Spring is the best time to taste the benefits of plants power. I always look forward to the sunny days and can’t wait the nature will come alive again. Now it’s the time we can crowd out the heavy foods with fresh and spring strong foods to introduce some plant-based habits into our kitchen and brighten up the table.
In the spring time nature wakes up after the winter lethargy. Everything around calls for leveraging such energy to uplift our bodies. From spending more time in the sun, breathing in the fresh air and move outside but rest enough as well… With all of this, we should also adapt our eating to use the spring benefits to its full potential.
1. Refill vitamins after winter
When the brighter sky pulls you out to leave the warmth of your home more often, sometimes it might feel tiring. Because we get used to the comfort and suffer from the lack of sun which naturally supplements our bodies with vitamin D and that is not the only vitamin we need to fill up. I like to squeeze a shot of fruit juice in the morning to boost my energy for the day.
2. Find sources
Building up a rich meal plan which will be full of light spring vegetables sets your mindset on fresh clean energy instead of the heavy greasy food full of saccharides. Although they were so satisfying during the past months : )
3. Look for the green
You can add for example spring onion, leek or chives into your morning spread in combination with whole-grain bread for the breakfast. Celery and parsley into your soup or inside your main meal.
Sprouts are like little powerhouses that hold the energy and nutrient potential of a plant they are about to become. For me, these little bombs of vitamins, proteins and minerals are a bit strong in taste for me but I like just to sprinkle them on top of my meals so they add freshness to the main flavor.
Sometimes seasoning is the only thing that makes the meal.
In the spring look for the following to enhance your cooking:
Chives
cilantro
Dill
Mint
Oregano
Parsley
Sage
Rosemary
Watercress
4. Discover new salad kinds and sprouts
There are many kinds of salads that are great to mix with other colourful vegetables. Use lettuce chicory, chard, arugula, romaine lettuce or iceberg lettuce. I like to explore the seasonal produce going to a farmers market or even in the supermarket you can find the vegetable section transformed into a more varied and colorful place in the Spring.
5. European seasonal produce
Vegetables and fruits that we can consume all year round:
Vegetables and fruits that can be stored outside the harvest period and are therefore available throughout the year:
Onion
Garlic
Carrot
Celeriac
Beetroot
White and red cabbage
Leek
Potatoes
Watercress
Apples
Vegetables and fruits belonging to spring (according to harvest time):
Radish
Spinach
Lettuce
Iceberg lettuce
Lamb’s lettuce
Kohlrabi
Chard
Cauliflower
Celery
Chive
Broccoli
Carrots
Savoy cabbage
Pea
Tomatoes
Green beans
Zucchini
Cabbage
Cucumbers
Asparagus
Fruits:
Strawberries
Apricots
Blueberries
Cherries
To add “the global local” : ) to colorize your plate.
Avocados
Grapefruit
Honeydew Melon
Kiwi
Lemons
Limes
Mango
Oranges
Pineapple
6. One habit a day to spring lighter eating
- Hydration – Eat your water
In addition to regular drinking load up on water-rich produce such as lettuce celery and fruits. Sometimes hunger and thirst difference can be subtle. With the weather becoming warmer it is important to get enough liquid overall.
- Snack from the fridge
Do you sometimes open the fridge to stare on the shelves searching for the right thing to pick to please your cravings? The best think about eating plant-based is that it made my choice of a healthy snack much easier by stocking my refrigerator with prepped portions of sliced vegetables or fruit, hard-boiled eggs and skin-boiled potatoes. Arranging my refrigerator is now a habit for me every time I opened the door.
- Savor the flavor
If you have been eating salty and meaty meals for some time, I know you won’t swoon with pleasure about healthy foods based on plants mainly. I think getting creative and spend time preparing raw plant ingredients taking the time to notice the flavors through your own hands the result then will get you a much more satisfying experience.
- Give yourself a break from restaurants
It’s been a while I began having expectations about ordered food for being suspicious about the same at least a quality as I would cook that meal at home. When I sit in a restaurant and I’m about to order I’m staring at the menu flipping the pages over, looking for the right combinations of ingredients to get something I would love to try, some new experience I end up combining meals realizing that I am one of those guests making it a hard time for the waiter.
This is the reality that happens once you start loving your kitchen. On the other side when I enjoy a meal from somebody else I tend to give compliments from the heart.
