Eating Good in the Neighborhood (pool.)

Good evening all you morning glories!!

I’ll admit, last night I was running on empty for a few hours before I got home. Two and a half hours volunteering in the blazing heat, a long day at the pool, emotional episode of Extreme Home Makeover (I have more feelings than I should), so when I got back to the apartment, I could barely keep my eyes open let alone my hands typing.  My sincerest apologies to anyone who was chomping at the bit to hear about the life and times of Jordan.

The following post is for my sake as much as advice for others in a similar situation.  In this summer season, it’s extremely tempting to lay out by the pool, eat a mountain full of burgers/hot dogs/grilled delicacies and throw back dozens of Bud Light Limes (the beer snob inside of me cringes, but luckily my inner Jersey girl enjoys it too much to be judgey.)  However, with two days in every weekend, this can really add up.  I’ll admit, my Memorial Day weekend was a bingefest full of the following:

Each of these was filled with at leat 12 Bud Light Limes

Don't worry, I only ate 2/4 bags of chips

I decided to up my game and come up with some ways to keep your body from ballooning into a lobster shaded blimp over the course of those summer days and nights by the pool.

• Rolls are for suckers and saps. Seriously, if there’s one thing I’ve realized, it is that cheap hot dog buns and burger rolls can actually make the delicious grilled meat significantly less delicious. Lettuce = your friend.  And I promise you, I’m not saying this as part of any ulterior Atkins motives, I love bread and think you should enjoy it… when it’s good. But why waste carbs and calories on cheapy rolls that have all the nutrients bleached outta them?! If you’ve got quality bread, go for it. but if not… don’t even bother.
• Fruit, fruit, the magical fruit. Summertime is that beautiful season where you can get delicious fruits on the cheap. And it’s always a welcome addition to any BBQ or grill out experience.  You’d be amazed at how surprised people are when you show up with cut fruit, like you’ve given them a new opportunity to live their wildest dreams.  But really, you sliced some watermelon, threw in a pint of washed blueberries, and pulled some grapes off the vine like any quality future soccer mom or dad would. The best part about this? You’re guaranteed that something at the BBQ will be delicious and healthy.  And you seem like a MasterChef.
  

  this is a game changer

• Healthy dips are your friend. That being said, while I could (and would love to) bathe in a vat of guacamole, moderation is important in every way/shape/form. Use some crispy veggies as your dipping tools or, if you must, baked chips. Hummus, guacamole, they give you the same feeling as dunking baguette slices into pizza dip, without the same level of bloating poolside.
• If you must drink beers, go for light. I know, I know, normally I would never advise this. But truly, the sun and dehydration and lack of eating normal foods can make those heavy beers go straight to your head. No one wants to have to call the lifeguard on you for being a wastey face at your neighborhood watering hole.  It’s not classy, and it’s just the worst hangover you’ll ever have in your life.
  

  Thank goodness for the Miller Lite-guards to save the day. But seriously. This is someone's job.

• Speaking of which, get in that pool! It sounds like a given, right? Getting in the pool at a poolside event?! why the heck not? However, let me share a fun little pearl of wisdom. “Be like the duck.”  Doesn’t make sense? Roll with me…  Ducks look like tiny cute calm critters on the surface but, under water, they are a flurry of activity.  Yesterday was the first time I did a few of these exercises from the Fitness Magazine Pool Workout, and it was great because no one realized that I was working it or they were too embarrassed to mention it in front of me. Either way, I feel like I squeezed in some fun little exercises without cutting out any fun times with my friends. Even just treading water is more than standing there, right?
• Sweet Sangria. I have to admit, I’ve never made my own Sangria. But I’ve drank other people’s, and it’s. just. the best.  Plus, it’s jam packed with healthy stuff like fruit and wine and… wine.  Here’s a recipe I found which is next on my “list of things I want to make that give me a sense of healthiness and also make me feel like I’m chilling on a spanish coast”: Healthy Sangria.  More often than not, it’s tastier and more refreshing than those BLLs, and much much prettier.
  

  Did you know Tori Amos has a song called Sweet Sangria? Now you do!

• Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink?! No way, ladies and gents. Even though you may feel like you do not have to drink water because you are in the water and at the pool, you are not a creature who can be hydrated through osmosis (seriously. didn’t you go to 7th grade science?!) You are a person, and people are happiest and healthiest when they are hydrated to the brim. For every poolside adult beverage you have, why don’t you enjoy a cool water bottle as well? It will slow you down so you don’t get too buzzed, and it will keep you from passing out from dehydration. Once, when I was a little kid, I missed a chance to swim with sharks because I got dehydration and semi-fainted. You don’t wanna miss out on shark swimming, right?! (Feel free to insert any other cool experience if shark swimming scares you.  When you faint from dehydration, you can’t have any fun.)
  

  I'm fun and friendly!!

I think those are all the little bits and pieces I can think of right now that will keep you (and me!) healthy and happy, without having to roll us outta the pool like Violet Beauregard post blueberry transformation.

Do you have any tips and tricks for staying healthy at poolside BBQs and events?

Did you realize that’s the second time I’ve mentioned Violet Beauregard in this blog which isn’t even a week old?

Stay happy, slather on that SPF (skin cancer is no joke), and enjoy your Sunday!