At last! Summer has arrived! Our Harvest Home Farmers' Markets are bursting with color: Deep green kale and velvety spinach, red radishes, blueberries, golden summer squash, sweet peas, orange carrots, red and yellow peppers and strawberries. It may surprise you that the more color in your food, the healthier and more nutritious it is! Mixing together lots of colorful fruits and veggies make meals a "rainbow" of tasty flavors and healthful nutrition. Ride the rainbow. Eating healthy just got easier. And much more delicious! Bursting with color and Instagram ready...share your creations with HHFM by tagging @HarvestHomeMkts.
Too hot to cook? Try making a dinner salad of greens, like kale, spinach or lettuce, loaded with red or yellow peppers, radishes, sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, red onion and carrots.
- Want some extra protein? Add a can of chick peas or kidney beans, cold bits of cooked chicken or eggs. NOTE: Bags of dry beans are super, super inexpensive and a nutritional power house. Soak beans overnight to shorten cooking time and reduce gas producing enzymes. READ MORE.
- Nuts like almonds add a little crunch plus antioxidants and fiber.
- Season with fresh herbs like dill or mint.
Toss it all together with a light dressing (see Tips section) or make a plate of cool colors like the Rainbow Nicoise Salad (see Recipe section). Either way, just be an artist! Make rainbows of taste!
In a hurry for a more cooked meal: Try stir-frying up 1 pound of chicken or beef and 2 pounds of your favorite veggies like broccoli, peppers, peas, carrots and tomatoes.
And of course every rainbow has a pot of gold (all the vitamins and minerals for your body)! With all of these delicious vegetables to choose from, it's easy to prepare rainbows of colors for taste and nutrition. Vitamins A, B, C and K, antioxidants and fiber along with minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and thiamine are all packed in each delicious dish. We think of it as a rainbow of summer taste with nutritional gold for the body. Be creative, have some fun, enjoy and eat healthier.
Find your rainbow at a Harvest Home Farmers' Market near YOU!!
Rainbow Nicoise Salad
Recipe
Serve it like a picture or mix it all up.
Salad Ingredients
- 1 lb small red potatoes
- 1 lb asparagus
- ½ lb fresh green beans
- 1 red pepper, sliced in strips
- Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 can kidney bean or chick peas
- 1 large shallot or ¼ red onion thinly sliced
- 1 bunch of lettuce, romaine or red leaf
- 6 hard boiled eggs, cut in quarters
- ½ cup pitted black olives
Dressing Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tsp each of fresh oregano & thyme, minced
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Preparation
- Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.
- Small Red Potatoes: Cut in quarters and cook in boiling water until tender (10 mins or less). Drain and toss with 1 tsp of dressing.
- Asparagus: Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and cook for 4 mins. Remove spears with a tong and dunk in ice water to stop cooking. Drain on paper towel.
- Green Beans: Bring water back to a boil. Add beans and cook for 3 - 4 mins. Dunk into ice water and add them to paper towel.
- Carrots and Red Pepper: Use raw or drop into boiling water for about 3 mins. Remove and dunk in ice water and add to paper towel.
- Kidney Beans or Chick Peas: Toss with onion & 1 tablespoon dressing.
- Toss lettuce with 2 Tablespoons dressing & arrange on a platter. Toss green bean & asparagus, carrots & red pepper with 3 Tablespoon of dressing. Arrange vegetables, beans, eggs, olives on the lettuce. Serve with any leftover dressing.
Salad Secrets
Tips
Rainbow Salad
- Use the same water to cook all the veggies one at a time. Remove veggies with slotted spoon and dunk into cold water to stop the cooking. It's an easy way to get more nutrition.
Salad Additions: Toss these into your salads or serve them on your rainbow plate.
- Sugar Snap Peas: Use them raw or cooked for about 4 mins in boiling water. Drain and toss with ½ Tbsp of dressing.
- Roasted Veggies: On a rimmed cookie sheet toss carrot sticks, sliced summer squash or zucchini and onions with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake at 450 for 15 - 10 mins until tender. Turn once.
- Tuna Fish or Cooked Chicken add more protein.
- Capers add sharp tangy flavor and lots more antioxidants.
- Cheese adds more calcium and flavor. Just use a little for flavoring.
- Nuts add crunch and flavor. Walnuts, almonds and pistachios have antioxidants, vitamins and protein. Pecans are high in healthy fats, antioxidants.
- Tomatoes, Tomatoes Tomatoes: As soon as they arrive!
With salads the possibilities are endless. HAVE FUN! Mix and match your veggies! You'll soon be the picture of health.
Light Summer Dressings for Veggies Salads:
- Mix ¼ cup lemon juice with ¼ cup feta cheese and 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Add ¼ cup of mint for a refreshing taste.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Comment below, follow up on social media and join our mailing list for healthy recipes and tips on how to prepare your meals!