Summer Season Meal Plans

The sounds and feels of Summer spark brightly coloured salads to me. What do you feel like when the warmer months hit? I thought I'd give you some ideas on what types of meals to think about and how to build them into your week.

• I always start with the base of greens so think lettuce, rocket, baby spinach, english/silverbeet spinach, bok choy, shredded cabbage etc.

• Then I look at what grains I can add in such as brown rice, basmati, wild rice, couscous, buckwheat, quinoa, a mix of ancient grains etc.

• Now for the veggies. You could roast up some pumpkin, sweet potato, beetroot, carrots, zucchini or you can add them in raw too. Grated carrot, beetroot, broccoli/cauliflower florets (and you can also add the stem too - very nutritious and these are beautiful roasted too). Think of eating the rainbow here so lots of bright coloured veggies. Red, yellow, purple, white, green the world is your oyster here and try some new veggies you haven't tried before too.

• I love crunchy bits in my salads - toasted sunflower, pepitas, almonds, walnuts, broken corn chips etc.

• You can add in some salty bits like capers, olives, pickles too.

• Fresh herbs.... I'll let you pick and add your favourites here but I love mint, lime balm, parsley, coriander, basil, chives.

• Plant-based dairy too - cheeses, feta, ricotta, sour cream.

• Then prepare and add your dressing. I love zesty mayonnaise, mustard vinaigrette, a tahini/lemon based dressing or a soy-ginger dressing and you can also add in dips too so think hommus, beetroot, sweet potato and cashew etc.

I also love to add some more protein to my salads (legumes - red kidney, chick pea, black beans, felafel, tofu/tempeh) and if you live with someone who doesn't eat plant-based then I just make the salad and we add our own proteins to it afterwards.

A fantastic cookbook I've got my hands on is JOYFULL by Radhi Devlukia-Shetty. It's full of beautiful plant-based dishes that combine "science-based nutrition with ancient healing traditions".