Your How-to on Staying Cool This Sunny Season

With June 20th marking the annual Summer Solstice (aka the first day of summer), and September 22nd marking the annual Autumn Equinox (the first day of fall), we are just about to the halfway point of the sunny season, which falls this year on August 6th.

Though these dates mark the official beginnings and transitions of nature’s seasons, depending on where you live, the timing of their peaks will vary. Across the United States, July gets the award for typically being the warmest month of the summer in most places, but it doesn’t take the cake everywhere!

For example, in parts of the Desert Southwest region, peak summertime temps offer a warm welcome to the solstice in June. In portions of the West Coast, it isn’t until September that the height of the season’s heat arrives. And for the Deep South, Florida, and the Northern tier states, August is typically when summer temps soar to their highest.

Regardless of where you are during the dog days of Summer, we all surely need some respite from the sun’s intensity at some point during the span of the season!

It’s important to be sun-smart all year round, but it’s especially crucial to take extra precautions during the summer months when the sun’s UV rays are more intense. The sun’s rays are at their strongest typically between 10am - 4pm, with the greatest intensity from about 11am - 2 pm. That not only means that this timeframe will likely be the hottest of the day, but that it’s also the time when the sun can have its greatest impact on our skin.  With this in mind, it may be possible to plan your day around the sun’s schedule, being mindful to be indoors during some or all of its hours of highest intensity. 

There are many ways to beat the summer heat and combat the effects of the sun’s stronger rays. From taking a break in the cool AC, to sustainable sunscreens and strategic styles of clothing, all the way to staying properly hydrated. Here at The Green Pineapple, we have got you covered (both figuratively, and quite literally speaking)!

Our Upper Duval Green Pineapple Boutique and Wellness Cafe summer hours run daily from 9am - 6pm and 9am - 4pm, respectively. Our Bahama Village location on Petronia St is open daily from 9am - 3pm. 

We welcome you to come by for a break from the heat, take advantage of the shade and AC while you indulge in our cafe’s refreshing offerings, or shop around for your new favorite sundress!

Our Wellness Cafe has no shortage of cooling and hydrating options to help you replenish and feel refreshed. Found within the “Rise and Shine” section of our menu, our Goddess Bowl and Chia Pudding are not only great breakfast options, but also, serve well as a midday snack. Both feature toppings of fresh, seasonal fruit and offer the benefits of ensuring adequate hydration and proper electrolyte balance!

Chia seeds contain essential minerals including magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, and potassium which are all significant sources of electrolytes and can help replenish those lost through sweat. They also help the body regulate fluid levels, and when soaked to make a pudding, contain even higher amounts of water, promoting increased hydration.

Our Goddess Bowls combine your choice of smoothie, blended extra thick, with toppings of our housemade granola and seasonal fruit. Each of our signature smoothies boasts its own unique host of benefits, from promoting brain, muscle, skin, and digestive health, to being anti-inflammatory, adaptogenic, and ultra-hydrating.

One of our most popular summer choices among guests and staff alike is our appropriately named “Cool Down” smoothie. With its ingredients of pineapple, cilantro, mint, ginger, lemon, chia seeds, and coconut water, it contains a multitude of sunny season perks!

Pineapple is not only a deliciously sweet and juicy summertime fruit but also packs a punch of vitamin C, which helps keep your skin protected from the damaging effects of the sun. Its juicy goodness can be attributed to its high 85% water content, adding to the hydration benefits of the chia and coconut water used in blending this smoothie to perfection! In addition to chia’s essential electrolytes, lemon, pineapple, and coconut water also bring balancing minerals such as potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium to this mix.

Add to that the impressive cooling properties of both mint and cilantro, along with ginger’s ability to improve and maintain proper circulation (which can become harder with higher heat and humidity), and you’ve got the perfect summertime chiller! So whether you prefer to drink it as a smoothie through a straw or scoop it with a spoonful of granola and fresh berries in a bowl, these options are a sure way to cool down.

When you need something light and refreshing to sip on to soothe the scorching summer heat, we’ve got a diverse lineup of beverages on our drink menu that can help you do just that!

From our variety of fresh, organic, cold-pressed juices (we also provide Juice Cleanses!) to our selection of daily iced teas and everything in between, there is something to suit everyone’s thirst-quenching needs.

Our cold press juices feature produce such as lemon, lime, pineapple, aloe, cucumber, apple, celery, beets, and carrots which offer an array of benefits ranging from increasing hydration and replenishing electrolytes to sun protection of the skin from within. Aloe, cucumber, apple, and celery all have a very high water content, which aids in keeping your body, and especially your skin, adequately hydrated. Not only are beets, carrots, and sweet potatoes all good sources of vitamin C (which aids in protecting your skin from the harsh rays of the sun), but they also all contain an abundance of minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium, which help restore electrolytes lost from sweating out the summer heat!

Our personal summertime favorites include our “Feel Good”, “Sunshine Daydream”, and “Upbeet”, but downing any one of our fresh-pressed juices is sure to leave you feeling energized and revitalized on a hot, humid day.

We also offer a selection of refreshing daily brewed iced teas, featuring our “Hibiscus Infusion”, which mixes in citrus and ginger. Hibiscus tea is an amazing thirst quencher, with a natural light and sweet taste, and when mixed with citrus such as orange and lemon, or lime, it earns bragging rights for also being a superstar for hydrating and protecting your skin!

Signature Green Pineapple upgrades of the classic summertime favorite lemonade, include a blended “Basil Limeade” and a cold-pressed “Charcoal Lemonade”. With whole basil leaves, housemade simple syrup, and freshly squeezed lime juice, our Basil Limeade has become an all-time favorite among guests year round!  The Charcoal Lemonade, made with freshly squeezed lemon juice, activated charcoal, maple syrup, and a dash of cayenne pepper, is sure to leave you feeling energized and revitalized, giving you a welcome boost and pep in your step as you sweat your way through this sunny season.

It’s pretty easy to see just how well Mother Nature provides us with an abundance of nutrients through fruits, vegetables, and other plant sources, to meet all of our unique needs. We’ve all likely heard the sound advice to “eat the rainbow”. The science behind these words of wisdom is that typically, the deeper or more vibrantly colored fruit or vegetable, the more antioxidants, phytonutrients, and dense nutrition it provides. 

Eating a wide variety of plant foods covers a broader spectrum of our nutritional needs.

When hunger hits and you’re looking for something substantial to bite into this summer, try our delicious and incredibly nutritious “Rainbow Wrap”! This sweet potato tortilla is packed full of a colorful array of abundant nutrients. It’s stuffed with red cabbage, a good source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins C and A, both of which aid in UV protection; carrots, which are loaded with beta-carotene, another strong UV-protecting nutrient; red radishes, also a great source of vitamin C, calcium and potassium; refreshing mint; and protein-rich edamame-pea hummus, and spinach, which are all abundant sources of electrolyte minerals.

After filling up on our Rainbow Wrap and washing it down with any one of our refreshing beverages, you’ll be more than ready to take on any hot and sunny summer day!

If you aren’t close enough to join us in person for a bite on your break from the scorching sun, don’t fret! We’re happy to share some of our favorite DIY summertime recipes with you!

Summer Super Fruit Salad

2 Cups Fresh Watermelon (cut into cubes)

1 Cup Organic Blueberries

1 Cup Pitaya - aka Dragonfruit (cut into cubes)

2 T chiffonade fresh mint

2 T chiffonade fresh basil

1 T fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 T Honey

Mix fruit and herbs in a medium-sized bowl.  Whisk together honey and lemon juice.  Toss with fruit and herbs.  Chill and enjoy!

Cool Down Smoothie

1 C Pineapple

1 T Chia Seed

5.5 oz Coconut water

½ oz Lemon Juice

1 T Ginger Juice

1 sprig cilantro

4 large mint leaves

½ C Ice

Blend all ingredients together and chill!

Now that we’ve loaded up on our essential summer nutrients, take a moment to pause and let it all digest.

Before getting back out into the sultry summer sun, we’d like to cover a few more summer survival must-haves.  Just as helpful as the fuel we put into our system, are the ways we protect our skin, and the methods we use to keep it cool. So be sure to tune in to our next post where we’ll share our best tips for summer skincare and surviving the season in style!

Until then, be well, and stay cool!