This week we'll explore summer cherries and a digestion-enhancing mocktail. We'll also delve into this week's full moon and three less common dietary supplements that you might want to try.

Eat Colorfully

Seasonal Ingredient Spotlight: CHERRIES

We're at the height of stone fruit season now, so let's talk about cherries this week. These beautiful, sweet, luscious fruits are as versatile as they are wonderful. Although cherries are of course great for popping into your mouth whole, you can also pit them and use them in a wide variety of ways.

Curious to expand your cherry horizons? Here are some less typical but delightful ways of enjoying them (just make sure to remove the pits and stems first):

• Use them to top a salad. Their sweetness is a delicious complement to savory ingredients and the color contrast is very eye-catching.
• Blend them into smoothies or nicecream. Cherries go well with a lot of different flavors, so the possibilities are endless. Cherry vanilla? Black forest cake? I even have a Bourbon Cherry Chocolate Chip Nicecream on my blog.
• Juice them. Yes indeed, you can add a handful of cherries into homemade juices if you have a juicer; they create an incredible bright pink color. I recently made a pineapple cherry juice that was delicious. I love the Nama J2 juicer, which you can save 10% on by using the code BRUSSELSPROUT10 at checkout.
• Muddle them into a cocktail or mocktail. Just a few cherries create fabulous color when muddled into a drink, like this Cinnamon Cherry Paloma.

Try This Week: A DIGESTION MOCKTAIL

This summer, I've been smitten with a new late-afternoon routine: making a digestion-enhancing mocktail. I like to enjoy it right before dinner in order to prime my digestive system for all the colorful, nutritious foods I'm about to give it.

The star flavors of this mocktail are warming and bitter. That's because bitter compounds stimulate saliva and bile production, both of which are key aspects of efficient and effective digestion. If those systems aren't running well, then we have trouble digesting the food we're eating, which can cause not only constipation or bloating but also poor nutrient absorption.

To make a digestion mocktail, I just combine water with a splash of homemade ginger juice (which I make using my beloved Nama J2 juicer; save 10% by using the code BRUSSELSPROUT10 at checkout) and several generous dashes of orange bitters. You can also give it a great boost of electrolytes if you use unsweetened coconut water instead of regular water and/or add some unsweetened unflavored electrolyte drops (more on electrolytes below).

Live Colorfully

In the Natural World: THE BUCK MOON

On Wednesday (July 29), keep an eye out for the full moon. July's full moon is typically called the "Buck Moon", since it's the time in the season when male deer antlers are growing the fastest.

Want to view the Buck Moon in all its glory? Its peak fullness will occur on Wednesday morning, so you'll have great views on both Tuesday night and Wednesday night.

Although my main goal here was to draw your attention to the full moon, I can't resist an interesting tangent. Bucks shed their antlers every year in the late winter, after breeding season. A couple months later, in early spring, they begin re-growing their antlers, which get progressively larger each year as the deer ages. But did you know that during mid-summer, their antlers can grow a quarter inch EACH DAY? That's over an inch and a half each week. I don't know about you, but having antlers emerging from my head that rapidly doesn't sound very pleasant!

Self-Care Pick: THREE SURPRISING SUPPLEMENTS TO EXPLORE

Do you add supplements to your diet? Whether you're a supplement pro or a supplement newbie, I have three less common ones to share that you may not be familiar with. All three of these have made huge differences in my overall wellness and especially my energy/recovery, which is why I'm excited to share them with you.

As always, please do your own research and consult a doctor or nutritionist before diving in.

1. ​Creatine. Creatine is an amino acid complex critical for muscle creation, muscle repair, and also cognitive health. We make creatine naturally in our bodies, but it also comes from food sources and in particular animal proteins (which is why this may be an especially important supplement for plant-based eaters). There has been a lot of new research on creatine, especially regarding its importance to brain function. Personally speaking, my husband and I both added this supplement about two years ago and it has made huge differences for both of us in our weight lifting recovery.
2. ​Electrolytes. I had always struggled with hydration issues (peeing a bunch, then feeling dehydrated) until adding these unsweetened, unflavored electrolyte drops to my routine. They help the water we drink to actually go where it's needed (i.e., into the cells) rather than just coming right out. If you want to try electrolytes, make sure to get an option that's unsweetened, unflavored, and free from anti-caking agents and artificial colors. In particular, I love the Ocean Electrolytes from Buoy (look for the dark blue bottle); you can save 30% (new customers) or 20% (returning customers) if you shop through this link.
3. ​Glutamine. Another amino acid, glutamine is important for both muscle creation and gut health. In particular, it aids with recovery, healing, fighting infection, and maintaining (or healing) the lining of the gut. Like creatine, our bodies produce glutamine, but we also get it from foods. Also like creatine, the richest food sources are animal proteins, meaning that plant-based eaters may not get enough, especially during times of physical stress. Personally, this is my newest supplement addition but I've already noticed a difference in my recovery after weight lifting days.

It's important to note that supplements should be an add-on to a healthy diet full of diverse veggies, fruits, and other whole foods; supplements are definitely not a bandaid for a poor diet. Your best course of action is to chat with your GP or nutritionist. Hopefully some of these ideas will give you a starting point for questions to ask at your next visit.

Thanks for joining me for this issue of Eat Colorfully, Live Colorfully! I'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to reply with questions, thoughts, or requests. If you missed a previous issue, you can view all my newsletters here. Have a great week!