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

• Road trip health hacks: Planning ahead can help you eat healthily while traveling. Pack shelf-stable snacks for the car. Before hitting the road, prep these no bake energy balls to help you avoid grabbing a candy bar at the gas station. Choose healthier options when stopping for fast food.
• Add variety and flavors to dinner: Use this weekly dinner planner to avoid repeated meals and check out these delicious recipes from around the world.
• Grab fresh foods for your party plate: Fill half of your plate with veggies and fruit. Bring this refreshing cucumber dip with pita chips and your favorite veggies for dipping. Enjoy a cooling electrolyte coconut beverage or these infused waters.
• Plan Your Groceries: Nutritious meals start with healthy ingredients and a good grocery list. In addition to your healthy staples, remember to keep things balanced by including some of your tasty treats as well.

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.