75 Healthy Summer Tips - Cooking Light

Photo: Jeff Kauck

Get your summer started with these 75 tips for a healthy, happy season.

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Healthy Tips for Summer

Photo: Anna Williams

Start your summer off right with these healthful tips. From natural sun-protection to making the most of those seasonal veggies—our ideas for a light summer will help you prepare for fun in the sun all season long.

Beat the heat with our first summer tip: Give Ice Pops a Grown-Up Spin.

A grown-up ice pop, just in time for summer: It’s made from fresh melon, chile, and lime—both juice and rind. A bit of pectin helps keep all the ingredients incorporated evenly; without it, they tend to separate.

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Add Zing to Your Guacamole

Photo: Randy Mayor

A super simple preparation is ideal for perfectly ripe avocados—there’s no need for tomatoes or other complications. You just want the avocados’ richness to shine against the zip of lime and cilantro. To make the guacamole sing, we have a trick: Add a teaspoon of Thai fish sauce to deepen the avocados' flavor. Pretty soon you’ll be adding a dash of fish sauce to just about anything.

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Pack a Cooler

Photo: Charles Masters & Randy Mayor

Heading out on a road trip? With our Cooler Packing List you will bypass the seemingly convenient (but usually unhealthy) fast food joints in favor of home cooked and packed meals.

For general cooler packing, here are a few tips. Pack raw meats, fish, and produce sealed in plastic bags on the bottom. Next layer in produce, dairy, eggs, and perishable condiments. Save space by packing just what you think you’ll need. And remember to fill the cooler all the way up; the ice will melt faster if it’s full of room-temperature air.

If you store your cooler in a hot garage, bring it inside the night before so you can start with a cooled-off vessel. Use solid ice or reusable gel-filled ice packs on the bottom, pack food, then fill in the gaps with bags of cubed ice. Once it’s packed and ready, stow in the trunk, away from light, and put a blanket or sleeping bag around it for extra insulation.

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Get the Kids in the Kitchen with Matisse

Get your little summer vacationers up and moving in the kitchen with a little help from the food-savviest kid we know, Mattisse Reid. Once a week, have your pint-sized chefs take turns cooking up one of Matisse’s kid-friendly recipes. Family and friends can score the recipe for an added dose of fun. See what Matisse has been cooking.

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Fix a Gorgeous Salad

Photo: Johnny Autry

Jazz up basic fresh veggies with a shave and a lemony dressing. Shaving carrots and zucchini into thin ribbons with a simple peeler or, if you have one, a mandoline transforms ho-hum texture and turns the plate into a bright gift of color. Fresh mint adds fragrance, and the dressing ties it all together with a zing.

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Obtain Water from Pasta and Grains

Photo: Randy Mayor

Water plays a critical role in preparing grains and starches like pasta, couscous, rice, and hot cereals. When cooked in boiling water, their starch granules soak up water, causing them to swell and soften. This increases their fluid content as much as sixfold, transforming them from one of the driest foods to one of the wettest. For more healthy pasta ideas, check out

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Oil Up

Photo: Randy Mayor

This healthy fat contains essential fatty acids that help skin resist UV damage, found a Lancet Oncology study. EFAs are also part of the cell membranes that help hold in moisture. The body can't synthesize EFAs, so consume about 1 tablespoon of olive oil daily to keep skin supple. Choose the best olive oil with our Taste Test: Best Everyday Olive Oils.

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Stay Hydrated

Skin cells contain mostly water, and if you're dehydrated, skin can look and feel parched. While the “8 glasses a day” rule is no longer valid, it’s important to stay hydrated throughout the day by drinking when you're thirsty. For more ways to stay hydrated, check out these Fluid-Rich Foods.

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Celebrate Summer's Bounty

Photo: Nigel Cox

For anyone who enjoys food and cooking, summer offers the finest ingredients—fresh, local produce from the garden, farmers' market, and grocery—to make any dish superlative. The key is to keep things simple and let the quality of seasonal ingredients shine through. It's so easy, enjoyable, and affordable to indulge your cravings for fresh fruits and vegetables this time of year. Check out our Complete Guide to Summer.

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Get Smoother Skin

Gritty sugar and cooling cucumber work together in our Cucumber Natural Face Mask, giving you a smoother, fresher face.

Peel 1 cucumber and mash; place in a strainer to drain water. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and mix well. Apply on your face and leave for 10 minutes, then wash with cold water.

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Don’t Turn into a Tomato, Eat One

Photo: Nigel Cox

Eating red may help save your skin from turning red. Volunteers who consumed 5 tablespoons of high-in-lycopene tomato paste daily for 3 months had nearly 25% more protection against sunburn in one study.

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Drink Your Fruits

Photo: Jeff Kauck

Juices provide lots of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and flavor. Adults should eat 1-1/2 to 2 cups of fruit each day, according to the FDA. Each 8-ounce glass of Blackberry Limeade gets you well on your way, in a most delicious manner. This summer cooler is great to bring on a picnic or to serve at a backyard party. Don't miss out on these

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Nix the FroYo Mix

Photo: Night and Day Images

Pull down the nozzle on four different flavor favorites (plain tart, pomegranate, blueberry, white peach) so you get a taste of everything and before you know it you’ve filled the smallest size self-serve cup to the top and crowned it with a generous swirl. End portion: probably 2 cups. Calories: 370. And sugar? You’ll be mainlining 20 teaspoons (85 grams) right down the old gullet.

Instead, stick with one flavor and get a variety of flavor and textures from our Monkey Business topping combination.

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Learn How to Properly Grill Chicken

Charred skin and rare meat in the thickest part of the chicken breast? Perfectly grilled chicken—with crisp, browned skin and juicy, succulent meat—is relatively simple if you learn to manipulate the heat. Get grilling the right way with our Grilled Chicken Tips.

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Keep Salads Simple

Photo: Romulo Yanes

"When I was growing up in Mexico City, my parents would throw wonderful summer barbecues," says Chef Medina (Toloache, Yerba Buena, Coppelia, New York City). "We would grill corn on the cob and mix in leftover beans from the weekend and make a delicious, simple corn and bean salad." This Latin-accented three-bean and corn salad is studded with guacamole components: Jalapeño, cilantro, white onion, lime, and avocado.

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Go Nutty for Supple Skin

Photo: Oxmoor House

Walnuts are storehouses of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fat that's a key component of the lubricating layer that keeps skin moist and supple. A ½-ounce serving of walnuts provides 100% of the recommended daily intake of ALA. Get knowledgeable about nuts with our A-Z Guide to Nuts.

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Have Kid-Friendly Snacks On Hand

Photo: Randy Mayor

Between meals, most kids get hungry as wolves, and snacking is an important energy bridge. Snacking ought to be healthy, but it still needs to have the crunch, chew, and bright flavors of a real treat. Homemade snacks are great. But sometimes packaged snacks trump everything. We taste-tested our way to the best Kid-Friendly Snacks.

Best String Cheese Winner: Stringsters Reduced-Fat Mozzarella String Cheese
Best Cheese Cracker Winner: Cheez-It Baked Snack Crackers Made with Whole Grain
Best Fruit Puree Winner: Peter Rabbit Organics Pear and Apple Pure Fruit Snack

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Get Peachy

Photo: Oxmoor House

From cobblers to salad to ice cream to soup, fresh peaches are a delight this time of year. They’re decadently sweet making them the perfect choice for a sweet and satisfying snack or dessert. Start cooking with Our Favorite Peach Recipes.

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Go Bananas for Berries

Photo: Nigel Cox

Antioxidant-packed berries, such as blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, contain some of the highest antioxidant levels of foods measured by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Berries add sweet tartness to muffins, smoothies, jams, and more. They're at their peak from late May through August.

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Order Your Salad Chopped with Tomatoes

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner

The juice from the tomatoes moistens the salad, lessening the need for lots of salad dressing. Make sure to specify dressing on the side too, so you can control the amount that goes on.

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Revitalize with Romaine

Just six leaves of romaine lettuce provide more than 100% of your daily value of vitamin A, which revitalizes skin by increasing cell turnover. Plus, the potassium in romaine gives skin a refreshing boost of nutrients and oxygen by improving circulation.

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Follow the Rules of Safe Picnic Packing

Photo: Quentin Bacon

Prep less than 1 day from picnic so food tastes fresh.

Transport on ice. Food should be chilled and packed in a cooler with ice or ice packs to keep them cold while they travel.

Heat just before taking. If you're bringing a baked dish, it can be cooked the day before. Reheat just before heading out; wrap the hot container in a towel, and tote carefully to the picnic.

Serve—then stow. Once folks have gone through the line and served themselves, put chilled dishes back in the cooler to keep them cold. Anyone who wants seconds can dig back into the cooler.

Use the two-hour/one-hour rule. Don’t let food sit out for more than two hours (or one hour if it’s a hot day over 90 degrees).

Toss the leftovers. The food will have been handled a lot, and possibly will have been sitting out for a while.

For tasty picnic ideas, see our Portable 4th of July Menu.

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Don't Forget to Count Meat, Poultry, Fish

Photo: Anna Williams

Cooking can make certain foods lose small amounts of fluid. Cooking meat, for example, causes it to lose 20 to 30 percent of its original water content. But because foods like meat, poultry, and fish are inherently rich in water, they still contribute to our overall water needs.

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Consume Fluid-Rich Foods

Photo: Randy Mayor

For years, we've been told to drink eight glasses of water a day for optimal health. But food, often overlooked as a water source, can supply as much as 20 percent of the liquid you need―and far more if you choose fluid-rich fare. Incorporate recipes like our Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Grilled Tomatillo Salsa to stay hydrated without toting that water bottle around all day. For more hydrating recipes, try our collection of

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Stock up on Strawberries

Did you know that in addition to being a delicious fruit, strawberries can also keep your skin looking gorgeous? The vitamin C in strawberries acts as an important building block of collagen—the underlying supporting structure of skin. Just 1 cup of strawberries contains over 100% of your daily vitamin C needs. Check out these Strawberry Desserts.

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Have a Drink with Each Meal

Photo: Randy Mayor

Since sipping a beverage helps moisten and wash down food, eating encourages us to drink more. Food also provides minerals, such as sodium and potassium, that help our bodies hold on to water, so the liquids we consume are better retained than those we drink between meals.

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Add More Fruits and Vegetables

Photo: Romulo Yanes

Soup, fruits, and vegetables are all more than 80 percent water, so adding more of these foods to your diet can contribute to your overall hydration. You can also count any beverage, including milk, juice, soda, and even coffee and tea (their diuretic role has been exaggerated).

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Team Up with Mother Nature

Find a trail near you and rediscover the great outdoors. A 4 to 5 mile hike is a great start for beginners. Visit Trails.com to find nearby hiking trails.

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Grill Your Veggies

Photo: Johnny Autry

Grill your favorite veggies for a tasty, healthy accompaniment to chicken, fish, steak, and more. Cranking up the grill to high heat delivers optimum charring that really makes the salad shine. No dressing required here other than a dash of olive oil.

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Do the Math in Margaritaville

Photo: Randy Mayor

Looking to cool off with a chilly margarita? Opt for our take on the classic. When chip-and-salsa joints lean on the sugar to make tall, sweet drinks, it adds up fast in the glass.

Happy Hour Frozen Margarita vs. our Classic, on the Rocks
A regular happy hour frozen margarita is around 12 ounces and weighs in at 410 calories (56% coming from sugar). Our lightened version is 130 calories for a 6-ounce portion with just 14% coming from sugar.

The Cooking Light Margarita:
1 ounce premium or silver tequila, 1/2 ounce Cointreau or other orange-flavored liqueur, 1.5 ounces fresh-squeezed lime juice. Shake with 3/4 cup ice; garnish with lime.

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Instead of Tomato Salsa, Opt for Watermelon Salsa

Photo: Randy Mayor

In addition to quenching thirst― watermelon is 92 percent water―it provides hefty doses of vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, and lycopene (a disease-fighting antioxidant found in red fruits and vegetables). One cup of watermelon contains more of both lycopene and beta-carotene than a medium-sized tomato. Learn more with our All About Melons guide.

Mix ¼ cup lime juice, 1 tablespoon honey, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and ⅛ teaspoon salt in a bowl. Add 3 cups diced seeded melon (use any ripe melon or combination of melons you like), 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, and 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced. Toss gently to combine; cover and chill until ready to serve.

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An Apple a Day

Photo: Gentl & Hyers

Quercetin, an antioxidant in the peel of many apple varieties, provides some protection from the "burning" UVB rays that can trigger skin cancer. For the biggest quercetin concentration, look for Cortland, Golden Delicious, and Monroe varieties. Don't miss out on Our Best Apple Recipes.

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Grab a Glass of Green Tea

Tea is rich in antioxidants that decrease inflammation and protect cell membranes. Some studies have shown that tea may also reduce the damage of sunburns and overexposure to ultraviolet light. Green tea is especially rich in a compound known as EGCG which may acts as a "fountain of youth" of sorts for skin by reactivating dying skin cells.

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Spice Up Corn on the Cob

Photo: Anna Williams

This recipe makes eating veggies taste like a treat. Just a little butter goes a long way when roasted jalapeño is also in the fold. Charring the pepper eases the heat, yielding a versatile, not-too-spicy butter.

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Rev Up your Morning with Water

Photo: David Muir/Masterfile

Drink an 8-ounce glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning to rev up your metabolism. Your body is parched after 6 to 8 hours of sleep.

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Open the Refrigerator, Close the Freezer

Photo: Caleb Chancey

For something cool and creamy look to the refrigerated case rather than the freezer case. But, just be sure to do your research before selecting your favorite dairy treat. See our Ultimate Guide to Yogurt for tips.

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Grow Radishes

Photo: Caleb Chancey

Radishes are easy to grow and fast to sow. Some varieties are ready in less than a month, so they’re perfect for anyone whose attention span may not last long enough for slower-to-mature vegetables. For tips on how to make the most of these peppery and beautiful bulbs, see our Radish Growing Guide.

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Prep Kid-Friendly Food in a Flash

Photo: Johnny Autry

The kids are home for the summer and you need a meal, fast. What to do? Cook up one of our

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Grill Potatoes for Potato Salad

Photo: Romulo Yanes

Forget the pot of water—this rustic potato salad gets you outside enjoying the sunshine as you grill up a delicious summer side dish. Grilling the vegetables brings unexpected smokiness to a familiar picnic staple.

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Take Two: Strawberry Sorbet vs. Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Photo: Randy Mayor

With similar calorie profiles, both sorbet and frozen yogurt are smart choices for cool summer treats―especially when chosen in place of ice cream. Sorbet is a combination of fruit, water, and juice, making it naturally fat-free. Since it contains no dairy, sorbet is ideal for the lactose intolerant, but it lacks calcium and protein. A half-cup portion of nonfat frozen yogurt, made from dairy, provides four grams of satiating protein and 15 percent of your daily calcium requirement.

Strawberry Sorbet (1/2 cup)
121 calories
0 milligrams calcium
0 grams protein

Strawberry Nonfat Frozen Yogurt (1/2 cup)
117 calories
150 milligrams calcium
4 grams protein

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Instead of OJ, Reach for an Orange

Photo: Randy Mayor

Skip the 12-ounce glass of orange juice. Eat a fresh orange instead—one cup of OJ has 24 grams of sugar, double the amount in an orange. Plus you’ll tack on an extra 3 grams of fiber, too, by eating whole fruit.

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Make Your FroYo a Tropical Treat

Photo: John Autry

This low-calorie topping will make you feel like you’ve jetted away to a tropical island. A small cup of frozen yogurt topped with this combo will keep your frozen treat under 300 calories:

2 tablespoons pineapple + 2 tablespoons mango + 1 tablespoon shredded coconut; 50 calories

See more Healthy Frozen Yogurt Toppings.

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Grab a Slice

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Perfect for backyard barbecues, picnics, and beach parties, watermelon’s at its best during late summer months. Grab a slice and chow down for a sweet and nutritious treat. Just be sure there are plenty of napkins nearby.

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Keep Kids’ Snacks Portable

Photo: Randy Mayor

If your kids’ summer schedule is packed to the brim, a lot of snacks might have to be grab-and-go friendly. Our lightened Peach Turnovers are just the ticket. A rich, juicy filling and flaky crust keep this portable treat deliciously grease-free and picnic-ready.

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Make the Farmers Market Fun for the Family

If there is a local farmers' market nearby, support your community and pay them a visit. Get the whole family involved. Allow either yourself or a family member to choose a new item from the produce section and add it to your meal.

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Keep the Kitchen Cool

Illustration: QuickHoney

With the mercury rising, the last thing you want to do is come home to a hot kitchen. Enter in the no-cook miracle meal. We’re not talking about peeling off the plastic and waiting for the microwave to beep. We have homemade, fresh meals you can make without cranking up the oven or cooktop, and all can be ready in 30 minutes or less.

All start with smart supermarket choices—precooked eggs, canned or jarred tuna, rotisserie chickens, and steamed lump crabmeat. All these meals are also ideal for people who live in dorm rooms or other small spaces without full kitchens. For cool ideas see our lineup of No-Cook Meals.

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Fear Not the Fire

Photo: John Autry

Throwing a few vegetables onto the barbie to complement a burger or a chop gives short shrift to the true power of char and flame. The natural sugars in vegetables are caramelized by the high heat and suffused by the smoke. Yes, they’re good right off the fire. But go even further: Make a gazpacho, grill stuffed jalapeños, or make a grilled Caesar salad. Learn

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75 Ways to Start Your Summer Off Light

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Healthy Tips for Summer

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Add Zing to Your Guacamole

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Pack a Cooler

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Get the Kids in the Kitchen with Matisse

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Fix a Gorgeous Salad

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Obtain Water from Pasta and Grains

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Oil Up

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Stay Hydrated

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Celebrate Summer's Bounty

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Get Smoother Skin

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Don’t Turn into a Tomato, Eat One

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Drink Your Fruits

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Nix the FroYo Mix

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Learn How to Properly Grill Chicken

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Keep Salads Simple

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Go Nutty for Supple Skin

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Have Kid-Friendly Snacks On Hand

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Get Peachy

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Go Bananas for Berries

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Order Your Salad Chopped with Tomatoes

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Revitalize with Romaine

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Follow the Rules of Safe Picnic Packing

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Don't Forget to Count Meat, Poultry, Fish

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Consume Fluid-Rich Foods

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Stock up on Strawberries

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Have a Drink with Each Meal

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Add More Fruits and Vegetables

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Team Up with Mother Nature

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Grill Your Veggies

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Do the Math in Margaritaville

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Instead of Tomato Salsa, Opt for Watermelon Salsa

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An Apple a Day

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Grab a Glass of Green Tea

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Spice Up Corn on the Cob

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Rev Up your Morning with Water

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Open the Refrigerator, Close the Freezer

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Grow Radishes

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Prep Kid-Friendly Food in a Flash

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Grill Potatoes for Potato Salad