It's hot and sunny, you're busy (finally) planning your holidays and generally putting your life back together after the many bleak months of lockdown. The last thing anyone wants right now is to spend more time in the kitchen (and the apartment you have just hibernated in for 7 months.)

To keep you cool, calm, as well as nourished, we have put together a few of our favourite nutritional summer hacks.

Reading time: 5-7 minutes.

1. Zucchini Smoothie Base

You know when you add a banana to your smoothie, be it frozen or regular, it pretty much takes over everything? We’ve all mostly learned that the desired smoothie consistency is achieved by adding a banana (or an avocado) to the drink. But the end result with both can often feel like a meal in itself - a bit heavier and with a lot more sugar content in banana’s case. Add dates, and it’s a whole dessert. Which might be good after a rigorous workout but not if you simply wanted a cooling snack. And yes, banana overpowers in the taste steaks.

Enter the zucchini - low on carbs and sugar, rich in fibre, vitamins A and C, it’s neutral enough in taste and easy to store, not to mention freeze. It pairs well with most fruits and other vegetables when blended, and adds that smoothie creaminess we all crave.

For a truly refreshing smoothie, we love the following combo:

a good handful of frozen mango and/or pineapple
a mint leaf or two
a handful of fresh spinach leaves
half a zucchini (from fridge or frozen)
100-150ml coconut water

Blend well and serve topped with coconut flakes, or chill for sorbet consistency. Zucchini also combines well with frozen berries, almond or oat milk, adaptogens and protein powders.

2. Juice Pulp Crackers

If you enjoy having your fresh vegetable-based home-made juices pretty regularly in the summer, you know first hand how wasteful it often feels getting rid of perfectly good vegetable fibre and pulp. This is also where so much of the nutritious content is concentrated, particularly if you have bought organic. We love saving our veg pulp to use for home-baked, gluten-free vegan crackers.

This may look like a long list, but the prep takes under 10min.

You will need:

about 1.5-2 cups of pulp total (We suggest sticking to vegetables only and avoiding fruit due to excessive moisture. Try celery, carrot, kale and fennel as a combination. Just carrot with a bit of ginger work well too.)

1/4 cup ground flax seeds (gemahlene Leinsamen)

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup nutritional yeast (Hefeflocken, optional)

1/4 quinoa flour (optional)

1–2 tablespoons of water, if needed

First make sure the pulp is well broken down, which might require a quick whizz of it alone in the blender/Nutri bullet.

Combine the ingredients in a food processor and pulse on high, about 45 seconds or mix in a bowl by hand. The texture of the dough should be soft, but not too wet. If you need more moisture, add 1-2 tablespoons of water.

Transfer the mixture onto baking sheet and flatten with a spatula, or put another baking sheet on top and use a rolling pin. The thickness of the crackers should be well under 1cm. Cut them into squares. You can also sprinkle sesame or chia seeds on top.

Put in a preheated oven on about 100-150C max, depending on your oven and check often that they don’t burn. It will take between 30 minutes to 60 minutes to get them fully crisp.

3. Infused Water

The quickest way to make sure you stay hydrated in any weather is having something tasty to drink on hand. Store bought lemonades and juices are often laden with unnecessary sugars & additives. In hot weather especially, we prefer to stock our fridges with home-made infused waters. Not only do they look inviting, they also pack much-needed nutritional extras.

Our favorite combinations are:

Lime & Mint OR Strawberries & Mint: If you’re a fan of Mojitos, the Lime and Mint combo will provide a healthier mid-week alternative. Like lemons, limes aid the secretion of digestive juices and rev up the liver, but without turning the water unbearably sour after the first 20 minutes.

And strawberry is particularly in season June/July, so you can get all the local organic goodness of Vitamin C and antioxidants with your sip. With the added benefit of mint, both infusions will immediately conjure up tastes and scenes of summer!

Orange and Rosemary: A less common but delicious and sophisticated combination. Rosemary is known for its anti-inflammatory properties, and oranges for their fibre, Vitamin C and B6, aiding in keeping the blood sugar in check, as well as the immunity up.

Cucumber and Basil: The flavours or cucumber and basil pair extremely well, plus cucumber is a notorious thirst quencher and palate cleanser. It’s also one of the most alkalising vegetables that is extremely beneficial to detoxification. Basil, a member of the mint family, is also supportive to the digestive and nervous systems.

Make sure to wash and wipe off all the ingredients very well before submerging in water. Best if purchased organic.

Bonus point: you can always freeze all of the above combinations into ice cubes, to be used in cocktails or to spice up regular drinking water. Ice from cucumber water alone can also be applied to the face for a morning refresher, to tone and de-puff tired skin!

Written and compiled by Katia Varfolomeeva - BECYCLE Marketing & Content Manager and Integrative Nutrition Coach.

Tips For A Refreshing Summer