4 tips for a healthy July 4th celebration

Celebrating America’s birthday is fun! However, we don’t want the use the holiday as an excuse to overeat and binge on junk food. Whether you’re hosting a back yard barbecue or you’re a guest, try these four tips so you can enjoy your day and stay on track with your health and diet. Remember that alcohol and sodas are loaded with extra calories and provide no nutritional value, so stick with water, unsweetened ice tea, club soda or unsweetened mineral water for your beverage.

1.      Fresh vegetables:  Load up on fresh vegetables such as carrot sticks, cherry or plum tomatoes, celery sticks, cucumber slices, zucchini slices and crowns of broccoli and cauliflower; these work well as low calorie, low fat  appetizers along with a healthy dip (see below). Don’t forget a large mixed green salad with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar, for the perfect side dish.

2.      Fresh fruits: Fresh fruit is full of water which help us stay hydrated, especially important in warm/hot weather. Fruit is great for desert too. Try melons such as watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew, these can be cut in slices or small pieces for easy serving and eating. Orange slices (quartered) and strawberries are easy to handle and a nice addition too.

*You’ll boost your health by consuming a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits every day as they contain anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and various nutrients such as Vitamins A and C, Potassium and Lycopene to name a few.

3.      Use non-fat Greek Yogurt as a base for vegetable dips instead of sour cream. You can add some honey for a sweeter version for dipping pieces of fresh fruit as a dessert. You can also add some low fat kefir to the Greek yogurt/honey mix if you want a lighter and smoother consistency. Greek yogurt contains protein, calcium and probiotics, all of which are good for you.

4.      Lean proteins such as grilled chicken breasts and shrimp skewers can round out your meal instead of high fat and chemical laden hot dogs, or other fatty meats.

Remember to use organic produce when you can, to minimize your exposure to pesticides and choose meats that  don’t contain any added hormones or fillers for an even healthier meal.

(Sun safety: If you're going to be out in the sun (and most likely you will be) use sun protection to protect yourself against skin cancer and sunburns).

5 Tips to Help Prevent Constipation

Most people experience constipation at least once during their lifetime and many times more.  Though embarrassing for some folks to discuss; you can take a few steps using the following tips to help prevent it.

1. Eat whole grains each day such as barley (home-made barley soup is great), whole wheat breads and rolls (with whole wheat flour appearing first in the list of ingredients), whole wheat breakfast cereals such as wheat biscuits/shredded wheat each day for breakfast. Whole wheat pastas and brown rice work well for dinner, coupled with a lean protein and a vegetable.
2. Eat fresh vegetables every day such as broccoli (steamed or raw), baby or regular size carrot sticks (raw) and fresh romaine based salads with various raw veggies such as cucumbers and radishes.
3. Eat fresh fruits every day such as apples with the skin, pears, grapes, cherries, blueberries, peaches and nectarines (depending on the season).
4. Stay hydrated with plenty of water each day. Consider high water content fruits such as watermelon and other melons as part of your daily fruit intake (above). Fresh fruits and vegetables contain water; some have a higher content than others.
5. Stay active. Leading an active lifestyle can help prevent constipation by helping to keep the bowels moving.  A sedentary lifestyle can exacerbate constipation. Keep moving to allow your body to function at its optimum level.

Purchase organic produce whenever possible to reduce your exposure to pesticides. All produce must be washed well before consumption. Be creative and change it up; try a variety of whole wheat foods and fresh produce to make your diet interesting and tasty.