We love summer: life slows down, the sun is shining and feeling hot, the days are bright and long, filled with outdoor activity. These are all great components of healthy living. How do you love to spend your summer days? Here are three ways to enjoy a healthy summer. Read this, share your own tips in the comments section, then get out to enjoy the sun.
Get Active on a Family Bike Ride
We are big on exercise for maintaining whole body health and we’ve written before about how it can improve your breast health. Exercise is a great way to release good hormones in the body, but did you know that exercise that is too strenuous can actually be bad for you? If you exercise too hard or for too long, without balancing that exertion with necessary rest and rejuvenation, you can tire out your stress hormones. The summer is a great time to be healthy with physical activity, but also to adopt a slower, easier pace. A family bike ride is just the ticket: easy, fun exercise that gets you out enjoying the outdoors actively with your family. Just remember to be safe.
Enjoy a Healthy Outdoor Picnic
Pack a lunch and hit the trails, or simply enjoy the outdoors on your patio with a backyard BBQ. Try creating skewers of chicken, steak or salmon and soaking them in a marinade of orange juice, soy sauce, and garlic. You can add your favourite vegetables like peppers, zucchini and red onion. Pair it with a summer salad – like peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and a greek dressing.
A Glass of Ice Tea on the Dock or Deck – Raspberry Rooibos Ice Tea Recipe
Nothing says summer better than a glass of ice tea. It’s a great way to celebrate a few moments of restful time in the lawn chair or hammock. Try this sweet, home brew that packs a nutritional punch; rooibos tea is very good for you!
Raspberry Rooibos Ice Tea
4 Rooibos Tea bags
6 cups of hot, boiling water
2 cups frozen raspberries
½ cup coconut sugar
On the stove, simmer frozen raspberries in 1 cup water until they defrost and form a syrup. Add ½ cup coconut sugar and mix until it dissolves.
Boil 6 cups water and add 4 Rooibos tea bags to steep. Let steep for 5 minutes. Pour raspberry syrup into hot liquid and let mixture cool. Enjoy over ice!
What do you love about summer? And how will you spend it this year? Share in the comments section below!
