Summer Countdown: A Month of Healthy Summer Tips

Updated: June 09, 2014
Find a new way to start your summer off light everyday throughout the month of May.
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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 While the “8 glasses a day” rule is no longer valid, it’s important to stay hydrated throughout the day by drinking when you're thirsty.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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Be Portion Aware

Photo: Randy Mayor
Being portion aware is easy when you use our 200-Calorie Tacos as your guide. Start with a warm 6-inch corn tortilla. Pick from our tasty topping combos to create a perfectly portioned 200-calorie taco. Healthy, delicious—you’ll want two. For seasonal flavors try Black  Bean Fiesta or Mahi & Mango.

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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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Freeze a Classic Cocktail

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner
It's derby time! Hold on to your hat as you take a taste of this classic Kentucky cocktail-turned-dessert. Mint-infused simple syrup and smoky-sweet bourbon combine in a slushy delight that's definitely not for kids.

View Recipe: Mint Julep Granita

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Do the Math in Margaritaville

Photo: Randy Mayor
Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, we'll help you make your fiesta a healthier one with a little math in Margaritaville.

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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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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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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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.

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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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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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Instead of a Flour Tortilla, Reach for Corn Tortillas

Photo: Randy Mayor
Turn burrito night into fajita night! Stuff the tasty fixings into 2 (6-inch) corn tortillas, rather than one (10-inch) flour tortilla. You’ll also save 450mg of sodium.

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Team Up with Mother Nature

Celebrate Mother's Day and Mother Nature today! 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Cut Back on Hidden Sodium

Photo: Randy Mayor
Wondering where all the sodium is hidden? You’ll be surprised at the unlikely (and sometimes highly likely—looking at you, salty margarita) places we found the mg’s. One Cooking Light editor cut 6,999mg of sodium—that’s three day’s worth. Cutting sodium is easier than you might think, find out where to cut back.

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Soothe Sensitive Skin

For soft summer skin try our Oatmeal Face and Body Pack. No need to buy the latest beauty product on the shelves…you probably have what you need for this face remedy in your pantry.

Take 2 tablespoons oatmeal and 1 tablespoon baking soda and add water to make paste. Apply to face and all over the skin; rub gently and rinse.

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Cook the Kids' Meal at Home

Save money and feel good about mealtime by preparing some favorite dishes from typical kids’ restaurant menus and prepare them at home. So often kids’ meals pack more calories, fat, and sodium than our kids need. We’ve selected some typical dishes found on mainstream kids meals and put our spin on them—a healthy, delicious spin that is—so you can prepare them at home. See our Guide to Cooking the Kids Meal at Home.

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Keep Your Energy Up

If hot summer days leave you feeling sluggish, keep your engine revved by filling up on The Best Energy-Packed Whole Foods. Melons, walnuts, edamame, and Icelandic yogurt are just a few of our picks.

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Pack a Cooler

Photo: Charles Masters & Randy Mayor
Celebrating the holiday weekend with 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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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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Fight Fat with Eggs

To combat cravings and control hunger all day, a protein-rich breakfast of eggs is key. A large egg provides 6 grams of protein and just 70 calories. If you’re really looking to cut back, an egg white has just 30 calories and 3.5 grams of protein and no fat.

New research found that dieters who eat more protein earlier in the day lost more weight, were less hungry, and were more satisfied with their diet. In another study, dieters who ate an egg breakfast instead of a bagel meal lost 65% more weight and belly fat. Try loading morning eggs with veggies like our Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce with Onions and Peppers.

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Give Your Burger a Sun-Dried Summer

Photo: Randy Mayor
Happy Memorial Day! If burgers are on the menu, take a cue from the season and top your burger with a combination of sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and goat cheese—clocking in under 100 calories. Here's the equation:

2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes + 1/4 cup fresh spinach + 1 ounce goat cheese

Don't run out of ways to top your summer burgers. Check out more 100-Calorie Burger Toppings.

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Look for Seasonal Sales

On a budget? Check the weekly specials at your local grocery store and choose one of the items on special that week. The specials often reflect the abundance of certain seasonal produce.

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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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Quench Dry Skin

Try applying some of mother nature’s benefits to your beauty routine. We found some of our favorite fruits and veggies do the body good, from the inside out, like with this Banana Face Mask for dry skin.

Mash half of a ripe banana; combine banana with ½ cup of plain yogurt and 1 tablespoon of honey. Apply this pack on face and neck and leave for 10 minutes; rinse thoroughly. This natural pairing helps moisturize dry skin.

 

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Route Your Flight to a Healthy Hub

Photo: © PhotoAlto/Corbis
Jetting off on summer vacation doesn’t mean your diet needs to fall to the wayside. With airlines skimping on in-flight food, airport terminals are ramping up offerings, ditching mundane choices in favor of high-end gourmet, fresh, and even organic selections. We perused the menu at 20 of the nation’s busiest airports to zero in on the ones making the biggest strides when it comes to delivering healthy options. Our top picks are airports you might be flying through this summer. Keep these food choices in mind during your travels. See where we’re jetting with The Best Healthy Airport Foods.
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