Thursday 21 July 2011

Surviving The Heat Wave

It is 10:30 p.m. and the humidex is 38 degrees Celcius, rather 102.2 Fahrenheit. 
I am pleased to announce that we did not experience any brownouts or power outages today.  We were certainly well prepared in advance!

As we have young children and pets, we did put on our air conditioning 2 days ago.  This allowed the house to cool down in anticipation of today's weather.  Even with the air on, we avoided any strenuous activity in order to ensure that we stayed cool.

For our menu this week, I have selected items that are of a high water content.  Fruits and Vegetables such as Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Cucumber and Tomatoes (all of the common great foods we have growing in our gardens) have been welcomed by all of the children.  We have limited our cooking and baking and have been focusing on foods that are refreshing yet pleasing to even the youngest pallet.
Did you know that by eating proteins in hot weather, it can actually boost an individuals metabolism and increase their body temperature?
We certainly do learn something new every day.  So less protein and more fruits and vegetables for us!

In our home, everyone has regular water breaks, about every 10 minutes.  Even if they take a sip or two, it is a continuous hydration process.  In addition, we have been wiping all of the younger children down with wet washcloths (as they are unable to perspire properly) to ensure that their little bodies stay cool.  Our 7 year old Golden Retriever, Bentley has been enjoying icecubes in his water dish.  We only let him outside for toileting and that is enough for him to begin panting heavily before he wants back inside.

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