Spring is abundant in tasty and nutritious seasonal food products. This is the time when it’s good to leave roots and potatoes behind for a while, and rely on early spring vegetables and other spring fruit and vegetables that will start to gradually appear at the greengrocer’s. Below you’ll find food products that are worth paying special attention to in April, May and June as well as specific recipes that we think you should try out in the spring season of 2023. Give healthy products a chance and include them in your menu.
Early spring seasonal products – seasonal food in March and April
Early spring is a good time to have some early spring vegetables that tempt us with their crispiness and freshness: early lettuce, radish, chives, parsley and dill. At the beginning of the spring, early vegetables set the pace in the kitchen. They should be eaten after minimum cooking, with light dressing or raw. It’s not yet the time for Polish spring/summer fruit, but it is still a good idea to reach for broadly available and cheap pears and apples. At the end of April, market stalls offer nutritiously valuable asparagus.
At the beginning of spring, local and seasonal edible wild plants start appearing in the forests and meadows, such as early dandelions and nettles. Dandelion leaves fit well in most salads while nettle is great for healthy cocktails and replenishes macronutrients in soups. Some people prepare their own juice that they extract from birch trees from the second half of March. This can serve as a well-hydrating alternative to water.
Early spring vegetables – how to eat them to stay healthy?
Eating early spring vegetables is sometimes considered controversial. They often contain large amounts of nitrates, which are essential to grow plants in early spring. Nitrates can be transformed into carcinogenic nitrites, which is why a lot of people are discouraged from having early spring vegetables. However, with adequate precautions, early vegetables can be healthy and don’t have to be left behind! For details, see HERE.
Early spring is the ideal time to include early vegetables in your diet, but don’t make them the basis of the menu. Don’t forget about other local overwintering vegetables that are still available in the spring, such as cabbage, beets, Brussels sprout, parsley, onions, carrots, fennel...
Seasonal spring products in May and June
The height of spring is the perfect time to get really loaded with vitamins. In May and June, fruit and vegetable markets groan under mountains of local and seasonal products. May is the month where asparagus and beet greens rule in the kitchen (this is the real superfood for active people!), and June is dominated by strawberries. Make sure to include asparagus (green and white), rhubarb, gooseberries, strawberries, beet greens and turnip cabbage in your menu at that time.
The end of spring begins the season for cherries, early cauliflower, broccoli and young cabbage. Perhaps you’ll be lucky enough to grab some fava beans and snap peas.
Balanced seasonal dishes for spring 2023 – 5 genius recipes
Light spring salad for lunch or supper
An ideal early spring vegetable salad, loaded with vitamins. Perfect for all those who crave fresh veggies after winter.
Ingredients (2 servings):
- 5 radishes
- one butter lettuce
- one pearl onion
- 100 g of barley groats
- 100 g of natural yoghurt
- a pinch of salt
- a spoonful of marinated green pepper
- 100 g of low-fat quark cheese
- 10 g of flax seeds
- optionally: turnip cabbage, dandelion, young, fresh nettle leaves.
Preparation:
- Soak the early spring vegetables in cold water for about 20 minutes. Wash them well.
- Cut the radishes, tear the lettuce, chop the pearl onion.
- Cook the loose barley groats as stated on the package and let them cool.
- If you use turnip cabbage, cut it into thin slices. Chop the marinated green pepper.
- Mix the natural yoghurt with the chopped pepper.
- Grind the flax seeds in a grinder; crumble the quark.
- Place the mixed spring vegetables on a plate, sprinkle them with the groats, quark and flax seeds, and then add the dressing made of yoghurt and pepper.
Macronutrients/serving:
- Energy: 311 kcal.
- Protein: 18 g.
- Fat: 6.5 g.
- Carbohydrates: 45 g.
Light spring dinner: beet greens with lentils, millet groats and turkey breast
A high-protein spring lunch, perfect for active people. It will serve you well after a workout.
Ingredients (2 servings):
- leek
- a bunch of beet greens
- 2 cloves of garlic
- a spoonful of olive oil
- 150 g of green lentils
- 300 g of turkey breast + any seasoning
- 100 g of millet groats.
Preparation:
- Cook the loose millet groats in water. Cook the lentils separately in salted water for approx. 15 minutes.
- Clean and cut the leek and beet greens. Cube or cut the beets in thin slices.
- Fry the sliced garlic and chopped leek on olive oil.
- Add the beets from the beet greens, season with salt and pepper. Stew for approx. 5 minutes.
- Add the parboiled green lentils and beet greens to the frying pan. Stew for approx. 5 minutes until the ingredients are well combined.
- Divide the turkey breast into smaller pieces, coat them with your favourite spices and fry without fat on a grill pan.
- Serve the lentils with beet greens, millet groats and turkey breast.
Macronutrients/serving:
- Energy: 575 kcal.
- Protein: 43 g.
- Fat: 10 g.
- Carbohydrates: 76 g.
Healthy green spring risotto with asparagus and mozzarella cheese
A more healthy version of risotto that is full of vitamins, iron and folic acid – recommended especially for women. Make sure to prepare this dish at the peak of the asparagus season.
Ingredients (2 servings):
- 400 g of green asparagus
- a bunch of chives
- leek
- light mozzarella cheese
- 40 mL of olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 200 g of risotto rice or white rice
- approx. 750 mL of broth
- 20 g of parsley
- half a lemon
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 20 g of cashew nuts
- optionally: a handful of fresh nettle.
Preparation:
- Remove the tough ends of the asparagus. Cut out their tips, and parboil in water or steam for 2 minutes.
- Parboil the middle part of the asparagus in 500 mL of salted water for approx. 5 minutes.
- Strain the asparagus, leaving approx. 250 mL of water. Add a spoonful of olive oil, a handful of nettle (if you’re using it) and parsley to the asparagus with water you kept.
- Blend the ingredients to make a green risotto sauce. Set it aside.
- In a saucepan, heat the remaining olive oil, add the chopped garlic, leek and white part of the chives. Add the dry rice and fry it.
- Add the broth portion by portion, mixing the rice every now and then until the entire broth is absorbed and the rice is soft. Adjust the cooking time to your type of rice.
- At the end of the cooking, mix the rice with the green asparagus sauce, add torn bits of the mozzarella cheese and the cooked asparagus tips.
- Season the risotto with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Sprinkle with the green chives and chopped cashew nuts.
Macronutrients/serving:
- Energy: 530 kcal.
- Protein: approx. 20 g.
- Fat: approx. 31 g.
- Carbohydrates: approx. 52 g.
Fit rhubarb crumble
A spring breakfast or dessert without too many calories. It is also an ideal pre-workout snack!
Ingredients (4 servings):
- 600 g of rhubarb
- 100 g of xylitol
- 2 apples
- 150 g of oat flakes
- 20 g of honey
- 50 g of butter or coconut oil
- 400 g of natural yoghurt.
Preparation:
- Wash and cut the rhubarb into pieces of several centimetres. Cut the apples into pieces.
- Place the fruit in an oven dish and sprinkle it with 80 g of xylitol.
- Place the oat flakes in a grinder. Grind to desirable thickness. Add the honey, the remaining xylitol and butter. Make crumble topping and cover the fruit with it.
- Bake for about 20–30 minutes at 180ºC.
- Serve with natural yoghurt.
Macronutrients/serving:
- Energy: 425 kcal.
- Protein: 13 g.
- Fat: 14 g.
- Carbohydrates: 55 g.
Fit strawberry pasta
A well-known Polish delicacy served for dinner to celebrate the peak of the strawberry season – strawberry pasta in its healthier version, enriched with additional protein.
Ingredients (1 serving):
- 150 g of whole-grain pasta
- 200 g of strawberries
- 100 g of semi-fat quark
- 100 mL of buttermilk of kephir
- 1 handful of mint
- 15 g of chia seeds.
Preparation:
- Cook the pasta until al dente.
- Blend the strawberries with the buttermilk and mint.
- Pour the strawberry sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle with the quark and chia seeds.
Macronutrients/serving:
- Energy: 705 kcal.
- Protein: 38 g.
- Fat: 21 g.
- Carbohydrates: 105 g.
Try also fit strawberry desserts.
Enjoy the Spring!