From fresh fennel, courgettes, spinach and strawberries, to potatoes, leeks and beetroot, there’s so much to be enjoyed at this time of the year, not just in salads, but with meat dishes and in drinks.
Try whizzing your home-grown goodies into a body-boosting blend with a super-juice. Try blending beetroot and carrots together with some apple juice for a super health. Packed with antioxidants, the apples contain vitamins including A, B1, B2, C, E and folate, niacin, zinc and copper, with beta-carotene filled carrots and beetroots, enriched with vitamin A, C, B-complex, potassium, iron and magnesium, you’ll feel totally virtuous with this healthy juice.
Summer wouldn’t be summer without a glass or two of Pimms. Finely chop strawberries, mint, cucumber, and add slices of orange and lemon for a truly fruity tipple. Keep healthy by eating the fruit at the end!
A fresh side salad can really enhance the meat part of your barbecue. Try an alternative to potato salad by baking chunks of sweet potato, add feta cheese, spring onion, a drizzle of honey and red wine vinegar for a tangy accompaniment. The sweet potato is less heavy than regular potatoes, and the onion and vinegar add a real tang.
Take your fresh vegetables and chop into chunks and roast with salt and pepper. You can either eat them on their own, use as a side to a meat dish, or add to a curry to really bring the flavours of your garden to the table. It’s one of the easiest ways to get your five-a-day.
Roasted beetroot. Awesome.
Juices are great, but quite sugar high as they leave out the fibre. Try a smoothie instead. You can use summer veggies like kale, lettuce, spinach, chard, beetroot and carrots. Just chop them up a bit, add some fruit or fruit juice and blend.
Roasted veg is more of a winter thing for me. I just live on salads and meat/eggs in the summer.
Trevor - it was all leftovers from the previous night's meal. I often make more veg so I can have some of it for breakfasts the next day. Seriously - anything veg tastes great when mixed with scrambled egg or put in a wrap with a little sauce!
That photo alone is enough to get me lusting after some fresh veg! We eat almost exclusively vegetarian meals throughout the summer as there's nothing nicer on a hot day. Aside from the daily salads, we love a good root veggie curry and fresh red pepper and onion frittatas.
leftovers? Not in this house! But what a delicious sounding brunch.
I have just had a great breakfast with chard, sweet potato and leftover bolognese in a wrap. So remember to use those leftover summer veggies too.
Such a good time of year to eat well. I find it much easier to eat healthy during the summer. Good tips here as well.
the veg patch is really delivering now and I have vitamins coming out of my ears! Greek style courgettes/chard/onions fried in olive oil with a bit of feta cheese, utterly delicious. I'm not wasting it in smoothies!
20 August 2015
DeletedFname1007563 D.
Now we're moving into Autumn, roasted veg is perfect