Seasonal Foods – Spring
The days are drawing out, the trees awash with colour, flowers are blooming, and the mornings are filled with birds singing…Spring is here. Love Your Gut takes a look at gut friendly seasonal foods!
With this change of season comes a change in the crops which are ready to be harvested. Incorporating seasonal crops into your diet can help contribute towards a more environmentally sustainable diet. Here we share some ‘in season’ foods and their nutritional properties to help inspire you to try them out.
Rhubarb
These vibrant green-pink stalks offer a variety of nutrients including potassium, calcium and manganese. Both manganese and calcium are important for our bone health, and calcium is also important for our teeth, our muscle function, and for normal blood clotting.
Rhubarb is a great feature in many desserts, jams and even drinks, but can also pair well with some savoury dishes, such as these Martha Stewart recipes; Rhubarb Salad with Goats Cheese and Pork Chops with Rhubarb-Cherry.
New Potatoes
There is no need to peal these young potatoes because their skin is so thin. Just give them a gentle wash to remove dirt and cook them whole; boiled or roasted, these potatoes make for a great side dish.
While potatoes don’t count towards our 5-a-day, they are still packed with nutrients. In particular, they contain potassium. Potassium is a mineral that is important for the function of our muscles and nervous system, and it helps maintain normal blood pressure.
Why not try out our Potato and Pastrami Salad with Dill & Mustard
Asparagus
These spears of green goodness are very versatile and can be easily incorporated into all mealtimes. They can be paired with eggs to kickstart your day, as well as being added to a salad, pasta, risotto, or alongside chicken or fish at lunch or dinner.
Whilst there are many nutrients in asparagus, they are a particularly good source of folate. Folate, also known as vitamin B9, has many important uses within the body, such as forming healthy red blood vessels, reducing tiredness, and helping our immune system. Folate is also especially important during pregnancy; it helps to reduce the risk of defects in the baby’s spine. Anyone considering pregnancy, and up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, are advised to take a 400µg folic acid supplement daily as well as consuming foods rich in folates.
Our Classic Poached Eggs recipe is a great way to start your day and get in at least one of your 5-a-day!
Radishes
These lively little vegetables are packed full of nutrients, in particular, folate and vitamin C. Vitamin C is important for immune health, as well as for the formation of collagen – which is required for the normal structure and function of blood vessels, bones, teeth, skin and gums.
Their bright pink exterior and white interior give a great pop of colour to any meal. They can be eaten as they are, just chopped or sliced and added to salads or sandwiches, but they also work well being roasted or sauteed and incorporated into hot dishes.
Give our Chicken Schnitzel with Radish Salad a go!
For more information about what produce is in season, check out the Vegetarian Society.
References
- Nutritics Nutrition Analysis Software. Available: https://www.nutritics.com/p/home
European Commission EU Register of Nutrition and Health Claims Made on Foods v.3.5. Available: https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/labelling_nutrition/claims/register/public/?event=search