Food

Summer vegetables: 5 foods to have in your fridge

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Written by EFW Staff

Only seasonal vegetables

Last week we talked about seasonal fruit, and now its time to talk about the summer vegetable typical of the months from May to September as they are useful allied of our body to get the shape, but rich also of nutritive substances.

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1. Lettuce

It is commonly called salad, but actually this is the name of the dish that we prepare with lettuce. There are 5 different varieties: Classic (Trocadero), Iceberg, butterhead, Romaine, or leaf and all of them are made of the 95% of water, thus with a great power of hydrate our body. Moreover, this food has low calories (just 15 kcal) and it is easy to digest and rich in mineral salts.
Lettuce is the perfect ally of our circulatory system, because it contains glucokina, a molecule that decrease the level of glucose in the blood thanks to its hypoglycaemic effect.

2. Cucumber

Cucumber is another product made mainly of water (around 95%) thus it is highly hydrating for our organism. Moreover, it has a low energetic count and thus it is perfect if you need to detox your organism. It has only 12 calories and contains tartaric acid, an element that impede to the carbohydrates to become fats. In the mean time, it is able to detox the liver and regulate the intestine.
It is well known, then, that cucumber are used also as beauty products because, thanks to its emollient power, are able to reduce eye bags and dark circles, they lighten the skin spots and soothe the burns caused by the sun exposure.

3. Tomato

Also in this case, the quantity of water is around 95% but the most useful substances are two: coumaric and chlorogenic acid that fight the nitrosamine, toxic substances that cause to the lungs damages greater than a cigarette; the second substance is lycopene, contained in the peel of the tomato and it is considered anti-cancer, anti-oxidants, protector of the skin, of the neurologic and cardiovascular diseases.

4. Beans

Besides different vitamins among A, C, B1 and B9, folic acid, zinc and iron, beans have a high quantity of chlorophyll, that stimulate the organism in producing red blood cells that reinforce the immune system. Then, they are rich in potassium that bring benefits to the muscles and stabilize the glycaemia making them edible also for who suffers of diabetes. If you are menopausal, beans are rich in phytoestrogens, elements that fight its symptoms.

5. Carrots

Carrots are precious elements for all our body: they are good for the eyesight thanks to vitamin A that enhance the visual abilities and protect the eyes; they are friends of the intestine as they contain pectin, useful for its good working. The black ones prevent colon cancer thanks to the polyphenols and fibers of which they are pretty rich. But they contain also beta-carotene and thus they help the tanning, being perfect to get ready for the sun exposure in this period of the year, moreover they are able to protect us from the dangers of the UV ray.

The recipe: salad with shrimps and avocado

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Ingredients

Seasonal vegetables as you like
16 shrimp tails
1 ripe avocado
1 lemon
EVO oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Prepare the shrimps, already peeled, washing them under running water and remove the black thread, helping with a skewer. Done this, place the shrimps in a pan with a drizzle of oil, paying attention to not put them on top of the other. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Sear for 5-7 minutes until they don’t become pink.
Aside, peel the avocado, cut in a half to remove the seed and dice the pulp.
Mix together shrimps and avocado with the chosen seasonal vegetables, season with lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper to taste.

About the author

EFW Staff