These days, most people realize the importance of eating right, exercising, and trying to maintain a healthy weight (even if they don’t actually do it).  There are times, however, when even those with the strictest, healthiest diets go astray, particularly on holidays and special occasions.  Since summer is filled with holidays, and eating outdoors at a picnic table seems to turn any meal into a special occasion, it’s an especially treacherous time for those who are trying to watch their weight.

  It’s a cruel and ironic trick of nature that, during the warm months, we overeat and pack on the pounds, and then, when the weather gets cold, we don’t get enough exercise to work them off.  Then, with all of that already working against us, right around the onset of winter, we’re slammed with a month-plus run that we call “the holidays,” which is the most fattening time of the entire year.  So, when the spring comes, we’re in a big panic, because we have so little time to lose weight before we have to wear shorts and bathing suits for summer.  Sheesh!

  Well, it may take some effort, but it is possible to turn things around and have a better summer diet, even when we are at picnics.  After all, summer is also the most colorful time of the year (not counting Christmas, of course), and, as everyone knows, the healthiest diets are those that are filled with foods in a rainbow of colors (not counting Skittles, of course!).

    Indeed, the reference here is to fruits and vegetables, which are filled with tons of phytonutri

ents, or phytochemicals, which can act as antioxidants.  These beneficial phytochemicals are known to produce bright-colored produce, many types of which are summertime favorites.  Each one performs its own special function in our bodies, so it’s important to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables – and colors – every day.

  Some examples of the fruits that are highest in antioxidants are blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums, oranges, purple and red grapes, pink grapefruit, kiwi, watermelon, cantaloupe, mangoes, and cherries.  Colorful, healthy vegetables include carrots, tomatoes, beets, yellow corn, squash, and red, orange, and yellow peppers.  Greens are very important, too, especially the dark and leafy kinds, such as kale, spinach, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli.

   Another way to bring color to the table this season is with a picnic table from AllPicnicTables.com.  With one of the largest selections that you’ll find anywhere, AllPicnicTables.com features picnic tables in dozens of spectacular colors and materials.  In addition to the classic woods, you’ll find ultra durable polywood, aluminum, and thermo-plastic coated steel picnic tables available in every color imaginable.  Thanks to a special new type of paint, you can even get pine picnic tables in your choice of 27 colors!

  AllPicnicTables.com will also customize picnic tables upon request.  To contact a design consultant or customer service representative, call 1-888-293-2339, or e-mail contact@allpicnictables.com.  AllPicnicTables.com is non-fattening – and good for you!