Food Diary: My Summer Diet

Back in April, I shared what I eat in a day. That was a different season, though, and different times of the year call for different kinds of food and recipes. Living in a state with 4 seasons means that during each one I crave and enjoy different things. This time of year I want to eat lighter, especially during the day. I’m super blessed because I’ve been living in my boyfriends grandparents’ beach house for the summer, and the day we moved in I started getting different types of cravings based on my new dreamy and summery environment.

Now we’re in the middle of August (which is quite sad to me, I don’t want summer to end, and I don’t want to turn 26 in September!), and I have a pretty established summer diet. I’ve broken down what I’ve been eating and loving daily in my food diary below. Keep on reading to find out what kinds of meals I eat daily, what snacks and desserts I’ve been loving, and get inspired with some good summer meals.

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Food Diary: My Summer Diet*:

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*Disclaimer: I have to be gluten-free and I’m also lactose intolerant. All of the food mentioned below is always gluten-free and dairy-free because of this.

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Breakfast:

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I typically intermittent fast every morning until lunchtime, which for me is usually any time between 11:30 a.m-1:00 p.m. After I wake up in the morning, I’ll start drinking water (a gallon a day keeps the wrinkles at bay!) and have a little bit or diet/zero-calorie soda. I can’t handle caffeine because it makes me super shaky, anxious, and jittery, so the little bit of soda is my max.

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Lunch:

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Although I’ll sometimes have leftovers for lunch, generally, my lunches stay the same with 2 two things:

• My hummus platter. This has been my go-to lunch all summer. It’s healthy, filling, delicious, and simple. If I’m running low on or am completely out of veggies I’ll usually improvise by having 2 homemade gluten-free pita chips instead of 1.
• Tuna wrap melt. On days I’m not feeling hummus, I’ll usually have a tuna wrap. I butter one side of a spinach-herb gluten-free wrap from Mission, lightly brown it on a skillet over medium–medium-high heat. then remove it from burner and place it on a plate with the toasted side down. As the wrap’s browning, though, I’ll multi-task and drain 1 can of tuna, add in a little bit of mayo (less is more!) and mix well; this process works well because it takes place in what is normally the duration of the wrap browning on the stove. Then, I place the tuna in the wrap, sprinkle a good amount of black pepper on it, add 1 slice of dairy-free cheese, and place 3 pickles on top. Next, I’ll roll up the wrap, cut it in half, and place it back on skillet to toast and melt the cheese. I turn the burner on high, and gently press down on the wrap with a spatula intermittently until the cheese looks melted to my desire. This process usually takes 1-3 minutes max.

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Dinner:

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Summertime is the best time for food on the grill, so it shouldn’t be surprising that a lot of my dinners are consistent with that. Another plus about living in The Ocean State with 400 miles of coastline is that you have access to the best seafood. The dinners I’ve been having a lot this summer are:

• Hamburgers and hot dogs. What would a summer menu be without these two things?! They’re practically all-American summertime delicacies. I like my burgers cooked medium well, on a gluten-free roll with onion, ketchup, mustard, mayo, and pickles. If there’s fries available, I’ll have those on the side; if not, I’ll opt for a small serving of kettle cooked chips. I recently discovered that Stop and Shop sells Chick-fil-A sauce, so I’ve been putting that on the side and dipping my burger into it. My hot dogs I’ll either eat plain (they’re amazing cold!), or on a gluten-free hot dog roll with ketchup and mustard. I like my hot dogs burnt/charred on the outside.
• Tuna fish rice bowl. My OG rice bowl and still one of my absolute faves. This bowl has tuna fish, white rice, corn and black bean salsa, avocado, banana peppers, and red pepper flakes. It is absolutely delicious and very satiating. Be warned: you won’t be able to get enough of it once you try it.
• Steak bowl. This is a meal my boyfriend loves to make for us because it’s so satisfying (he’s the one who always handles the steak in our house). He takes Piedmontese steak and cooks it to medium-rare perfection, white rice, and goat cheese, and combines it all into one big bowl of absolute delicousness. You can add some black pepper on top if you want, too. If you want high-end and high quality steaks, look no further than Piedmontese. You can use the code ‘NICK25’ at checkout to save some $$$. Trust me: it’s worth it.
• Gluten-free pasta. I’m a pasta lover, and some of my favorite summertime recipes with pasta include: penne with seafood in a dairy-free a la vodka sauce, penne and/or spaghetti in a lemon sauce with lemon chicken, and sausage and broccoli rabe with gluten-free pasta.

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Snacks/Dessert:

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I’ve always had a major sweet tooth, and I feel as though life’s all about balance, so I allow myself some little dessert daily. Lately I’ve been having my dessert after dinner, which I’ve been enjoying a lot because it makes me feel like a little kid again, lol. In the afternoon, before dinner, is the time I’ll usually have a small snack. My snacks and desserts include:

• Watermelon and green grapes. Watermelon is my absolute fave! I also really enjoy green grapes.
• Kettle cooked chips. I’ll sometimes dip these in hummus. My favorite brand is Cape Cod.
• Cheese and crackers. This is a great snack because it’s pretty filling and will hold you over for a decent amount of time. I love blueberry vanilla goat cheese and garlic herb goat cheese. I’ve also recently stumbled upon the brand Briette—a dairy-free cheese company—and use their cheese along with goat cheese in my cheese boards. The brand Cabot is also great; I love pairing their cheese with pepperoni!
• Seafood. I love love love seafood, and whenever I have the chance to eat it, I take it. Sometimes before dinner as an appetizer I’ll have some shrimp, mussels, littlenecks, oysters, calamari… basically any seafood in the world you can think of, I’ll eat.
• 1-2 tbs of peanut butter. SKIPPY® 25% reduced fat super chunk is the absolute best. You can thank me later.
• Nature’s Promise chocolate sandwich cookies with vanilla creme. These cookies are my go-to dessert; I keep my pantry stocked at all times. They also pair well with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and I’ll sometimes dip them into the milk.
• Vegan/non-dairy ice cream. I recently stumbled upon a major discovery: an ice cream shop near my house has tons of vegan and non-dairy options. I usually go out for ice cream at least once a week. Seriously, what’s cuter than an ice cream date and better than satisfying your sweet tooth at the same time? I’ve also grabbed a pint from this shop so I can have ice cream at home if I want. My boyfriend will sometimes make me a special dessert by taking a couple scoops of my ice cream, and crumbling two of the gluten-free sandwich cookies on top; it’s a mind blowing combo.

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