There’s no better time of year to focus on taking care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally than this month.
In fact August is an ideal month to prioritise our well-being and self-care, dialling down the stress, and promoting healthy daily routines: from staying hydrated and protecting our skin to savouring the bountiful harvest of seasonal produce, each choice we make contributes to our overall health as well as embracing the joys of summer.
Even adopting small changes can really make a big difference to your life.
Here are some key healthy summer habits:
Stay Hydrated:
Staying hydrated is must during summer due to the increased risk of dehydration: the combination of heat and outdoor activities depletes our body’s water reserves. To maintain proper hydration, you need to drink plenty of water throughout the day and try to incorporate hydrating foods like watermelon, cucumbers, and oranges into your diet can provide a refreshing boost of fluids.
Prioritising hydration will help you stay energised, maintain optimal bodily functions, and beat the summer heat with ease.
Protect Your Skin from the Sun:
Protecting your skin from the sun is of utmost importance during the summer months to prevent harmful effects and promote long-term skin health. To shield your skin from these risks, it is crucial to prioritise sun protection measures. Start by applying sunscreen with a high SPF before heading outdoors and additionally, wearing hats and UV-protective sunglasses. By taking these simple yet effective steps, you can enjoy the summer sun while keeping your skin healthy and protected for years to come.
Stay Active and Enjoy Outdoor Activities:
Summer presents a wonderful opportunity to embrace physical activity and revel in the joys of outdoor adventures. It’s a season that invites us to break free from our indoor routines and soak up the sun while engaging in activities that promote fitness and well-being. Whether it’s diving into a refreshing pool for a swim, exploring scenic hiking trails, hopping on a bike for a leisurely ride, or gathering friends for a game of outdoor sports, the options are endless.
Engaging in these activities not only keeps us physically active but also allows us to connect with nature, reduce stress, and enhance our overall sense of vitality. Embrace the beauty of the outdoors and let your body and mind thrive through the power of active living.
Prioritise Mental Well-Being:
While summer is often associated with relaxation, it’s important to acknowledge that this season can also bring unique challenges to our mental health. To maintain positive mental well-being during the summer, it’s crucial to prioritise self-care.
Take time to engage in activities that bring you joy. These can be practicing mindfulness, pursuing hobbies, or enjoying quiet moments in nature. Managing stress through techniques like deep breathing, exercise, or journaling can also be beneficial. Remember: your mental well-being matters. By incorporating these strategies into your summer routine, you can navigate the season.
Nourish Your Body with Seasonal Foods:
During the summer season, we are fortunate to have an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables at our fingertips. Not only do these fruits and vegetables taste delicious, but they also offer a wealth of nutritional benefits. Incorporating seasonal produce into your diet can provide an array of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fibre that support your overall health and well-being.
By embracing the summer harvest, you can nourish your body with nature’s bounty while savouring the vibrant flavours of the season.
OUR FAV SEASONAL DISHES…
It’s August, therefore it’s time to turn up the heat with sensational on seasonal produce: enjoy aubergines, courgettes and tomatoes, fish such as lobster, scallops and trouts and brilliant summer berries including raspberries, redcurrants and blackberries.
Courgette, feta and blackcurrant salad
An elegant dish of courgette and feta with blackcurrant purée makes the perfect starter or side dish for late summer.
Ingredients
4 courgettes
20g salt
20ml cold pressed rapeseed or extra-virgin olive oil (or blackcurrant wood oil – see tips), plus 1 tbsp for frying
40ml white wine vinegar (or blackcurrant leaf vinegar – see tips)
15g sugar
80g feta (or ewe’s curd if you can find it)
Fresh soft herbs to serve (parsley, dill and/or marjoram all work well)
15 blackcurrants
For the purée
400g courgettes (ideally small courgettes as more skin will make the puree greener)
2 small garlic cloves
35ml rapeseed oil
15g fresh marjoram or 8g dried oregano
100ml cold vegetable stock (a stock cube is fine)
Method
- Use a peeler to shave fine strips from the full length of 2 courgettes. Be careful not to peel your fingers and work slowly! Put the salt in a bowl with 350ml water and whisk until all the salt is dissolved. Add the ribbons, tossing to ensure they’re coated in the brine, then set aside for 5 minutes. When the time is up, drain and rinse the ribbons well. Make a simple dressing by whisking the 20ml oil, 40ml vinegar and sugar together. Dress the courgette ribbons in it and set aside.
- To keep the purée nice and green it’s important to have all your ingredients ready. Set the blender up and prepare a bowl of iced water before you start. Coarsely grate the courgettes and finely chop the garlic. Put a pan over a high heat. Add the oil and a pinch of salt, then add the garlic and fry until golden. Throw in the courgettes and marjoram (or oregano) and stir constantly. You want to cook the courgettes as quickly as possible to keep them vivid green, so cook and stir for a few minutes until completely soft.
- Tip the courgette mixture into the blender and whizz to a purée, adding some of the veg stock if it needs loosening (you might not need it all). When it’s nice and smooth, pass the purée through a fine sieve into a bowl, then sit this bowl in the bowl of the iced water. This will ensure it cools down quickly and stays green. Season to taste.
- For the grilled courgettes, cut the remaining 2 courgettes in half lengthways and as neatly as you can score them in a crosshatch pattern with a sharp knife. This will help the seasoning penetrate the flesh better. Sprinkle the halves with some salt and leave to sit for 10 minutes. Put a frying pan over a medium heat and add the 1 tbsp oil. Add the courgettes cut-side down to the pan and use another pan to press them flat so they cook evenly. Check them after 5 minutes; the cut side should be charred and a sharp knife should meet no resistance when inserted into the thickest part. Remove from the heat and cut each piece into bite-size pieces.
- To serve, spread the purée neatly on each plate and arrange the chunks of grilled courgette on top. Top with the dressed raw courgette ribbons, the ewe’s curd or crumbled feta, some fresh herbs and the fresh blackcurrants.
Delicious tips
To upgrade this dish, make some blackcurrant leaf vinegar to use instead of standard vinegar. To make it, pick around 20 leaves in the weeks before the fruit ripens. Pack then into a sterilised jar and cover with 1 litre white wine vinegar. Leave to infuse for at least 2 weeks.
You can also make blackcurrant wood oil for extra flavour. To make this, in winter gather 200g of the pruned blackcurrant bush wood and put it in a pan with 1 litre of neutral oil like sunflower or vegetable. Warm it slightly and keep it warm for 1 hour, then strain the oil into a sterilised jar.
Recipe from:
https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/collections/august-seasonal-food/
Hot-smoked honey trout with smoky beetroot ’tzatziki’
Barbecuing fish is a great way to get depth of flavour, and this easy recipe is a winner as trout is an oily fish so takes really well to the heat of the barbecue.
This is just the sort of main course salad perfect for summer made with chunky trout fillets in place of salmon as a more sustainable farmed-fish option.
Ingredients
4 trout fillets, about 125-150g each (ideally chunky fillets)
2 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika (hot or sweet, your preference)
Extra-virgin olive oil to drizzle
50g shelled pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
10g dill, roughly chopped
10g mint, roughly chopped
Flatbreads to serve
For the beetroot
250g cooked beetroot (vac-packed is fine, but make sure it’s not in vinegar)
1 tbsp olive oil
500g greek yogurt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Method
- Lay the trout fillets on a plate, skin-side down. Pour the honey and olive oil into a small bowl and add the paprika, some salt and a good grind of pepper, stirring together well. Pour over the trout and rub all over using clean hands or a silicone brush. Set aside in the fridge while you light the barbecue.
- You want to cook over an indirect smoky heat, so light charcoal on one half of the barbecue. Once the coals are hot, pop a lump or two of smoking wood on top. Shut the lid and adjust your air vents top and bottom to give you a nice steady heat of around 180°C.
- Dice the beetroot into 1cm chunks and tip into a small fireproof pan (an enamel tin, small frying pan or roasting dish is perfect). Drizzle over the olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper, tossing to mix. Take the trout and rest on a perforated grilling tray – or a sheet of foil pricked all over with a fork if you don’t have one – skin-side down. Sit both the beetroot and fish on the grill, away from the hot coals, and cover (if your barbecue is too small for both, cook the beetroot first). Leave to roast gently in the smoke for 15 minutes.
- Remove the beetroot but continue cooking the trout for another 15 minutes. If you have a temperature probe, you want it to read 60°C deep in the centre of the fillets. If you don’t have a probe, tease apart with a fork; it should flake easily.
- Finley chop the beetroot, then leave to cool a little. When the trout is nearly finished, spoon the yogurt into a bowl and stir in the garlic and a little salt and pepper. Scoop up about two thirds of the chopped beetroot and fold it into the yogurt. Divide among 4 plates, spreading it out into a layer but leaving some nice dips and furrows. Drizzle generously with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle over the reserved beetroot.
- Once the trout is done, lift off the barbecue. To transfer to the plates, you should be able to easily slide a fish slice between the skin and the flesh, leaving the skin behind. Sprinkle over the pistachios and herbs. Serve with plenty of flatbreads to scoop up the beetroot yogurt.
Recipe from:
https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/collections/august-seasonal-food/
