I don’t know about the weather where you are but it sure is hot here in Texas!  We had record breaking temperatures in May indicating we will really have a hot summer.  And what is better on a hot summer day than a good salad?  For diabetics especially, it is important to have plenty of protein in or with said salad.  I have pulled together some cool, refreshing, delicious salads you might want to try.  These salad recipes should fit right in with your diabetic diet.  Pick one and enjoy a cool, refreshing, lite meal today.

Here is a great salad recipe you could take to a picnic as it contains no dairy products.  Or add some sliced roast pork tenderloin and you have a lite meal.  The pork will supply the needed protein.

ORANGE-ALMOND SALAD

3 cups assorted salad greens

2 navel oranges, peeled and sectioned

1/2 celery, thinly sliced

2 tbsp chopped green onion

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup SPLENDA or Equal Sugar-Lite

2 tbsp canola or olive oil

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

In a large salad bowl, combine greens, oranges, celery and onion.  Set aside.  Blend vinegar, SPLENDA or EQUAL and oil in a small mixing bowl.  Using a wire whisk, whisk until smooth.  Drizzle dressing over greens .  Toss gently to coat.  Put into individual salad bowls and sprinkle with almonds.

This Chinese Chicken Salad is a great salad for for luncheons or dinner guests as it makes several servings.  It is a good choice for diabetics because it incorporates protein in the salad.

CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 tbsp Soy sauce

1 medium head of cabbage, shredded

6 chopped green onions

2 pkgs chicken flavored Ramen noodles

1/2 cup plain almonds, sliced

1/4 cup sesame seeds

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup sesame oil

1/4 cup rice or white vinegar

1 of the seasoning packets from the Ramen noodles

1 tbsp Splenda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place chicken breasts on foil and pour soy sauce evenly over chicken.  Wrap in foil to make a packet.  Bake for 35 minutes or until chicken is done.  Remove from oven, cool enough to handle and cut into bite-size pieces.  Toast noodles and almonds in a non-stick skillet, stirring so as not to burn.  Add sesame seeds at last minute and brown lightly.  Mix together oil, vinegar, seasoning packet and Splenda.  Put cabbage, onion and chicken pieces into a large bowl.  Pour oil mixture over top of ingredients in bowl and mix well.  Add toasted noodles, almonds and sesame seeds.  Mix again.  Ready to serve.

The following bean salad is another great picnic item as it contains no mayonnaise.  It is perfect for diabetics since it features kidney beans and also contains egg.  Kidney beans should be a part of the diabetics’ diet.

NO MAYO BEAN SALAD

2 cans kidney beans, drained

1/2 cup diced onion

3/4 cup pickle relish

3 hard-boiled eggs, diced

2 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tbsp Splenda

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.  Mix well.  Keep refrigerated.

No list of salads would be complete without potato salad.  Diabetics have to be cautious about potatoes but this recipe does add eggs and sour cream which do add some protein.  Just be sure you have a small steak, skinless chicken breast, chop or other desired meat with this salad.

RED POTATO SALAD

3/4 cup low-fat sour cream

1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise

2 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp celery seed

2 lbs red potatoes, cooked and cubed

3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/4 cup thinly sliced radishes

1/4 cup chopped celery

3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

In a small mixing bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, salt and celery seed; set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, gently combine potatoes, onions, radishes, celery and eggs.  Pour dressing over potato mixture and toss lightly to coat.  Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

I hope you will enjoy preparing and serving these salads.  I don’t know about you but for me the less I have to have the stove or oven on in the summer, the better I like it.  ENJOY!

Summer celebrations are the most waited occasion for everyone. These celebrations are mostly in the form of large family gatherings with lots of food, fun, enjoyment, music, pool time and dance. If you have a family with strict schedule daily nine to five routines or even later than that then you must plan for a wonderful relaxing weekend family celebrations. Make these summer celebrations amusing and entertaining for your kids and adults alike.

Here the problem arises that is “how to make the summer family celebrations wonderful?” Some of my ideas or you can say a checklist is as follows:

1. Keep your menu as simple as it could be, but never forget to make it healthier, refreshing, delicious and tempting.

2. First of all gather every possible family member, discuss about the venue or just arrange the most suitable one and invite everybody.

3. Sit back and plan for the food; more specifically refreshing, delicious summer food. Start from the fresh fruit smoothies and fruit juices like mango juice, pineapples juice, and fresh orange juice, orange, strawberry and pineapple smoothies.

4. Next ask your close family members to bring a salad or dessert of fresh summer fruits if they offer to contribute.

5. Another wonderful idea is to arrange for a fresh summer fruit bouquet or fresh summer fruit basket made up of fruits like mango, kiwi fruit, pineapples, cantaloupe, grapes and orange wedges.

6. Also try to get fresh bouquet of chocolate dipped strawberries and bananas for your kids and chocolate lovers. 7.Making of summer Gift Baskets with Fresh Fruits.

8. Arrange a BBQ grill, but try to marinate the meat one night before you leave.

9. Always pay special attention to the arrangements like seating, dancing, dinning and relaxing.

10. Most important is “Never forget to take extra spoons, folks, cups, napkins and plates”.

11. For your safely purpose always take a first aid box with you.

12. Arrange some music system and outdoor games for fun time.

13. Giving Summer Gifts to kids.

These are some of the points I wanted to share with you to make your summer celebrations memorable with your beloved family.

We all like to eat good food, and we all understand that certain foods enhance our health. In Chinese medicine that concept is taken a step further, in that food is viewed as medicine you eat three times a day.  In fact, there is a saying that you should first treat an illness with the proper foods, and if that doesn’t work only then turn to acupuncture and herbs.

Food therapy is an important and effective part of Chinese medicine, and for good reason—it’s inexpensive and can be practiced at home.  Healing with food is based on a number of principles, including choosing foods that are easily digested and appropriate to your particular health issues.  In addition, foods are chosen for their specific actions (purging, drying, nourishing, etc.) and their temperature.  During certain times of the year, the temperature of foods can make a difference in how you feel and your overall health.  This is especially true during the hottest weather of the summer.

When you think of the temperature of foods, you might think of how it feels in your mouth (does it burn your tongue or give you a Mr. Mistee headache?).  However, in Chinese medicine foods also have an inherent temperature that when eaten can either warm or cool your body.  Foods can be hot, warm, neutral, cool, or cold.  Some obviously hot foods are ginger or chilies, which make you feel hot and sometimes even sweat.  In general, though, the temperature of a food and its effect is subtle—but very real.

Most of the foods that are harvested in the summer are cool in nature.  By eating these summer foods, you are cooling your body and avoiding something called Summerheat.  Summerheat is a pathogen that occurs only in the hot and humid weather and is responsible for that “blah”, queasy, tired feeling you get during the hottest, most humid days of summer.

So what should you eat this summer?  Go for some cold foods like cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, rhubarb, mung beans and sprouts, citrus fruits, bananas, and dandelion leaves.  Cool foods (not quite as cold) include most fruits, spinach, summer squash, lettuce and most greens, cabbage, bok choy, celery, and mint (make some mint ice tea).

If you start to feel yucky on the hottest days of the year, eat watermelon—it’s cold in nature, packed with water, and perfect for Summerheat.  Yum!

All those BBQs and summer pool and beach parties with so much food! Everyone goes to at least a few of those each summer. Well, the food your splurge on while at those fun-filled events may be less than helpful for your weight loss goals during the summer months.
The usual offerings include plenty of chips, fried foods, soft drinks and liquor. With all those temptations, it’s definitely easy to forget about your weight loss program and healthy nutritional plan. But there are alternatives to those unhealthy, unhelpful foods!
Stick with fresh fruits and produce during the summer months! Why? They are in season, which means they’re of the best quality during the summer, which also means that they’re the cheapest during the summer. These fresh fruits and produce provides plenty of nutrients for your body, such as antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber. Some of the best fruits to eat:
Watermelons, in particular, are full of juice so it will satisfy your thirst and sweet tooth at the same time! Another great offering usually found at most summer gatherings that won’t hurt your weight loss efforts.
Fruits of all types can be made into chilled drinks and desserts, which can add a nice ending to your summer events. Instead of overly sugary, highly processed soft drinks make some awesome fruit iced drinks.
Salads are refreshing, nutritious and very versatile! There are so many different ways to create a salad that you’ll never run out of options. Fruits, nuts, and cooked meats can be added; it’s not advised to add cheese though if you’re trying to lose weight.
Grilled vegetables are really great for barbecues, perfect straight from the grill. You can grill practically any vegetables and they’ll taste just fantastic! From peppers, onions, carrots, garlic, zucchini, and even lettuce. The best oils to grill them with are either extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil.
Soups can also be great summer foods simply because there are also plenty of variations for this as well. But this type of summertime soup is not one that you’d find on your grocery store shelf. Summertime soups are based on broths, like beef, chicken and vegetable for starters. Other types of summertime soups are the quite popular dessert soups made of refreshing fruits and vegetables.
There you have it! Use summer’s wonderful fresh fruit and vegetable bounty in your weight loss program and you’ll be definitely on your way to fast and easy weight loss for the summer!

All ancient health sciences prescribe that summer diet should be different than the winter diet, you can find materials explaining the reasons and types of food to be eaten in both Ayurveda and the Chinese medicine.
Summer takes away all moisture inside our body to leaving it short on its regular water levels, therefore care should be taken to include those foods in our diets that offer lots of water as well as cool our bodies considerably.
Summer foods are necessarily rich in water content; these foods can be grown faster, because research indicates all summer foods grow faster than winter foods. All sciences also know the fact that some foods have warming effect on the body whereas some have cooling effect, therefore before deciding on whether a food is summer food, you should see, water content, heavy/light to digest, summer foods should be essentially light to digest because sun is already providing you the heat your body makes to digest food, so heavier foods may not be digested better in summer. Legumes, wheat, barley, etc. are summer foods and should be included in daily diet.
Among fruits almost all citrus foods are cooling, these are juicy and you can extract juice and store it for a day without any preservatives. Citrus fruits offer you more cooling if you can mix these to make a mock tail and also add in some lemon juice. Lemons are a boon during summer, these small citrus fruits can make any salad tastier, it can also protect your body from getting several summer related ailments like boils, etc. lemon and honey combination has the power of instantly replenishing your body’s lost water and also work as energizers.
Veggies and not meat should be your important dietary composition during summer; summer solstice should include vegetables, salads, fruit punches, water, rice, legumes, wheat, etc. If you wanted to avoid hot foods during summer, you should try and avoid poultry and meat and instead introduce sea foods which are supposed to be cooling.
You require avoiding oily and fat rich foods, since these are difficult for digestion, putting on a diet in low oil and fat will also help you avoid several gastro-intestinal problems what people are most likely to face during the summer season like heart burn, acidity, indigestion, etc.
The best summer diet solution would be to include large salads in your diet, onions are just great in summer, people of all hot countries in the world, include onion in their diets because of ability of onions to beat the heat and provide relief from summer ailments. Ideally your salads can contain onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. with a dash of fresh lemon juice to add the tang, you can also include some mild spices and the salad will surely be a family favorite.
Also, going out in summer means you should carry water or fruit juice with you whenever you go out, it will help you get water every time you are thirsty. Summer offers you a great opportunity of losing weight, this is the time when your body does not require heavy food intake, you can take this opportunity get slimmer.