This week we'll explore cherry tomatoes and my new favorite edible flower. We'll also delve into Wednesday's exciting celestial events (a planetary lineup and a solar eclipse!) as well as an easy evening ritual for better digestion and sleep.

Eat Colorfully

Seasonal Ingredient Spotlight: CHERRY TOMATOES

Is your garden or farmers' market exploding with tomatoes right now? Here in northern Vermont, we're just coming into the peak of tomato season and these juicy, colorful, seasonal treats are everywhere. Tomatoes are incredibly diverse in their shapes, colors, and textures, but this week I want to celebrate my personal favorite: cherry tomatoes.

Cherry tomatoes are one of the smallest tomato varieties; this term is usually used to encompass a wide array of mini tomatoes. If you head to your local farmers' market, you'll likely be able to find them in a range of colors including yellow, orange, peach, red, and purple. They're a versatile ingredient since their smaller size makes them less likely to fall apart, plus they tend to be sweeter than their larger counterparts.

Here are my two favorite ways to use these edible jewels:

• Use them to garnish a dip. Thanks to their beautiful colors and shapes, cherry tomatoes can make any summer dip look festive. They add a lovely pop of sweetness and juiciness too. I especially enjoy them on top of this Loaded Lemon Hummus.
• Toss them into a chopped salad. You can either leave them whole or cut them in half. Unlike large tomatoes which often fall apart in a salad, cherry tomatoes keep their shape even after tossing. They're a standout in this Rainbow Vegan Chopped Salad.

Try This Week: DILL FLOWERS

Did you know that you can eat the FLOWERS from dill plants? It's true, and now they're my new favorite ingredient. Dill flowers have a dill-like flavor, although it's milder than the leaves. They're also exceptionally beautiful and delicate, so they're great as a garnish on top of a dish.

Curious about where to get them? I happily snipped these from my parents' garden and my own potted dill plant, but I've also seen them at a farmers' market recently. You might have good luck finding them over the next couple weeks, since they bloom as the dill plant is starting to go to seed late in the season.

Live Colorfully

In the Natural World: A PLANETARY PARADE AND A SOLAR ECLIPSE!

Keep your eyes on the sky this coming Wednesday (August 12) since the planets will be having a party. During this unique event, six different planets (Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune) will all appear together in a line across the sky. If you're in the US, you'll be able to see the lineup early on Wednesday morning; in other parts of the world, your timing will be before or after that.

One caveat: some of the planets are easier to see than others. For example, Mars and Jupiter are easy to spot since they're very bright and Mars is our close neighbor. Others, like Neptune, can only be seen through a telescope. Mercury sits low on the horizon, so it's best viewed from a high vantage point with an unobstructed horizon.

In case that's not enough celestial excitement for you, we'll also have a solar eclipse that same day! Portions of the US, Canada, and Europe will just be able to witness a partial eclipse. But if you happen to be in Iceland, northern Spain, northern Portugal, or northern Russia, you'll be in the path of totality (you can read more about it, and even find a link to a live stream, in this article from NASA).

Want to learn more? We really enjoy the Star Walk app, which shows you in real-time where the planets and stars are. They also have a nice Instagram account (@StarWalkApp) with useful diagrams and updates.

As a side note, in case you need a beverage for sipping as you look at the solar eclipse, I actually have a Solar Eclipse Cocktail on my blog.

Self-Care Pick: AN EVENING RITUAL FOR SLEEP AND DIGESTION

Do you want to sleep better, have better digestion, and overall feel better? If so, then you're going to love this simple (and free!) ritual.

I've spent most of my life getting made fun of for my "old person" early dinner time, but I sleep terribly and have digestive issues if I eat late. This week I thought I'd introduce you to a very simple but transformative evening routine. The best thing about this "medicine" is that it costs nothing.

Americans spend huge amounts of money each year on sleep aids and digestive aids, but what if a simple change in your routine could solve these problems? This week, I challenge you to switch up your routine and see if you feel any different. Try eating dinner as early as you can (we shoot for 4:30 or 5:00, laugh all you want). After dinner, go for a nice, long stroll. Bonus points for shutting off screens and putting your phone on do-not-disturb an hour before bed, adopting some calming evening rituals, and heading to bed early.

By shifting dinner up, you eat while your digestive system is still wide awake and functioning at its best. Then you allow your body to wind down slowly, producing melatonin effectively and leading to better sleep. Your night becomes a time to rest and recover, rather than a time for your system to be bogged down with a bunch of fuel you just added right before trying to shut things off.

Obviously everyone's body is different, but adopting an earlier dinner time, a post-dinner walk, and an earlier bedtime has made such huge differences in my overall health. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

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!