Summer menu: How to refresh the body healthily and with taste

Summer is very specific when it comes to eating. With the heat, hunger manifests itself much less and our eating habits can easily slip into insufficient intake of nutrients. By the way, have you ever wondered during hot days how much watermelon is too much watermelon? Fruits, vegetables, various ice creams, lemonades and other summer things refresh us and fill us emotionally, but they certainly don't give our body what it needs. Even in summer, the human body needs a comprehensive and full-fledged diet, which means not only proteins, but also fats and carbohydrates. So it is good to think about the menu even when you are sunbathing by the pool, the sea or during any other summer activity, of which there are really many. This is precisely one of the reasons why it is necessary to replenish the necessary energy. Our energy expenditure can be much higher during the summer and we may not even realize it. But what should the ideal eating habits look like during the summer?

Focus on seasonality of food

The change of seasons also brings with it seasonal foods that our body always appreciates the most. Eating seasonally and focusing on freshness is the most natural form of a menu. In winter, it's hard to eat watermelon or fresh strawberries. So each season has completely different favorites.

In summer, we should focus on fresh and as little industrially processed ingredients as possible. Look for lighter and more varied meals, which of course also need to be supplemented with a sufficient drinking regime . What ingredients should be included in the summer menu?

• Seasonal fruits and vegetables (peaches, raspberries, strawberries, currants...)
• Dairy products (Greek yogurts, cottage cheese, cheeses...)
• Meat or its plant-based alternatives (fish, poultry, tofu or other forms of vegan protein...)
• Legumes, grains and nuts

If you would really like to consume only the freshest local ingredients, definitely go to the markets. In this way, you will support not only the Czech market, but also yourself and your body with quality food.

How to prepare food?

In the summer months, try to limit fried foods. By frying, you often expel many nutrients , and at the same time, the food becomes more difficult for the body to digest than, for example, using the oven or steaming. And since we want to feel light in the summer, a pan with hot oil should not be the best friend when cooking in the summer.

For example, you can prepare meat, its vegetable alternatives together with vegetables and many side dishes very tasty and quickly on the grill . So it can be all the more reason to call friends and simply start a fire to prepare dinner. In this way, you combine the pleasant with the useful, and such situations are the best in the summer.

But if an outdoor grill is not quite right for you, try discovering all the functions of a kitchen oven . Most of them know how to grill, and if they can't, it doesn't matter, for example, you can make pasta gratin full of vegetables with mozzarella without it. All you have to do is cook the pasta, transfer it to a baking dish, add finely chopped vegetables (tomatoes, spinach, zucchini...) with mozzarella and let it bake. Your light summer dinner can also look this simple.

Another possibility of treatment is steaming or any use of steam . Such preparation is very simple and does not take away any nutrients or vitamins from the food.

Keep a bottle of water handy everywhere

Staying hydrated can be tricky at times, but in the summer it's more important than ever. At increased outdoor temperatures, our body has to cool down and for this reason it produces sweat. If we are also physically stressed or do sports, the body can produce up to 1 liter of sweat per hour. Therefore, replenishing the body with water is a really big summer task. If we were to ignore the drinking regime, it could definitely take its revenge soon and very unpleasantly. Dehydration can cause not only headaches, fainting or fatigue. It can also cause convulsions or vomiting.

Let yourself be taken care of

But coming up with healthy and tasty recipes for every day is probably not exactly a dream summer activity. It's not impossible, but it's definitely more convenient to have someone else take care of it. At Yes Krabičky, we can handle it for you. Seasonal ingredients are a matter of course, as are healthy preparations. So we can put together a summer menu with ease and taste and even bring you a menu every day. You can then only really worry about how much watermelon is too much watermelon, for example. Just choose a program and you're done!