Beliefnet
2019-02-20

Summer is a time of warmth, leisure, and great food. Just as we change out our wardrobe at the beginning of each season, so can we change what we eat—variety is fun!

But for many of us, summertime becomes a collision between good eating and a desire to be physically fit. Many traditional summer foods, such as hamburgers, corn dogs, and ice cream, are loaded with calories and unhealthy varieties of fat—not exactly the kind of calories we want when we’re trying to look great for the beach.

But summer offers so much more than carnival fare! With so many fruits and vegetables in season, and with lighter foods being so much more pleasant in the heat, there are endless options for low-calorie and high-fiber meals which still fill us up and help us celebrate the warmest season. Read on, and find 9 Delicious recipes that are perfect for summer dining, without the fat and calories.

Fish is one of the best sources of protein. Most varieties are full of healthy fats and nutrients that work to protect the heart and brain, lowering the risk of heart attack and stroke. Fish is also a lean meat, as low in calories as it is high in nutrition, and is one of the only good dietary sources of vitamin D—a vitamin that 41.6 percent of Americans are deficient in.

Fish can be made unhealthy, however, depending on how it is caught, and how it is prepared. Wild-caught fish tend to be healthier, and contain fewer harmful pollutants. In preparation, breading and frying fish adds unnecessary calories, and robs fish of the omega-3 fatty acids which make it so good for your body. Better options are boiling, baking, or, in this case—grilling.

Grilling imparts a delicious flavor to most fish, and in this recipe, you’ll enhancing the flavor of the fish in this recipe with a tangy chile rub for a great summer meal!

Enjoy this recipe for grilled fish tacos.

There was a time when the tomato was considered poisonous. Obviously, this wasn’t true—in the 1800s, European aristocrats would eat them from pewter plates, and the high acidity of the tomatoes would leach the lead from these plates and poison them. Because no one made a connection with the plates, the tomatoes were blamed.

Now we know that tomatoes are packed with vitamins and nutrients, including vitamin C and antioxidants, which can lower the risk of cancer and protect the body from damage. Tomatoes also contain lycopene, which, in studies, works to prevent prostate cancer.

Eggplant is no lightweight, either. It contains fiber, which promotes digestive health and a feeling of fullness that will keep you from hungrily snacking afterward.

Eggplant and tomato stacks are a great low-calorie snack that are quick to make. Make them to lend a sense of fanciness to a summer lunch on the deck.

Enjoy this recipe for grilled eggplant and tomato stacks!

Salads are a staple of summer fare, but often, we cover them with unhealthy, calorie-dense dressings and sprinkle on toppings with high carbohydrate and sodium contents. Often, the salad is skipped altogether in favor of meats and deserts, and is relegated to the status of the boring part of the meal.

This salad is anything but boring! Beans are a great source of vegetable-derived protein. Not only this, but they’re incredibly high in fiber, resulting in a feeling of fullness after a meal that will leave you and your guests satisfied, even after “just” consuming a salad.

This southwestern salad contains black beans, tomatoes, sweet corn, and is topped with an avocado-lime dressing, made with nonfat yogurt, for a great combination of healthy fats and nutrients—an exciting combination of ingredients that will leave you satisfied and anything but bored.

Follow this link to discover the recipe for southwestern salad with black beans.

Salmon cakes are a great way to provide all of the nutrients of fish in a small, delicious package. There are several varieties of salmon to choose from, such as Chinook, with its buttery texture and abundance of beneficial fats, Sockeye, with its strong flavor, and Coho, which is milder in taste and light in color. Do your research, and pick a variety that appeals to you!

While many varieties of fish can contain toxins that have leeched in from their environments, Wild Alaskan salmon tend to be the safest, as compared to salmon caught in more polluted coastal areas, and farmed salmon, which are exposed to antibiotics and communicable diseases.

You may have had salmon cakes before, but the creamy dill sauce in this particular recipe makes for an especially delicious meal, pairing perfectly with the flavor of the fish.

Click here for the recipe for easy salmon cakes with creamy dill sauce.

For this meal, pick out wild-caught shrimp to avoid the pesticides and other pollutants involved in shrimp farms. Read the label of the shrimp—of any food you buy, really—and determine where it comes from, and how it was caught.

It’s a common misconception that shrimp is a very unhealthy food—it’s not. Shrimp does contain a high level of dietary cholesterol, but has no saturated fat. Research has shown that unless dietary cholesterol is combined with high saturated fat, it does not raise blood cholesterol. Shrimp is a great, lean source of protein, and as long as it is eaten as a part of an overall healthy diet—and if you’re making these great meals, it will be—it’s a great choice for a low-calorie, delicious meal.

This recipe can be served with the aforementioned roasted eggplant and tomato stacks for an elegant summer meal. Head here for the recipe for grilled shrimp skewers over white bean salad.

If you’re not into meat, then a three-bean salad is a perfect side dish for your next summer gathering. With this recipe having less sugar than three-bean salad typically does, you can fill up on its nutritious helpings of chickpeas, green beans, and baby lima beans without guilt or health risks.

This dish is loaded with fiber, so it will leave you, as well as your guests, feeling full and satisfied. In addition to this, maintaining your daily allotment of fiber also helps control blood sugar, and lowers bad cholesterol levels. Researchers have also found that for every 7 grams of fiber you consume on a daily basis, your stroke risk is reduced by 7 percent.

You can’t go wrong with this easy and delicious recipe, so give this three-bean salad a try, and promote good health on your next picnic on the grass.

With turkey having a bit less saturated fat than most other meats, it’s a great alternative to beef in this turkey burger with mango chutney. If you’ve never used chutney before, it can be found in the Indian food isles of most grocery stores—it has a sweet and tangy taste.

Ensure a healthy meal by taking care to buy only the leanest turkey—ground turkey that has dark meat mixed in can actually have more fat and calories than ground beef. Avoid flavored and pre-seasoned meat, as these add to the already higher natural sodium content of turkey. As always, vigilance is the key as you go about buying ingredients—go for fresher, less pre-processed options.

It is important, also, to use whole-grain bread in order to maximize fiber content, making this dish as healthy as possible.

Go enjoy this recipe for turkey burger with mango chutney. You won’t regret it!

Few summer dinner salads can outdo the taco salad. A veritable mountain of toppings, this dish is often the centerpiece for parties, gatherings, and celebrations, and is guaranteed to be a favorite among guests.

So how could it be made even better? If it’s healthier, of course!

This colorful, vegetarian taco salad can be quickly put together, and serves 6 people. As an alternative to higher-calorie meats, this dish contains only cheese, rice, vegetables, and herbs, and each serving has only 395 calories, as opposed to more than 500 in most meat and sour cream-heavy taco salads. You won’t miss the saturated fat when you taste the delicious dried oregano, chili powder, onions, and fresh corn kernels.

Take it upon yourself to experiment with new foods this summer, and discover the joys of healthier eating with this vegetarian taco salad recipe.

This easy-to-prepare combination of shrimp, zucchini, and pasta makes for a healthy and tasty meal. Created with a healthy starch, fresh vegetables, and a protein—shrimp, in this case—this dish has only 315 calories per serving, and needs only a fruit or vegetable side dish for a complete and nutritious meal.

It’s important to make each meal as well-rounded as possible, following the nutritional guidelines set out by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. These guidelines can be found at health.gov, and are essential for a healthy life, and a fit body. The provided documentation goes over the key elements in healthy eating patterns, food groups, and other supplemental dietary concerns. This may not sound like ideal summer reading, but take heed—it could greatly improve your life.

Enjoy your basil, shrimp, and zucchini pasta, and begin a new habit of cooking nutritionally sound, low-calorie dishes!

As we’ve seen, healthy doesn’t have to mean boring—especially in the summertime! Start new, healthy eating habits with these 9 recipes, but don’t let it end there! Become familiar with nutritional guidelines, and start cooking for your health. Your body will thank you for it, and your summers will be all the better.


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