The best healthy food options for summer

Healthy nutrition is a core pillar of the holistic lifestyle we promote at WholyMe. Eating healthy means eating ingredients that are organically grown and seasonal, in recipes that do not include any processed food. Not only will it support your health, but you will enjoy your food much more and hopefully it will change your relationship to food as well – you will see it as a produce coming from the earth, not from cold supermarket aisles.

We recommend eating locally grown, seasonal vegetables and fruits, that are organic. There are several benefits associated with eating seasonal produce.

First, it is a powerful way of reducing your carbon footprint and supporting a more sustainable food economy – it is concealed from the consumer’s eye, but food travels are long and come at a heavy environmental cost. Second, it reduces your intake of harmful chemicals like pesticides and preservatives. Transporting out-of-season produce require using chemicals and preservatives, which are a pervasive part of the food system and end up in our bodies. Finally, eating seasonal produce will improve your high intensity nutrient intake, enriching your diet with vital minerals and untouched colours and flavours. Seasonal produce are harvested at their peak, so they retain all their full nutrient and vitamin content.

So, we encourage everyone to plan their meals according to the fruits and vegetables that are available during a given month. In the United Kingdom this summer, you can work with the following produce:

June

Fruits: Strawberries (coming into season), raspberries (coming into season), gooseberries, tomatoes, cherries, blackcurrants, elderflowers, apricots, kiwi fruit.

Vegetables: Asparagus, aubergines, beetroot, broad beans, rocket, chicory, chillies, runner beans, samphire, spring onions, pak choi, peppers.

July

Fruits: Strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, blackberries (coming into season), blueberries, peaches (coming into season), melon (coming into season), cherries.

Vegetables: Aubergines, broad beans, broccoli (in season from end of July), carrots, courgettes, cucumber (coming into season), fennel, pak choi, peas, peppers, rocket, sweetcorn (coming into season).

August

Fruits: Blackberries, blackcurrants, cherries, loganberries, plums, raspberries, redcurrant, rhubarb, strawberries, tomatoes.

Vegetables: Aubergine, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, chicory, chillies, courgettes, cucumber, fennel, French beans, garlic, greengages, leeks, lettuce, marrow, mushrooms, parsnips, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkin, radishes, rocket, runner beans, samphire, sorrel, spring greens, spring onions, summer squash, sweetcorn, swiss chard, watercress.

September

Fruits: Blackberries, pears, plums, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, tomatoes

Vegetables: Aubergine, beetroot, , broccoli, brussels sprouts, butternut squash, carrots, cauliflower, celery, courgettes, chicory, chillies, cucumber, damsons, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mangetout, marrow, onions, parsnips, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkin, radishes, rocket, runner beans, samphire, sorrel, spinach, spring greens, spring onions, summer squash, sweetcorn, swiss chard, turnips, watercress, wild mushrooms.

A plant-based diet has many benefits beyond weight management. It supports your immune system through the vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants present in plants that help keep your cells healthy and your body balanced. These essential nutrients also work to resolve inflammation in your body. Make sure you use healthy cooking methods, avoiding deep frying and too much salt. Enjoy!