Seasonal foods you should be eating

Finally, it feels as though a seasonal change is in the air. And as the weather gets warmer I feel I can finally begin dreaming of replacing rich, creamy soups with light summer salads. Eating with the seasons is not only more cost-effective and better for us, it supports local business and has a less damaging impact on the environment too.

With large supermarkets commonly importing anything and everything from around the world, it’s tough to remember what eating seasonally really means. Here are just a few of the best of British spring time ingredients – those seasonal foods you should be eating right now – and their awesome health benefits.

Kale

Loaded with all sorts of beneficial compounds, kale is definitely one of the healthiest and most nutritious plant foods in existence. A member of the cabbage family, kale comes under the bracket of cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and collard greens.

Full of antioxidants and high in vitamin C, kale is a great, plant-based source of calcium, a nutrient that is very important for bone health and plays a role in all sorts of cellular functions.

Try crisping some up in the oven with a little coconut oil and cumin seeds.

Rhubarb

The great thing about growing rhubarb at home is that it comes back year after year. It’s packed with minerals, vitamins, organic compounds, and other nutrients that make it ideal for keeping us healthy.

A serving of rhubarb provides around 45 per cent of our daily value in vitamin K, which supports healthy bone growth. Some of the other health benefits associated with it include its ability to aid weight loss, improve digestion and increase skin health.

Mint

With a mild start to winter, my little patch of garden mint almost made it right through the season! A late snowfall and hard frost eventually killed it off, but all being well it will grow back in abundance this spring.

Mint is a great palate cleanser. It aids digestion and can soothe the stomach in cases of indigestion or inflammation. When you feel sick, drinking a cup of mint tea can offer relief.

Broccoli

Broccoli offers an incredible amount of nutritional health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cardiovascular and digestive-supporting properties.

Recent studies reveal that a sulphur-rich broccoli compound, sulforaphane, blocks a major destructive enzyme that damages cartilage. It’s thought that increasing broccoli in your diet may help to slow down and even prevent osteoarthritis. Sulforaphane in broccoli has also been shown to kill cancer stem cells, thereby striking to the root of tumour growth, and as if that isn’t reason enough to include it in your diet, the same compound in broccoli may also significantly improve your blood pressure and kidney function.

Spring onion

These contain a wide variety of health-enhancing compounds such as vitamins, minerals and phyto-chemicals. Well known for anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, spring onions can be used as a natural remedy to help treat viral infections, flu and the common cold.

If you love easy-to-grow, versatile vegetables that only need minimal space and effort, then spring onions are an excellent choice. Even the tiniest plot or pot will accommodate them.