Berry Summer Salad

Fresh light and packed with nutrition. What more could you ask for in a summer time salad? In this summer berry salad we have combined a mix of fresh berries with some crunchy green and fresh herbs to create a flavourful salad that hardly requires any dressing at all.

When making a salad it is a great idea to try and combine as many different coloured vegetables as possible. By doing this you are increasing the range of not only nutrients, but phytonutrients. Nutrients are our major such as vitamin A, B, C, D, E and K, plus minerals like magnesium, calcium, iron and selenium. Phytonutrients are actually plant chemicals. Whilst vitamins and minerals are essential for keeping us alive, phytonutrients are essential for optimising our health, ageing and vitality.

Examples of phytonutrients families are carotenoids, flavonoids, resveratrol, phytoeostrogens and ellagic acid. Within these families are hundreds of different plant chemicals that provide anti oxidant, anti inflammatory and cellular healing mechanisms.

So when we eat food from a variety of sources we are maximising the range of phytonutrients that we take in. A general rool of thumb is that the darker and richer the food, the more potent and rich the phytonutrients. For example the dark red skin of grapes are high in resveratrol and the orange pigment in carrots are a great source of carotenoids. Then look at the pale humble ice berg lettuce…not much more than just water in there.