Benefits of seasonal fruit
Hot days have arrived and with them also the colourful fruits that this season give us. From May to September, in fact, the nature give us a beautiful palette of colours, with fruits that besides being beautiful to see, are also precious for our health.
Eating seasonal food, as we know, can bring diverse benefits to our body because the matured product contains all its best nutritive properties, necessary for our body. Moreover, seasonal foods cost less and we can buy them just around the corner from the peasant next to our house.
In summer, we are all looking for fresh and nourishing food to face the heat of the summer days, like a break to bring at work or to eat on the beach, let’s see them together:
Cherries
We can find cherries from May to July in their different varieties and they are useful for the health of liver and heart, they are perfect for who suffers from diabetes because they contain laevulose, a type of sugar that can be eaten also by them. Moreover, they make you feel full quickly, besides having a low quantity of calories, for this reason they are perfect if you are on a diet. But do not exceed! They have also a high laxative power…
Strawberries
We are talking about the beloved red fruit of the season that is not only tasty but also a series of important nutritive substances: phosphorous, iron, fibers, calcium and vitamin A, B1, B2 and C. They are diuretic, refreshing and detox. Moreover they have low calories and they make you feel full earlier.
Kiwi
Kiwis are a mine of vitamin C, ascorbic acid to fight cholesterol and regulate the physiologic functions of our body and iron, making it rich of antiseptic properties. It is perfect for pregnant women because it alleviate circulatory problems, legs heaviness, varicose veins and other problems connected to the pregnancy.
Melon
Melon is an excellent seasonal product that is used both for sweet dishes like fruit salads and fruit skewers, but also the traditional “ham and melon”.
It is a real cure-all for the body in these hot months, because it is made mainly of water (90%) and it is rich in potassium, perfect thus to rehydrate the body and feed the muscles. But its orange colour is not only beautiful too see (and extremely trendy!) but it is essential for the skin. In fact, it is rich in beta-carotene, stimulating the cells of the skin, enhancing the tanning.
Watermelon
Eating a slice of watermelon is like drinking a glass of water. This fruit, in fact, has around the 92% of water and it contains also potassium and magnesia that soothe the sense of exhaustion. Even in this case, the colour is important! In fact watermelon is rich in lycopene and citrulline, useful anti-oxidants that protect the skin from the sun damages.
Peaches and apricots
Peaches have an unlimited quantity of nutritive substances: water, potassium, sodium, iron, calcium, fibers, phosphorus and vitamin A and C, perfect for the sporty people because it allows to reintegrate mineral salts lost during a training.
Apricots are rich in lycopene to fight cholesterol, beta-carotene that enhance the tanning and vitamin A, great anti-oxidants that fight free radicals.
The recipe: fruit salad with lemon cream
Ingredients
Seasonal fruit that you like most
80 gr of sugar
1 lemon
2 yolks
2 dl of whipped cream
Preparation
Wash and cut in pieces you favourite seasonal fruit, mix all together and place in the fridge.
For the lemon cream: blend 2 yolks together with 80 gr of sugar, the zest of a lemon and its juice. Cook for 10 minutes until you obtain a soft and perfumed cream. Cool down. Aside, whip 2 dl of cream and add it to the cold cream.
Prepare the cups with some spoons of fruit mix and lemon cream. Decorate with spirals of lemon zest.
