Spring is here, and we're spending more time out of doors—yard work, biking, walking, and so on. And as we all know, one of the things we want to be super careful about is protecting our screen against harmful UV rays. Well, I'm here to tell ya that slathering on sunscreen isn't our only UV defense.

Turns out, our diet can also protect our skin. For instance:

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STRAWBERRIES. They're deliciously sweet during the spring, and according to research, a cupful of berries a day can offer a healthy dose of sun-guarding antioxidants called anthocyanins. Eating them fresh out-of-hand is always wonderful, but they're perfect in smoothies and green drinks, pureed and either added to pancake and waffle batter, or used as a topping, mixed with slivered almonds into mixed greens for a great salad, and diced along with other fruits for a fresh fruit salad. I have excellent cooks as neighbors, and many of them make their own fresh strawberry sugar-free syrup to add to ginger ale and kefir water.

I like pureeing them with plain Greek yogurt then freezing into popsicles. The ideas for strawberries are endless—you get the gist, though. And now we have yet another reason (skin protection) to indulge!

There's one important caution here, though: Do yourself a HUGE favor and buy only organic strawberries. Otherwise you're treating yourself to a container of pesticides.

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TOMATOES. By now we all know about lycopene—tomatoes are full of this healthy phyto-nutrient. And science has discovered that lycopene is a very efficient sun protector. For the highest dose, choose tomatoes in a cooked form, such as tomato paste or stewed tomatoes. These can be mixed into so many other things—cooked tomatoes are one of the most versatile foods there is.

In one study, participants who ate five tablespoons of cooked tomatoes every day for 12 weeks suffered significantly less sunburn than a control group. Couldn't hurt, right?

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CHOCOLATE. Hurray—another reason to eat this! Dark is the choice that works to protect the skin, though. Researchers found that subjects who drank a daily cocoa beverage containing the equivalent of 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate, which is high in disease-fighting antioxidants called flavanols, had less skin damage from UV light than those who drank a placebo. I'm on board with this one.

And with this "protect your skin with dark chocolate" advice firmly accepted, why not melt a 70% (or more) cacao chocolate bar, mix with a little of your favorite chocolate frosting recipe, and let cool. Then place this mixture into your cake icing tool and pipe buttons of chocolate onto parchment paper. Let cool and harden—and voila: a healthy, fudgey treat for the skin!

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LEAFY GREENS. Abundant studies are showing that greens are a top source of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that helps reduce the risk of sunburn. Max out the benefits of quick-cooking greens and tossing them in extra-virgin olive oil, both of which helps the body better absorb skin-strengthening nutrients. And another approach, my favorite, is a pitcher-full of freshly made green drink each day. Fill your blender with lots of greens, a few fresh strawberries and a little raw honey and enjoy. In fact, you can even freeze green drinks into popsicles! We call them "Monster Pops" at our house.

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FISH. In a recent experiment, participants took either four grams of omega-3 fatty acids (which was about 1.5 portions of oily fish, such as salmon or tuna) or a placebo daily for three months before being exposed to a light machine. Fish oil doubled the body's immune protection against low UV levels. One way to get a double-whammy of skin protection into the diet is to make a salmon or tuna salad and stuff tomatoes with it. Place tomatoes in your muffin pan and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350°F. Delicious!