Heat wave

Growing up mostly on the East Coast, I know heat and humidity, but those six years in Portland really spoiled me. Sure, we would get a week of 90° plus weather with a bit of humidity and I would complain with the rest of them. But I'm here in the Midwest, now, and do they know how to do summer heat. The heat wave hit my town on Sunday. I felt it Saturday, when I was in Chicago. But that was nothing. It is now 8:30 pm, and the temperature outside is 91°, but the Accuweather RealFeel® is 105°. I live in an apartment without air conditioning and with the magic of fans and closed windows, I have managed to keep my place a "refreshing" 78°. It's a bit muggy indoors, but not as steamy as it is out there.

I decided to dig up some past postings about beating the heat, staying hydrated, and knowing your water quality. (Sorry about any broken links!)

Keep cool! Ideas on staying comfortable when it's anything but outside.

Water. Helpful hints on hydration. I made the comment about drinking half your body weight in water, and this thought is very controversial. I'm a proponent of taking in enough to replace what you output, which for the average healthy person under every day circumstances is about 8 cups a day. And this is not just water, but soups, juices and herbal teas. Special situations call for more or less hydration.

Classic Summertime Gazpacho. Soup in the summer? You know it! And I'm not just talking about cool, delicious gazpacho, as featured in this post. When I was in Chicago, I had lunch at XOCO, a fantastic café featuring Mexican street food. The spicy and filling Carnitas Caldo was the perfect meal on a warm Chicago afternoon. I mean, just look at this soup!



What's in YOUR water? It's all about quality in this post about Environmental Working Group's 2009 article about the pollutants that exist in our water supply. Enter in your zip code and find out what's in your local water.