Beat The Heat With These Summer Foods And Stay Hydrated

With summers arriving in earnest, temperatures rise and prickly heat intensifies. This period is all about eating seasonal summer foods that cool and rejuvenate. For parents planning seasonal, cooling meals for the family, hydrating foods can be among clever options that provide a respite as the summer weather makes itself known.

In summers, children and adults alike can experience severe fatigue and dehydration as the temperatures rise. Whether kids play outdoors all day or parents head out to work, hydration remains paramount to ward off heat strokes. Parents who are keen to incorporate cooling ingredients in family meals can make certain healthy summer foods so the whole family feels light and fresh even as the mercury spikes. Hydrating foods are available in plenty during this season – all that’s left to do is use them in dishes from breakfast to brunch to dinner that can beat the season’s heat.

Watermelons

Come the warm weather, if one fruit becomes available aplenty, it is the watery, juicy watermelon. One of the best hydrating foods in summers, watermelon is versatile enough to be incorporated into the season’s diet in varied ways. Parents planning cooling meals can use watermelon chunks for crafting fresh juice in the juicer or use the fruit in a simple watermelon and feta salad served at brunch. The fruit can also be chilled and turned into cubes as a fun popsicle for the children.

Cucumbers

Another summertime staple, cucumbers are versatile enough to be added to drinks and dishes alike. Whether it is a simple cucumber and mint salad or a fresh cucumber juice prepared in a handy mixer or blender, different summer foods can be prepared using this simple ingredient. Cucumbers replenish lost fluids, their watery content introducing a fresh and light quality into wholesome meals.

Buttermilk Or Chaas

Whether you are using the wooden handchurner or simply blending curd in the mixer grinder, extracting buttermilk is a regular summertime activity. Rich in probiotics and full of water content, buttermilk can be seasoned with salt and cumin powder to turn it into a chaas. Serve the buttermilk during a meal as one of several staple summer foods that hydrate, rejuvenate and promote digestion.

Coconut Water

Incorporating coconut water into the summertime hydrating foods roster is made easy when it is accentuated with some fresh basil leaves or chia seeds. Instantly, coconut water transforms into a fun mocktail which can be savoured at brunchtime by a whole family sitting down to gorge on a fresh fruit salad and quiche freshly baked in the oven. Never forget the coconut water malai, another rich water source in the warm weather: the malai chunks can be had by themselves as a quick hydrating food in the middle of the day.

Muskmelon

Another interesting seasonal fruit available in summers is the muskmelon. A naturally hydrating food, muskmelon can be used to make juice in the blender or can be turned into an iced popsicle or be used to top off a fresh fruit platter. It is hydrating, cooling and full of sweet, fruity flavours that fit right into the bright summer vibe. Muskmelon also has a very distinct creamy nuance of its own, which makes it an interesting ingredient to use in a cold press juicer for making a fresh yet densely flavoured drink.

Curd

A staple in most Indian households, parents looking for summer foods can rely on curd or dahi as a healthy ingredient to keep the body cool. Full of nourishing properties, low on calories and a natural probiotic, curd is one of those hydrating foods that aids digestion and cools the body in the rising heat. Add it to a raita, blend into a smoothie or simply serve by itself, curd has multiple roles to play in a traditional Indian kitchen.

Oranges

Loaded with acidic, tangy flavours, oozing with vitamins and water content and filled with a pulpy goodness, oranges are one of the most interesting summer foods to add to your season’s meal plan. Cold press oranges into a hydrating juice, use orange pieces to top off a chicken and lettuce salad or simply peel and serve chilled oranges to kids after they return home from school. Incorporating oranges as hydrating foods in summer meals is one of the easiest ways to replenish lost energy.

Tomatoes

What is often an overlooked ingredient in terms of its hydrating qualities, a bright red tomato is actually quite a superb summer food. Make rich tomato salads using cherry tomatoes or luscious regular tomatoes, craft a bright red tomato juice or make a cold soup using this pantry staple. Tomatoes are refreshing and rich in antioxidants, perfect for a summertime diet. In fact, the watery content in the tomatoes makes for excellent summer foods that restore energy even as you keep feeling light and fresh.

Limes

When it comes to fresh notes and sour flavours, limes and lemons are some inseparable ingredients from summer weather. Sweet lime juice, lemon sprinkled over fresh veggie and fruit salads, lemon iced tea and simple lemonade are only some of the ways to incorporate limes into the daily diet. Among several summer foods that rejuvenate and energise, parents can find creative sherbet flavours and striking visual aesthetics to serve limes to children in this weather. 

Mint

While it might not exactly be a food, mint is an aromatic and fresh herb which brings a lot of zinginess and sharp flavours into your summertime food platter. Crush mint leaves and incorporate them as garnishes in sherbets or use fresh mint to build flavour into salads so the cooling properties of this herb seep into the summer foods curated to beat the heat. In fact, the sharp and slightly spiced notes of fresh mint leaves bring quite a chilled zinginess into fruit and veggie dishes, to imbue these hydrating foods with an even fresher quality.