MUST READ ...EATING HEALTHY THIS SUMMER

There's no better motivation than swimsuit season to get your body in gear for the beach. Sure, a fabulous pedicure and spray tan can work wonders, but there's not much you can do to conceal bulges or jiggles once you're wearing that itsy bitsy bikini.

It's time to fast track to get your body in peak fat-burning condition. By combining the right foods and beverages and amplifying your workouts, your bod will be in head-turning shape all summer long. Follow these simple steps to help achieve the sexy summer you.
Fiber Up!
1. Fiber helps us feel full (so we eat less) and keeps us regular. It's also abundantly found in foods that are also naturally rich in vitamins and antioxidants to help slow the aging process. Aim for 25 to 35 grams per day.
2. Antioxidant-rich, fiber-rich foods are often very brightly pigmented. Spinach, tomatoes, avocados, citrus fruits, berries and squashes are just a few of the whole fruits and vegetables to include in your stay-fit plan
3. Start with a high-fiber breakfast of complex carbohydrates. Try crispy whole grain cereal, a berry-studded bran muffin or chewy nine-grain bread.
4. Fiber up your sandwich. Switching to whole grain bread and adding tomato, lettuce, onion or shredded carrot can easily add five or more grams of fiber to your meal.
5. Stock up on whole grains. Brown rice or quinoa -- they're loaded with fiber and nutrients.
6. Taco time! Soft shell tacos using whole grain or corn tortillas have more fiber and less fat than traditional white tortillas.
7. Want hot buns? Forgot about burger rolls made with white flour. If you must have a bun for your burger, be sure to choose one made of whole grains with fiber.
8. Remember that foods high in water content promote satiety. Most fruits and vegetables are 80 to 95 percent water!
9. Looking for low-cal? Half a fresh grapefruit contains just 35 calories.
10. Choose fresh fruit over dried. It contains more water and more volume, so it's more filling.
11. Berry up! Now's the time to take advantage of rock-bottom prices on fresh berries for breakfast, snacks or dessert.
12. Keep a supply of unsweetened frozen fruit on hand. Add a little Greek-style yogurt to create healthy, frosty smoothies.
13. Freeze your favorite finger fruits. They take longer to eat and provide a sweet treat when a craving hits.
14. Cooking can reduce the amount of fiber in foods, so be sure to have plenty of raw fruits and veggies too.
15. Veggie superstars to add to your line up include 1 cup of spinach (40 calories) 1 tomato (25 calories) or 1 cup of radishes (20 calories).
16. Beans and legumes are fiberific, particularly lentils. Lentils cook in as little as 20 minutes (don't require pre-soaking) and 1/2 cup of cooked lentils contains eight whopping grams of fiber. Keep a bowl of cooked lentils in the fridge to toss with vinaigrette for a quick salad.

Summer season calls for a change in the diet and lighter meals, with more fluids, given the rising mercury levels and long days. Here is a list of some healthy foods, that one must include in their daily meal to remain fresh and healthy in summers -

1. Corn: That's right! A cob of corn comes with a number of antioxidants, which prevent some harmful sun rays from affecting your skin. Not just that, these antioxidants also lower the risk of age-related problems.
 Nothing says summer like fresh sweet corn. And did you know that two antioxidants—lutein and zeaxanthin—in corn may act like natural sunglasses, helping to form macular pigment that filters out some of the sun’s damaging rays? It’s true. The same antioxidants may also help lower your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration—the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 60 (though much of the damage occurs decades earlier).

2. Cold coffee: Switch your cup of morning tea with a cup of iced coffee for a fresh start to your daily routine. It is not just the freshness that comes with cold coffee that is good, it also lowers the risk of skin cancer, something that the scorching heat is known to cause.
An iced pick-me-up is a great way to start your summer mornings. Better yet: drinking a single cup of coffee daily may lower your risk of developing skin cancer. In one study of more than 93,000 women, published in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention, those who drank one cup of caffeinated coffee a day reduced their risk of developing nonmelanoma skin cancer by about 10 percent. And the more they drank—up to about 6 cups or so per day—the lower their risk. Decaf didn’t seem to offer the same protection.

3. Tomatoes: These veggies might be seen as a salad item, but tomatoes act as a natural sunscreen - protecting you against sunburn.There’s no question that sunscreen should be your first line of defense against the blazing summer sun. But eating tomatoes could give you a little extra protection: consuming more lycopene—the carotenoid that makes tomatoes red—may protect your skin from sunburn. In one study, participants who were exposed to UV light had almost 50 percent less skin reddening after they ate 2 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste (or drank about 1 2/3 cups of carrot juice daily), in addition to their regular diet, for 10 to 12 weeks. Supplements, however, weren’t as effective: in the same study, those who received a lycopene supplement or synthetic lycopene weren’t significantly protected against sunburn.


4. Watermelon: Amongst the favoriThere’s no question that sunscreen should be your first line of defense against the blazing summer sun. But eating tomatoes could give you a little extra protection: consuming more lycopene—the carotenoid that makes tomatoes red—may protect your skin from sunburn. Staying hydrated keeps your memory sharp and your mood stable. It also helps keep your body cool (by sweating) during hot summer months. The good news is that you don’t just have to drink water. You can eat it, too: in addition to delivering skin-protecting lycopene, watermelon is 92 percent water (hence the name). Another boon? Research shows that eating foods that are full of water helps keep you satisfied on fewer calories. (Interestingly enough, drinking water alongside foods doesn’t have the same effect.)

5. Cherries: These tiny fruits can help in inducing better sleep for people who have insomnia problems in the heat. They are also beneficial for people on a diet as they can help one get lean by decreasing the fat storage in one's body.

6.Tart Cherries:
They deliver a host of health benefits. You may have heard that drinking tart cherry juice can help you get a better night’s sleep and quell post-workout pain (read more about that here). But did you know that compounds in tart cherries may also help you slim down and get leaner? When scientists at the University of Michigan Health System put rats on a high-fat diet supplemented with either a tart-cherry powder (equal to 1% of the weight of their total diet) or the same number of calories from carbohydrate, those that got the cherry powder gained less weight and body fat. Why? The anthocyanins in tart cherries activate a molecule that helps rev up fat burning and decrease fat storage.

7. Raspberries

Raspberries are a great source of fiber—some of it soluble in the form of pectin, which helps lower cholesterol. One cup of raspberries has 8 grams of fiber—and a study in the Journal of Nutrition suggests that eating more fiber may help prevent weight gain or even promote weight loss. Over the course of a two-year study, researchers found that when study participants boosted their fiber by 8 grams for every 1,000 calories, they lost about 4 1/2 pounds. Try it for yourself. If you’re consuming 2,000 calories per day, aim to increase your fiber by 16 grams

8. Iced Tea

Sure, a tall glass of iced tea on a hot day is refreshing, but did you know it might also do your body good? Studies show if you drink tea regularly, you may lower your risk of Alzheimer’s and diabetes, plus have healthier teeth and gums and stronger bones. How? Tea is rich in a class of antioxidants called flavonoids. Regardless of the variety—black, green, oolong, white or herbal—maximize the power of tea’s flavonoids by drinking it freshly brewed. If you want to keep a batch of cold tea in your refrigerator, “add a little lemon juice,” recommends Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. The citric acid and vitamin C in that squeeze of lemon—or lime, or orange—help preserve the flavonoids.

9. Blueberries

Fresh blueberries straight from the berry patch are a special treat! Turns out the antioxidants in them may help ward off muscle fatigue by mopping up the additional free radicals that muscles produce during exercise, according to recent research out of New Zealand.

 HERE IS A HEALTHY SUMMER EATING PLAN ..JUST ENJOY
In season – berries, grapes, melons, peaches, rhubarb, banana, pineapple, asparagus, avocado, beans, capsicum, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, snow peas, sugar snaps, corn, zucchini, tomato.
Monday
Breakfast: ½ cup seasonal fruit with 2 tbsp natural yoghurt, 2 teaspoons chia seeds & 1 tsp Acai berry powder for
Lunch : 2 cups of salad - rocket, cucumber, snow peas, carrot and beetroot. Add 95gr can tuna or red salmon. Make a dressing with extra virgin olive oil, lemon, salt & pepper
Dinner: 150gr baked ocean trout with 1 cup steamed broccoli, zucchini & asparagus
Snacks: 1 cup air popped popcorn, 1 apple
Drinks: Dandelion leaf tea
Health notes: Read on tuna to discover the most ethical canned tuna
Tuesday
Breakfast: Smoothie – 1 cup almond milk, 1 banana, ½ tsp cinnamon, 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
Lunch : Wrap –avocado, hommus, 80gr turkey breast, rocket
Dinner: Stir fry – 2 cups thinly sliced zucchini, carrot, bok choy, snow peas, capsicum with 80gr firm tofu. Add your choice of chilli/ginger/coriander
Snacks: 10 brazil nuts, 1 peach
Drinks: 150ml celery, carrot & ginger juice
Health notes: Turkey is high in the amino acid tryptophan, the precursor to serotonin, our feel good hormone.
Wednesday
Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with grilled tomato and parsley, 1 slice spelt toast
Lunch: Salad - grated carrot, beetroot, finely chopped celery & radish, ¼ avocado, baby spinach leaves, sesame seeds & 40gr fetta. Make a dressing with extra virgin olive oil, seeded mustard, lemon, salt & pepper
Dinner: 150gr baked salmon with steamed broccolini, snow peas and sugar snaps
Snacks: 30g pumpkin seeds and 1 nectarine
Drinks: Miso soup, green tea
Health notes: Miso soup supports our “good” bacteria which reduces bloating
Thursday
Breakfast: ½ cup stewed rhubarb with 1 cup gluten free cereal and almond milk
Lunch: Salad – grated red cabbage, carrot, beetroot with 1 boiled egg, toasted sunflower seeds. Make a dressing with extra virgin olive oil, seeded mustard, lemon, salt & pepper
Dinner: 120gr grilled lamb with salad of fetta, cherry tomato, cucumber & spinach
Snacks: ¼ avocado on 2 corn thins, I banana
Drinks: Dandelion leaf tea – ice in combination with a peppermint tea bag, add lemon and fresh mint
Health notes: Red cabbage contains compounds that facilitate the breakdown of toxins in the liver
Friday
Breakfast: Smoothie- 150ml almond milk, 30gr rolled oats, 2 tbsp natural yoghurt, 30gr frozen berries, 2 teaspoons chia seeds
Lunch: Wrap with avocado, boiled egg, spinach and grated carrot
Dinner: 120gr baked chicken thighs marinated in tamari & sesame oil served with grilled zucchini, capsicum and eggplant (make extra veg)
Snacks: 5 brazil nuts and 1 orange
Drinks: Coconut water – optimises electrolyte balance
Health notes: Chia seeds are full of water soluble fibre which lowers cholesterol and helps remove toxins from the colon
Saturday
Breakfast: Sautéed mushrooms with sprinkle of turmeric and parsley on 1 slice spelt toast
Lunch: Salad of grilled vegetable with ¼ cup quinoa & pinenuts, dress with lemon and olive oil
Dinner: 150gr baked snapper with salad of rocket, roasted beetroot & lemon zest
Snacks: 30 g trail mix
Drinks: Licorice tea – naturally sweet and tasty
Health notes: Turmeric has proven to be a very powerful natural anti inflammatory
Sunday
Breakfast: 2 egg omelette with tomato and parsley
Lunch: 80 gr sashimi, edemame & miso soup
Dinner: 1 cup of barley risotto with asparagus, green beans and parsley
Snacks: Celery & red capsicum sticks and hummus
Drinks: Kombucha tea
Health notes: Kombucha tea helps to cleanse your body and reduce bloating.

NB:For my African readers let me try to replace some fruits,soups and teas we might find difficult to get around these parts...

• chia seeds for toasted benniseeds or pumkin seeds
• acai berry for any berries you can find. example strawberry or blackberry
• broccoli,zucchini etc for crunchy any veggies   we can find.
• miso soup is a healthy soup so we replace with vegetable soup throw in a handful of kidney beans and even lean chicken breast.
• And finally the "the teas" replace them with green teas,fruit juices, mixture of honey,lime n Lipton teas, ginger teas and so on as long as it is healthy. thanks.