Eat Seasonally This Summer

This post will inspire you to eat seasonally this Summer, choosing delicious seasonal produce to keep you healthy, happy, and balanced! If you eat the same foods all year long, you are missing out on this simple way to attune your body to mother nature.

I’m sure you are familiar with the concept of eating with the seasons or eating seasonal foods. This allows you to live a little closer to nature and makes it easier and cheaper to eat fresh produce. But when viewed through the lens of Ayurveda, there is much more to it than that.

According to Ayurveda, like encourages like and opposites bring balance. This is common sense, but people tend to overlook this in their daily lives until they find themselves completely out of balance.

Our bodies know that opposites bring balance and will push us to make the right decisions. For example, a big bowl of warm chili or stew would sound better on a dry, cold winter day than a cold, crisp lettuce salad. However, in Spring, when we are carrying a little extra weight from winter, that light salad might be exactly what your body is craving. Our bodies know. However, sometimes we forget to listen to our own innate wisdom. Good thing Mother Nature is here to remind us!

picture of sky and sun taken from down in the field of wild flowers

Summer Energy

In Summer, the angle of the sun is the most direct, meaning that the weather tends to be hot and dry. When the weather is nice, we often tend to spend a lot of time outside. Whether it's working in the garden, mowing the lawn, or playing outside in the yard, these activities can leave us overheated and dehydrated.

Lucky for us, Mother Nature provides the appropriate foods in each season to help us stay balanced. Have you ever noticed that many of the foods that are 'in season' during the hot summer months are juicy (hydrating) and cooling?

Summer Foods

The simplest way to live in balance with the energy of the season is to eat lots of in-season foods. Mother Nature is trying to help us by providing foods that counteract seasonal energy.

What’s in season during Summer? Typically lots of fruits and vegetables that cook up quickly and easily. This produce keeps us cool and hydrates us too!

Here are some of the common Summer foods where I live (there are many more). Your list might look slightly different depending on where you call home.

Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries
Peaches, Plums
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Tomatoes
Lettuces
Swiss chard, spinach
Scallions
Cucumbers
Zucchini, Summer Squash
Peppers
Herbs - Cilantro, Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Mint

Also include lots of cooling beverages such as lemonade, iced tea, and good old water!

In addition to all the wonderful seasonal produce, a reasonable amount of whole grains such as barley, rice, wheat, and oats and lower-fat proteins like chicken, pork, fish, and eggs are also considered in-season.