Enjoy these quick and easy summer recipes that will limit your time in the kitchen but maximize your antioxidant intake.
Its summer time and the cooking is, well, easy and super healthy. If you can light a barbecue, you can cook. Thats what I like to tell myself, and friends who think they cant cook.
The truth is, the vast amount of fruits and veggies available in the summer months make it easy for you to load up on antioxidants without having to spend a lot of time cookingyou dont want to be heating up the kitchen with an oven when the sun is baking outside. For that matter, you dont want to be spending a lot of time cooking inside if you can be playing outside.
As a working mom, Im always rushing home to get some summer fun in with my kids before the end of the day. So here are some reliable, antioxidant-rich and easy recipes, that wont cut into your fun time.
Gazpacho
A recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry suggested that organic tomatoes have higher antioxidant value than conventional tomatoes. So be sure to buy organic and load up on your antioxidant intake with this gazpacho recipe.
Salads
Indulge in any greens you like. Greens are excellent sources of fiber, folate and carotenoids, which have been associated with inhibiting the growth of certain types of cancer cells as well as decreasing the risk of developing certain cancers. ‘Tis the season for rainbow chard, kale, arugula, watercress and all types of lettuce. Mix it up and use these easy recipes for salad dressing.
Grilling everything & anything
Next is the grill. Whether youre vegan, vegetarian, a fish or meat eater, here are a selection of recipes and how to’s for grilling fruits, vegetables and lean proteins.
Berries
And we can never forget dessert to round out the flavors of summer. Berries are starting to be in season, which means wonderful and flavorful options for both dinner and dessert (I’m a big fan of putting berries in my salads as well).
Berries are rich in antioxidant properties, including having high levels of anthocyanidins and flavonoids, two substances that have been attributed to a delay in cognitive aging. In fact, a recent study by Harvard researchers found that women who had a higher intake of strawberries and blueberries displayed less-rapid cognite deterioriation as they aged.
So if you don’t have time to maintain your mental acuity over a game of chess, try at least eating a lot of berries each daythat’s not so hard. Enjoy these healthy summer berry desserts, including homemade blueberry lemon sorbet, or my favorite Mixed Berry and Mint Granita.
Bon apptit!
