Fitness & Food in the Summertime

We've suddenly entered my favorite time of year, not only for the sunshine and warm temperatures, but for the abundance of my favorite foods that are so widely available during the summer!

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I am living as an under-200 pounder for the first time since the early '90s... Summer has traditionally been a hard time for me to stick with my program, what with all the BBQs, Picnics, food on the run, Ice Cream (ohhh, the ice cream!), Farmer's Markets, etc... But this year I seem to have a good routine going, at least during the work week where it's easier to stay disciplined by only eating the food I bring from home.

It still requires dedication and willpower, as the office is well stocked with popcorn, pretzels, candy, pop, etc... And my well-meaning co-workers love to point out that popcorn and pretzels are "healthier" snacks. Sure, they're healthier than deep fried butter, but they're still largely empty carbs that not only detract from my greater goals, they seem to prime the pump of my appetite and jumpstart the cravings monster. So I TRY to avoid them, knowing that a single pretzel will launch a thousand excuses to go back to the break room for another single pretzel...

So to help combat that whole cycle, I bring in several truly healthy snacks each day.

What foods help me stay on track?

First, for breakfast, I've gotten totally hooked on...

Cascade Fresh Fat Free Yogurt! This is the only yogurt I've found that is fat free, but DOESN'T have artificial sweeteners in it. (well, maybe some of the expensive organics do that too...) I absolutely DO NOT do artificial sweeteners. It's party that they taste horrible... And they do - if you think they don't, you've just been dulled to their nastiness! And it's partly because artificial sweeteners have a really, really bad track record of causing health problems. Why would I want to ingest something that I hate the taste of, and that may be doing evil things to my body? I wouldn't, and I don't. This yogurt is sweetened by fruit juice. It's made in small batches locally, and is cultured right in the cup. The taste is very different from the mainstream yogurts with their High Fructose Corn Syrup induced over-sweet flavor. You really need to get the berry flavors in this line to best enjoy it, as the other flavors are quite tart. But now that I've been eating this for breakfast for the past few months, I had a Yoplait over the weekend and it tasted really artificial... This morning I picked up another week's worth of my Cascade Fresh on the way to work! If you can find it at a store near you, I highly recommend it!

This morning, I started to feel hungry around 10:00, so I broke out my first snack of the day:

A White-Flesh Peach! In my last food post, I mentioned how much I hate orange juice. (love oranges, just hate orange juice. go figure.) Well, peaches were never really a fruit that I cared for very much. But the new white flesh variety is one of my favorite tastes of summer! Their cousins, the white-flesh nectarine go hand in hand in that category. I guess I just don't like the taste of Orange, so I'm glad they found a way to breed that pesky color out!

There's another relatively newcomer to the "stone-fruit" family that I am absolutely in love with...

The Pluot! Half plum, half apricot, 100% delicious! There are several varieties out there, but the "Dinosaur Egg" is my favorite. This is another thing that if you haven't tried, when you see it at the store, buy one! Better yet, buy a whole bunch, and if you don't like them, I'll finish 'em for ya!

But there's one summertime staple that I love even more than all of the above:

I'm pretty sure I could live on melons, as long as I added a few bites of meat along the way for protein! This time of year, I try to keep some Honeydew, Cantaloupe and Watermelon cut and ready at all times! If there's a more perfect food in nature, I'm pretty sure I'd disagree with that verdict.

Finally, if I want something other than water to drink, there's the Cashew Juice I mentioned last time, and there's also this, from the same company.

Coconut water sounds kind of strange when you first hear it... But it is an incredibly light, refreshing beverage with few calories, no added sugar, and lots of natural electrolytes, to help do whatever it is that electrolytes do. All I care about is that it tastes great and I can feel good about drinking it!

With these weapons in my corner, the war on summertime dieting doesn't stand much of a chance! And if I'm good Monday through Wednesday, I can still afford to run up to the Farmer's Market on Thursday for a Teriyaki Steak Sandwich! Mmmmmmmm....