What are the best tips for your summer diet? Avoid ice cream and alcohol but instead, choose vitamin-packed, gut-friendly food and drink.
A picnic is a perfect meal on a sunny day. And what’s a picnic without a sandwich? Put down the calorie-laden choices such as baguettes, mayonnaise and hard cheeses.
Choose sourdough bread – it’s easier to digest, particularly if wheat makes you bloat – and slather on low-fat cream cheese, prawns and fresh dill. Throw a few cherry tomatoes and carrot sticks into your picnic box and add a punnet of strawberries to share. Don’t dip the berries in cream – use quark instead, mixed with a teaspoon of coconut sugar if you want more sweetness.
For kids, try peanut butter and banana sandwiches made with wholemeal bread. Nutritious and filling, it’s full of protein, fibre and potassium which ensures they have enough energy to play until sundown. Give them a handful of peas in the pod, and let them pop their own fun, fresh finger food.
At a barbeque, boost your five-a-day with skewers of pepper, courgette and halved tomatoes. Add sliced chorizo if you want meat, slices of halloumi for vegetarians or chunks of firm tofu for vegans.
See our summer recipes for Mediterranean Tabbouleh Salad and energy balls for a sweet treat.
For your summer diet remember to stick to local seasonal produce for a peak nutritional experience. Salad leaves are ready for picking, so make a chard, kale and spinach salad, doused in a dressing of cold-pressed rapeseed oil and lemon juice. See our salad dressing recipes here.
And don’t forget the drinks order. Swap Gin and Pimms for non-alcoholic alternatives.
Try squeezing half a grapefruit, a lime and a lemon over ice, and top up with soda water. Add a sprig of mint for sweetness. Or, if you’re still longing for a ‘real’ drink, try the new non-alcoholic spirits that have hit the supermarket shelves in the last few years. Seedlip and Ceder’s are great gin substitutes. Mix them with low-calorie tonic and you’ll hardly notice the difference.
When the only thing that will do is a blisteringly cold beer, Brewdog’s Nanny State is a low-alcohol alternative that tastes like the real thing. Plus, it makes hangovers a thing of the past, which can only be good.
The secret ingredient for your summer diet? Of course, water. Soda, seltzer or from the tap, it’s delicious with ice and a twist of sliced orange. And at zero-calories, not only will you feel virtuous, you’ll be getting your body into tip-top condition, ready to show off on a hot summer’s day at the beach!
Book your FREE Pre-Consultation now to get your body ready for summer.