Here Comes the Sun and a Feta Pasta with Zucchini

Happy Monday!  If you are here for the Feta Pasta with Zucchini recipe, that is extra content for paid subscribers at the bottom of the newsletter.  

We made it back from our big family trip to Italy and it was a huge success! 15 people from age 10 to 78 trekked around Italy and had the best time!  I will put together a separate newsletter with all the details.

Italy was HOT, like 100 degrees F hot and it was very sunny. I was not surprised since I’ve been seeing Europe’s heatwave on the news and I checked the weather app before we left. But I was concerned about dehydration and too much sun, so (as the self-appointed group leader) I made some suggestions to everyone ahead of time and came prepared.

We all know that we need to continue to drink a lot of water throughout the day to stay hydrated, but we really needed to double that in Italy.  Refillable water bottles came in handy especially in Rome where you can fill up on free spring water throughout the city at a Nasone fountain. The ancient Romans built aqueducts throughout the area which bring fresh, clean, TESTED spring water to all these fountains.  These fountains were a gift!  In Tuscany, we had to rely on refilling our water bottles when we stopped for lunch.

I also brought packets of electrolytes which also came in handy.  We sweat so much you could literally taste the salt on your skin.  My favorite electrolytes are Pique and LMNT.  I am not a fan of Gatorade and other drinks with artificial colors, but do what you’ve got to do if you’re desperate. Electrolytes are great to have on hand at home too for athletes and they’re my secret weapon after having alcohol.

I also encouraged everyone to eat hydrating foods and “cooling” foods.  If you don’t know what that means, just eat seasonally.  Summer produce tends to be more hydrating and cooling - melons, cucumbers, tomatoes, raw salads and lightly cooked foods.

I packed all loose, lightweight sundresses in lighter colors for daytime and all colors for evening.  Darker colors tend to absorb more sun.  Hubs and my son are big fans of Lululemon’s men’s leisure wear like the button down shirts and blazers, as well as William Murray’s (as in Bill Murray, the actor) line of golf/leisure wear.  For exercise clothing, I opted for skorts like this one from Alo and not fitted tops like this one from Athleta. I am not a shorts person, but shorts would have been more comfortable than leggings.

I have always been very careful about sun exposure because too much will damage your skin and lead to premature aging and wrinkles.  It also may increase your risk of skin cancer.

But I am well aware of the benefits of some sun exposure - helps your body produce natural Vitamin D (I also supplement with D3/K2), supports our circadian rhythms and can help with sleep (I always go outside for at least 5-10 minutes when I wake up in the morning), supports cognitive function, and may also improve your mood by boosting serotonin levels.

My sister always checks the UV index before going out in the sun. If the UV index is between 5 and 10, she always wears sunscreen.  I am not that technical, instead I wear a hat to protect my face which is where I do NOT want color/damage and I wear a mineral-based sunscreen no matter what between the hours of 10:00 am and 2:00 pm.  If I am driving during peak sun hours, I also wear thin, inexpensive driving gloves to protect my hands.  

There are loads of good sunscreens on the market.  I try to avoid ingredients like parabens, phthalates, oxybenzone and octinoxate which are all endocrine-disruptors. I do look for zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide and broad-spectrum protection from UVA and UVB rays.  The Environmental Working Group has a great database called Skin Deep to help make an educated choice.  You can plug in a sunscreen brand and it produces a rating and tells you what ingredients may be harmful.  I recently read about these sunscreen brands from the Branch Basics website:

1. Luminance Skincare Sunscreen

2. Babo Botanicals Clear Zinc Sunscreen Stick

3. Blissoma Light Shifting Facial Sunscreen + Moisturizer

4. Earth Mama Organics Sunscreen 

5. Kari Gran Sunscreen

6. Juice Beauty Sunscreen

7. Badger Balm Natural & Organic Mineral Sunscreen

8. Sun Love by Anne Marie Sunscreen

Do you have a non-toxic sunscreen you love?

Even More Musings is an extension of my weekly newsletter, Monday Musings. My newsletter is a sponsor-free zone and is fully supported by readers like you. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to get Even More Musings! Each week, I share my tips and tricks along with a new recipe. For only $5/month or $50/year (less than $1 a newsletter), you'll also gain access to the entire archive, featuring favorites like My New Hyper-fixation High-Protein Fluffy Breakfast Bowl  and the Hillstone Copycat Emerald Kale Salad.  I recently made a delicious version of the viral Feta Pasta and instead of tomatoes, I used zucchini (and some other flavor boosters.) Plus I have an idea how to put a second twist on this recipe! (Vegan version is included!)