Dieter's Digest

Summer Diet Strategies...

Summer is a great time to lose weight! For the most part, weight control is about the foods we choose and summertime offers great choices for us dieters. Markets and food stands are brimming over with seasonal specialties. All you have to do is bring them home and fire up the grill!

Grilled marinated chicken breast (trimmed of fat and skin, of course!) is a summer delight, served hot at mealtime, or cold as a snack for later. Grilling is a great way to reduce fat as the fats simply drip away from the food while you cook, to reduce calories naturally. Marinates come in many different varieties and keep your menus new and exciting.

Other summer favorites like shrimp cocktail, and fresh fruit salads, seem positively decedent, but are really low cal and satisfying. The downfall of many a diet is how bland and boring the food can get after awhile. Some diet plans are so restrictive that you can't hope to maintain it for long. You are better off simply eating less than you would normally, every time you eat.

Bountiful summer herbs and vegetables allow us to enjoy great appetizers such as tomato and fresh basil brushetta. Made with balsamic vinaigrette, minced onion, salt and pepper, this cow-cal food is a real gourmet treat and so easy to make.

Served on thinly sliced French bread that has been toasted in the oven, you can almost make a meal out of it!

Desserts are easier in summer too. Strawberries or blueberries in milk are a delicious change of pace for after dinner sweets. Feel like a chocolaty treat? Pass by high fat, gourmet ice creams and try a good old-fashioned fudge sickle. Some of our old favorites are much lower in calories than you would expect! Even cream sickles are fairly low cal. Yummmm .

Summer fun includes eating and if you plan well you can enjoy the great tastes of summer while losing weight. Marinate fish in lite Italian dressing and grill for wonderful flavors.

Shish-ka-bob chunks of onion, tomato, green or red peppers, zucchini along with cubed lean meats or chicken and grill for a festive and delicious meal.

Remember to enjoy the great outdoors this summer too. Walk the park, take the trails, play some tennis, just get out there and enjoy life this summer. And by all means, keep hydrated. Club soda with lime is wonderfully refreshing on a hot summer day. No-cal flavored seltzer waters are also readily available now.