It’s the barbecue season at long
last, which means eating tonnes of beautiful chargrilled meats and topping up
your vitamin D levels by sitting in the sunshine 1. But if I can make a couple
of menu- and health-enhancing suggestions, I thought I’d post a couple of ideas
for vegetable dishes that are great accompaniments to a barbecue, and may even
steal the show.
First off, increase your vitamin
C levels by chucking some corn cobs on the barbecue, straight out of the shopping
bag. Let them char to a golden grown, then scoff them with a dab of butter (or
chilli butter if you really want to pep them up).
Secondly, try chargrilling some
of those little vitamin-bombs that are asparagus spears. Take them off when they
look lightly charred, then dress with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil
(this will actually help your absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A & E from
the asparagus). A few shavings of Parmesan on top will set these off a treat.
Or, you could try this superb
salad which I’ve adapted from a Jamie
Oliver recipe. A gorgeous combination of sweet veg and fruit, with sharp
dressing and salty cheese. Just the
thing with barbecued pork, lamb or chicken. Plenty of vitamins (A, C and E),
minerals and fibre to be had with this little lot, but other health benefits
include:
·
Beetroot is high in nitrite, which the body can
turn into nitric oxide to help lower blood pressure 2;
·
Apples contain a variety of phytochemicals, including quercetin, catechin,
phloridzin and chlorogenic acid, all of which are strong antioxidants,
as well as containing compounds which can prevent the spread of cancer cells
and reduce cholesterol 3. These compounds are found in
particularly high levels in the peel, which is kept ON in this recipe.
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 medium carrots
4 beetroot, boiled and peeled
1 large apple (Granny Smiths are
good here)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin
olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
40 grams of Feta cheese
Simply chop the carrots, beetroot
and apple into matchsticks, then toss together. Dress with the oil and lemon
juice, season, and crumble the Feta on top. Serve immediately, otherwise it
will be limp, floppy and have the texture of wet hair.
Nutrition
One serving of this will give
you:
Energy: 148 kCalories
Protein: 3g
Carbohydrates: 17g
Fat: 9g
References
1 Nair, R. & Maseeh, A.
Vitamin D: The "sunshine" vitamin. J Pharmacol Pharmacother 3,
118-126, doi:10.4103/0976-500X.95506 JPP-3-118 [pii] (2012).
2 Hobbs, D. A., Kaffa, N., George, T.
W., Methven, L. & Lovegrove, J. A. Blood pressure-lowering effects of
beetroot juice and novel beetroot-enriched bread products in normotensive male
subjects. Br J Nutr 108, 2066-2074, doi:S0007114512000190
[pii] 10.1017/S0007114512000190 (2012).
3 Boyer, J. & Liu, R. H. Apple
phytochemicals and their health benefits. Nutr
J 3, 5,
doi:10.1186/1475-2891-3-5 1475-2891-3-5 [pii] (2004).
