Lighter Foods for Hotter Days

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Nature is amazing! I love to think about the seasons of the Earth and how food grows. While winter naturally inspires cooked foods to help keep our bodies warm, when hot weather hits, it’s time to indulge our natural cravings for lighter foods with high water content. When you increase your consumption of fresh salad greens, summer vegetables, fresh herbs and ripe juicy fruits you get great benefits:

  • Less fat and calories

  • More fiber – helps keep you fuller longer

  • Plenty of antioxidants

  • Vitamins, minerals and trace minerals

  • Great variety; great taste

And you get water – so essential to life! We naturally crave cooler, juicier foods in the summer because we perspire a lot more from outdoor activities, work, play, exercise and even just relaxing in the heat. Did you know humans can live for about a month or longer with no food, but when it comes to water, a few days without it are about all we can last! Water makes up about 60 to 65% of our bodies — that’s a lot! The good news is that we get water from more than just what we drink. Food has water too! That means increasing our intake of cooling, water-filled foods helps keep our body temperature cooler and helps keep us feeling lighter and more refreshed. By some estimates, about 20% of our body’s need for water is satisfied through the foods we eat.As you can imagine, fruits and vegetables generally have the highest water content, although you will find some water even in bread, meats and dairy products. By eating foods with high water content, we contribute to our body’s reservoir of water. High on the list are:

  • Colorful bell peppers

  • Radishes, tomatoes and cucumbers

  • Carrots and celery

  • Salad greens and other leafy greens such as spinach

  • Broccoli, zucchini and yellow squash

  • Melons, citrus fruits and cherries

  • Papaya, apricots and apples

  • Grapes and strawberries

And there are plenty more. Keeping fruits and vegetables (when possible) raw is a good way to give your body a boost of enzymes naturally present in raw foods. For high enzyme impact, enjoy more mangoes, papayas, bananas, pineapples, sprouts and avocados.Here are some ways to add more fresh, light foods to your daily menu plan:

Remember that cooling recipes like these take less time to prepare and require much less cooking. That means less heat in the kitchen and less cooking, if any! You’re in and out in a reasonable amount of time without overheating yourself as well!What’s your favorite food to keep your body cool in the summer heat? I’d love to know!

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