Beat summer’s food traps: Simple swaps for a healthier season
Healthy meals to enjoy under the beautiful, summer sun
Summer brings cookouts, vacations, festivals and time with family and friends. While favorites like burgers, hot dogs and ice cream are part of the season, they don’t have to crowd out nutritious meals. Small steps like incorporating healthy dinners throughout the season can boost your energy levels and help you take on all your summer activities.
Find out what gets in your way of making healthy eating choices during the summer, then use these tips to make healthy meals part of your summertime routine.
Identify what’s getting in your way
Everyone faces different challenges to healthy eating during the summer. Recognizing yours is the first step to finding practical solutions.
- Travel: It’s tough to eat well on the road. Gas station snacks and fast food seem to be the only convenient options.
- Meal fatigue: Get out of the rut of plain chicken breast, brown rice, and steamed greens. Nutritious meals don’t have to be bland, boring or joyless.
- Party and festival food: Eating can easily go overboard in a festival food environment. The state fair brings items like deep-fried butter while cookouts offer mayo-heavy salads and sugar-sweetened alcoholic beverages.
- Unplanned grocery shopping: Shopping without a plan often leads to buying more treats, like ice cream, and fewer fruits and veggies. As the saying goes, we eat with our eyes first — and veggies don’t compete well with the vibrant designs of chip bags and pizza boxes.
Setting yourself up for success
Discover nutritious cooking videos and more on the Healthy Teaching Kitchen Tools and Resources page. For additional meal planning tips, connect with a VA dietitian.
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