It’s time to get colorful with summer salads.
Salads are a summer staple and with the large variety of fruits
and vegetables available during the summer months, it’s an
especially great time to experiment with different ingredients to
liven up an everyday salad and make it something special.
It’s time to get colorful with summer salads.
Salads are a summer staple and with the large variety of fruits and vegetables available during the summer months, it’s an especially great time to experiment with different ingredients to liven up an everyday salad and make it something special.
Pat Baird, a nutrition expert and cookbook author, says creativity is key when it comes to salads that pack both a tasty and nutritious punch.
“Salads are a great way to work toward eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day, and there are many ways to perk up a salad to make them delicious, healthful and attractive,” she says. “Adding fresh peaches, plums or nectarines, for example, can provide summer salads with great taste, important nutritional benefits and lots of color.”
Health experts have been touting the health benefits of fruits and vegetables for years: they’re rich sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber, and they’re also a good source of phytonutrients, many of which act as antioxidants and provide a variety of health benefits. But still, many people don’t get enough produce in their daily diets.
“We tend to get into food ruts,” Baird says, “and with salads, people tend to put the same ingredients in them each time. Salads are a great opportunity to add some variety, and adding fresh peaches, plums and nectarines is a great place to start.”
Baird recommends the following ways to add these summer fruits into a variety of salads:
– Top green salads with sliced or diced peaches, plums and nectarines
– Add white-fleshed peaches with blue cheese and walnuts to baby greens
– Pair beef and nectarines in a salad for a Southwestern flavor
– Stir in various fruits and vegetables to pasta salads
– Prepare a coleslaw type salad as a variation on a green salad
– Serve fruit salads using a variety of fruit such as peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, grapes, oranges and strawberries.
“Peaches, plums and nectarines are extremely versatile fruits and are just as delicious in salads as they are eaten fresh or in dessert, entree and breakfast recipes,” Baird says. “They also offer some valuable vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients necessary for good health.”
Baird is the author of a new brochure called “Hot Tips for Healthful and Colorful Summer Eating.” The brochure is based on a Produce for Better Health Foundation health initiative called 5 A Day the Color Way.
The program emphasizes the importance of eating a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables for optimum health.
Salads, Baird says, offer a great opportunity to include multiple color categories at once. She also points out that certain fruits like peaches, plums and nectarines – because of the different varieties available – can offer different nutrients and health benefits to the body.
Asian Style Fruit Slaw
Makes 6-8 servings (starter or side)
A great side dish at a summer barbecue, this tangy slaw can also be easily adapted to a main course by adding a few boneless chicken breasts, grilled and sliced thin.
Ingredients:
For the dressing:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
For the slaw:
1 medium head Napa cabbage*, sliced thin
1 cup red cabbage, sliced thin
3 California plums or 2 California peaches or nectarines, rinsed and sliced into thin wedges
1/2 cup green onions, sliced diagonally
1/2 cup cashews, roughly chopped or broken
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup candied ginger, slivered fine
* Also known as Chinese cabbage.
Method:
Assemble the dressing by placing all ingredients in a small bowl; whisk to combine. For the slaw, place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss with dressing to combine.
Nutrition information per serving – protein: 5 grams; fat: 15 grams; carbohydrate: 28 grams; fiber: 5 grams; sodium: 406 milligrams; cholesterol: 0 milligrams; calories: 249.
