With summer\u2019s arrival comes a craving for lighter meals. Quick, fresh, simple dishes become the go-to choice as the heat rises and time spent in the kitchen shrinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But beware: relying too heavily on the usual suspects\u2014cold cuts, cheese, and packaged foods\u2014can backfire. In fact, during the summer months, your body needs essential nutrients to cope with high temperatures, protect your skin from sun exposure, and keep your energy levels steady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most valuable allies? Extra virgin olive oil. Bring it with you on vacation and seek it out when dining away. It\u2019s not just about flavor\u2014this \u201cliquid gold\u201d plays a vital role in helping your body absorb vitamins and stay protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even on holiday, choosing what to put on your plate is an act of self-care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rule #1: Don\u2019t eat mindlessly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On vacation, don\u2019t just grab a slice of bread, an ice cream, or a sandwich without thinking. Be mindful of what you eat. Even at the beach, aim for a small, balanced meal: a tomato and avocado salad, two hard-boiled eggs, or 50g of aged Parmigiano Reggiano\u2014always topped with extra virgin olive oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otherwise, you risk eating poorly, relying too much on carbs, slowing down your metabolism, and arriving at dinner starving\u2014making it harder to control your appetite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule #2: Too much fruit won\u2019t help you slim down<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If your goal is to lose that stubborn belly fat, you need to keep sugar intake in check. Sweets, pizza, pasta, rice, potatoes\u2014and yes, even fruit\u2014contain varying amounts of sugar. Too much sugar in your diet spikes insulin levels, a hormone that promotes fat storage, especially around the abdomen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Better choice? A crunchy mix of raw celery, cucumber, and carrots with EVOO\u2014a great beach snack too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule #3: Fat doesn\u2019t make you fat<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Avoid extreme diets that drastically cut out fats. Extra virgin olive oil is anti-insulin, antioxidant, appetite-curbing, and even supports digestion. Use it raw, in cooking, or even for frying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Focus less on cutting healthy dressings and more on portion sizes of pasta, pizza, and ice cream. A flavorful, satisfying pasta dish made with quality EVOO is a far better choice than a bland, low-fat one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule #4: Protein powers up your metabolism at lunch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Want to avoid dinnertime hunger? A quick, protein-rich lunch can make all the difference:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule #5: Beware of sneaky sugar bombs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fruit juices, smoothies, sodas, slushies, and popsicles may seem refreshing, but they don\u2019t support your metabolism. Packed with sugar, artificial colors, and preservatives, they don\u2019t nourish your body and contribute to weight gain and increased hunger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule #6: Eat vibrant, living food<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Your skin craves vitamins\u2014especially those found in seasonal vegetables. Bell peppers, carrots, radishes, eggplant, leafy greens, radicchio, cabbage, onions, and tomatoes help detoxify, drain excess fluids, support kidney function, and provide antioxidants. They also help protect your skin and bones while supplying water and minerals essential for cellular metabolism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just aim to get at least three different colors on your plate at every meal: orange, green, and purple\u2014like a salad with carrots, radishes, and lettuce; or white, orange, and green\u2014like fennel, celery, orange, and olives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Top everything with the \u201cgreen gold\u201d of EVOO, which enhances both the colors and the absorption of the nutrients in your food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vary your foods, eat seasonally, and combine ingredients to make your plate colorful\u2014this is key to feeling good, staying in shape, and boosting your mood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With summer\u2019s arrival comes a craving for lighter meals. Quick, fresh, simple dishes become the go-to choice as the heat rises and time spent in the kitchen shrinks. But beware: relying too heavily on the usual suspects\u2014cold cuts, cheese, and packaged foods\u2014can backfire. In fact, during the summer months, your body needs essential nutrients to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-welfare"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.frantoiomuraglia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.frantoiomuraglia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.frantoiomuraglia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantoiomuraglia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantoiomuraglia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40022"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantoiomuraglia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40023,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantoiomuraglia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40022\/revisions\/40023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantoiomuraglia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.frantoiomuraglia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantoiomuraglia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantoiomuraglia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n