhere with at least a few healthy options, like a sit-down, full-service restaurant. With that said, not all options many people consider healthy are actually healthy. For example, salads, in some cases, are not the best choice.

According to Men’s Journal, salads can become an unhealthy option once you consider all the extras that get piled on top, like bacon, croutons, and fatty dressings. Instead, opt for a balanced meal featuring lean meats, fresh veggies, and a moderate amount of healthy carbs. Those options can easily be found while you are traveling.

 

Be Prepared

No matter where you are or what you’re doing, planning is an essential part of every meal. Unhealthy eating tends to happen when a meal was not properly planned. After a long and busy day enjoying the warmer temperatures, you suddenly realize that it’s quickly approaching dinner time and you have no idea what you’re going to make.

You go into the kitchen only to notice that you have nothing that could constitute a meal, so you order a pizza or Chinese food. To prevent this habit, we recommend planning your meals ahead of time. Throw in a few backups that can function as lunches later if they are unneeded. Creating and sticking to pre-planned menus can cut down on the worry time and give you and your family direction in how and what you eat each night.

If you work from home, having a plan in place can also help you stay on track. Always have items like pita bread, hummus, cottage cheese, avocados, lean proteins, berries, oatmeal, and Greek yogurt on hand. This way you can throw together quick lunches that are both nutritious and filling.

 

Grow Healthy

Having a family garden will give you more options to put on the table. Plus, your produce may be even healthier, if you make sure that you go organic. When planning a family garden, you can opt to put up a kid’s snack garden. Involve them every step of the way and have them maintain the plants themselves. They can learn more about the produce they eat and start snacking healthily. Soon you’ll be growing healthy snacks that you can eat straight off the plant.

 

Bring Your Own Food

Spring and summer are also full of picnics, BBQs, and family get-togethers. If your family is not dedicated to healthy eating, these gatherings can lead to all sorts of temptations. However, there is no need to skip these parties altogether.

Instead, opt to bring some food to share that you know will provide a healthy option. This will allow you to watch what you eat and might encourage both your family and friends to try some more healthy options as well.

 

Gather The Right Tools For Healthy Cooking

It is hard to cook healthy meals if you don’t have the right pots and pans to cook in. The right cookware can make your time in the kitchen joyous and fun. However, having the wrong cookware or even missing certain pieces can make meal prep a bit harder.

Instead of getting low-quality pots and pans in an effort to save a buck, choose to purchase high-quality cookware that you know will last a while and make your time in the kitchen easier. In fact, a few well-chosen pieces of cookware and utensils can make all the difference when it comes to cooking healthy meals.

 

While eating healthy in the summer can be somewhat more difficult than other times of the year, it is not altogether impossible. Planning and making the choice to follow menus can make all the difference in the world. Creating new healthy options for get-togethers and having the right cookware to encourage cooking at home could be the difference that sets you and your family on a path to healthy eating. Follow these simple tips and you’ll find it easier to keep your family eating healthfully the whole spring and summer.

 
 

Article and research contributed by Sharon Wagner of seniorfriendly.info.