Tips for a summer diet

Yes, that can indeed happen. We often encounter this at our nutrition clinic during the summer months. But you have to eat - it’s a known thing!

So what should we do about it?

• If you don’t fancy hot, heavy, meaty meals, a variety of cold vegetable salads can be a good alternative. Salad is boring, you say? It doesn’t have to be! You can use any vegetables you like and you can add quinoa, pasta, couscous, legumes, chickpeas (to add carbohydrates that fill you up), seeds, nuts (to add quality fats), cheese, ham, tuna in brine, eggs, or tofu (to add protein) to salads. Suddenly, you don’t have an ordinary salad, but a great, nutritious dish. The salad can be topped with a light yoghurt dressing or a drizzle of olive oil.
• If you still feel like a hot meal, you can cook a thick vegetable soup - simply boil the vegetables, blend, add broth and you’re done. No need for thickening either.
• Summer is also the season of barbecues - this is also an option. You can grill seasonal vegetables (zucchini, tomato, pepper, eggplant...), as well as lean meat or fish.
• Be sure to include fresh fruit in your summer diet. It can also be used to prepare various fruit salads, which can be supplemented with quark, yoghurt, skyr, nuts, seeds, oats, etc.

Naturally, it is also important to keep up your drinking regime (and not just in summer!). The ideal choice is to drink water, unsweetened teas and unsweetened mineral water. But drinking doesn’t have to be boring either! The water can be upgraded with lemon, orange, lime, cucumber, basil, mint, lemon balm, berries such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, currants... Or put fruit or herbal tea in the fridge to chill. There are plenty of options.

And when you’re hungry? You can make your own refreshing ice cream. Blend the fruit of your choice, add milk or yoghurt (or quark/skyr), and let the whole mixture freeze. Voila, you have a healthier version of ice cream. Even classic store-bought ice cream is not forbidden once in a while.

What to avoid in summer?

No fried foods, fatty heavy foods, fatty cheeses, deli meats, mayonnaise, tartar sauce, creamy foods, sugary drinks, etc.