Sunny Days Leading to Healthy Ways

The thermostat is rising, which can only mean one thing: summer is officially here. Summer is a wonderful time for so many reasons, including the opportunity to spend more time outdoors. The warmer weather also makes it easier to adopt healthy habits.

With longer days and relaxing nights, summer truly is the best season. In fact, there are many ways that summer makes it easy to follow healthy habits!

As the summer heat intensifies, you might be looking for ways to stay cool. A great way to cool down is with a frozen treat that not only refreshes you but also hydrates and nourishes you with essential nutrients.

10 Ways Summer Makes It Easy to Follow Healthy Habits

More Daylight: During the rest of the year, darkness in the early morning and evening can sometimes make it hard to be motivated to get out of bed. Now that you have more daylight and warmer temperatures at both the beginning and end of the day, it is easier to enjoy an outdoor walk or work out!

Grilling: Using your barbeque to grill food is a great way to cook healthy. You reduce nutrient losses if you grill vegetables compared to boiling them.

Fresh Fruit: Many healthy fruits such as blueberries and watermelon are in season in the summer making them the perfect sweet snack or dessert.

Summer Leagues: Whether it’s softball or beach volleyball, many summer sports opportunities make it easy to turn your exercise into a social engagement as well as a sweat session!

More Sun: Summer usually leads to spending more time in the sun. While this time should be regulated and sunscreen should always be applied, spending more time in the sun can increase the likelihood that you are getting your Vitamin D, which comes from the sun’s rays.

Vacations: Part of being healthy is taking time to relax. While a vacation can bring some stress, it’s also a great time to take a deep breath and “chill out.” You can also relax outside with a book or nap in a hammock. Even this mini vacation can serve to rejuvenate your mind and make it easier to practice healthy habits.

Easy Vegetable Increase: Kitchens can get hot in the summer so work with fresh produce and beans that don’t require cooking to create satiating meals. It’s a great way to increase your intake of vegetables and legumes, and it doesn’t require you to stand over the hot stove or oven!

Cool in the Pool: Spending time in the pool or the ocean at the beach is a wonderful way to exercise and stay cool.

Time with the Kids:Even though having the kids home can bring a little more chaos to your household, it is also a time to catch up with them and make sure they are a part of the healthy journey you are on.

Fun with family:Summer is filled with happy events that revolve around family. Whether it’s a barbeque, pool party, graduation, wedding, showers, or celebrating a new addition to the family, enjoy those times of celebration with the ones you love.

Cool Down this Summer

Here are some chilling choices for cool-down summer snacks!

Frozen Fruit: Take any of your favorite fruits and store them in the freezer. Snacking on frozen fruit will taste like you’re biting into an ice pop but you still get all the nutrients offered by the fresh fruit! Some favorites are grapes, bananas, blueberries, peaches, and strawberries.

Watermelon Slices: Watermelon is one of the juiciest and sweetest fruits and will cool you down and please your sweet tooth!

Raw Veggies: Raw vegetables like celery, bell peppers, and carrots are cold and crunchy and pair well with hummus or spinach dip.

Homemade Frozen Yogurt: Blend fresh fruit and plain or vanilla yogurt. Once it’s blended, stick in the freezer. Frozen yogurt shops are popping up all over as the newest dessert trend, but making your own is more affordable.

Frozen Cool Whip: If you’re looking for something a little lighter than ice cream, but with a similar texture, Cool Whip is great because it’s less dense from the air that’s whipped in. Chill it in the freezer for a light and fluffy topping to your favorite fresh fruit!

Summer can be a scorcher, but these snacks will help you beat the heat and stay healthy at the same time!