Beat the Heat With My Top Tips to Keep Your Summer Cooking Simple and Healthy!

When the kids are home and you’re out of your normal routine, it can be challenging to stay on track.

Good news! Your summer goals don’t have to go by the wayside just because you’re busy. With a simple approach and a little planning, you’ll be coasting through your summer healthy and stress free!

The most important thing to focus on when summertime hits is being prepared. Fun activities always pop up! You’ll need to have grab-and-go protein, carbs, and fats on hand to keep you fueled.

From weekly meal prep, to keeping your pantry stocked, here’s what you need to know to keep your healthy summer meals easy peasy!

1. Plan Ahead

Carve out 1 hour every weekend to write your weekly food menu + grocery list. Then head to the store, one time before your week gets started. Need tips on how to keep meal planning simple? I have a whole step by step blog post on meal planning–check it out here: 

How To Meal Plan For a Fit Summer

Going on vacation? Planning doesn’t stop here-you need to plan ahead for trips too! Of course you’re not going to plan the meals you’re going to eat on vacation, but packing some essentials is a must! I always pack a travel bag with easy to grab proteins, electrolytes, bars, nut butters, and my favorite green powder.

For more ideas on how to eat healthy even when vacation and for all my on to go cheat sheets, be sure to check out my DIY Macros on the Fly course here: Macros on the Fly. It’s your roadmap to healthy living on the go!

2. Keep Your Recipes Family Friendly

Most women over complicate healthy eating by thinking that they need to prepare different foods for themselves than they do for their families. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The meals that you’re cooking should be things that your whole family will enjoy. Otherwise you’re never going to be able to stay on track.

There’s pretty much a healthy version of every single recipe out there. Think about all the foods your family loves and search Pinterest or even my Instagram account for a healthy version. 

Look for recipes that have minimum ingredients that are made up of lean meats, fruits, veggies, legumes and whole grains like these below:

• Ground Beef + Sausage Spaghetti → Healthy Version: Ground Turkey Spaghetti (you could also use extra lean ground beef instead of turkey)
  
• Canned Sloppy Joe Sandwiches → Healthy Version: Sloppy Joe Bowls  (use packaged hearts of palm noodles to save time on this one)
  
• Stir Fry → Healthy Version: Chicken + Zucchini Stir Fry
• Fried Fish and Chips → Healthy Version: Sheet Pan Fish and Chips

I can honestly say, I’ve never cooked different dinners for myself than I have for my family. Check out my Pinterest account for more of my personal favorite family friendly recipe ideas: 

Seana Phelps: Pinterest

3. Keep It Simple 

Summertime is busy and it’s more important than ever to stay fueled with macro balanced meals! The best way to do this is to make sure you have a simple protein, carb, and fat at each meal, as well as some veggies. Don’t overthink this, just create a list of plug and play options to pull from each week when you plan out your menu.

Need more ideas on how to create macro balanced meals with ease? 

Check out Macros on the Fly! This mini course includes lists of healthy carbs, fats, and proteins to pull from. I give options to help you build balanced meals for when you’re out at restaurants and always on the go!

4. Prep Raw Fruits and Veggies

When healthy food options are at your fingertips, you’re going to be more inclined to reach for those things. Rather than the quick, processed foods, choose these healthier options first. Pre-chop raw fruits and veggies on the weekends and store in ziplocks or tupperware containers. This way they’re always easily accessible for you and your family.

Put regular hummus, black bean hummus, dessert hummus, nut butter, vanilla greek yogurt, and coco whip on your grocery list.

These are great for dipping the veggies and fruit. Ever tried an apple with chocolate dessert hummus? If not, you don’t know what you’re missing! Sometimes I’ll even pack a bowl with greek yogurt (protein), apples and berries (carbs), and top it with grain free granola (mostly healthy fat) and boom! Now you have it–a simple + healthy macro balanced snack. 

5. Keep It Convenient

When summertime is in full effect you need easy grab-and-go foods that keep you fueled when you’re on the run. This is where healthy pre-packed foods do come in handy but you want to make sure you’re stocking your pantry with healthy options. 

Here’s a list of no prep foods I love:

• Deli meat
• One Bars
• Kind Bars
• RX Bars
• Dried edamame
• Dried fruit
• Chomp Sticks
• Lorissa’s Jerky
• RX Nut Butter Packets
• Trail Mix
• Nuts
• Rice Cakes
• Alyssa’s Cookies
• Premade RX Overnight Oats Containers
• Single serving Flavored Bone Broth
• OWYN Protein Shakes
• Seasoned Tuna Packets 
• Vital Protein Single Serving Packets
• Ultima Electrolyte Single Serving Packets

Meal planning and having go-to lists of simple meals that you can make will save you time. Doing this will keep you and your family on track with healthy eating this summer! For more ideas on how to create macro balanced meals during your busy seasons, check out the resources I’ve shared in this blog post.

For quick access I’m including all links below:

Macros on the Fly: Your roadmap to healthy living on the go!

Easy Ways To Increase Protein: Learn how to increase protein for optimal body composition and Metabolic Health over 40

Seana Phelps: Pinterest: Access to all my favorite simple + healthy recipes!