Summer’s here and it’s the most wonderful time of the year for barbeques, parties at the poolside and picnics on the beach. The mood is good and what to make, even for a small summer party can get the host into a tizzy. Naturally, summer foods are special and have their own needs. The emphasis on foods should be more of fruits and vegetables and full of nutrition. Summer time and the cooking is easy and light! That should be the key.

Keep your guests’ health in mind when you plan those parties and cook accordingly. Create fun and make good nutrition easy by offering summer time fruits, different types of berries and that superb fruit, watermelon. These rank as one of the healthiest snacks for the season. Next take care of your guests with good jugs of ice teas and water. As you well know summer heat drains the body of fluids and your guests need the all round benefits water offers.

Salads don’t require extensive culinary knowledge, and you can make a salad with any of the fruits and vegetables abounding at summer time. Salad making requires putting together the right combinations. Salads should be served tender, cool, crunchy, and well seasoned. The benefit of salad in your food is mostly because they are an aid in digestion. This is due to their tasty appearance and colour.

Celery, lettuce, and other leafy plants must, after a good wash preferably in potassium permanganate solution (to kill any germs), must be stored in a proper moist cloth and kept in the fridge until needed. This way they stay fresh for a few days, if you keep wetting the cloth to keep it cold. Salads have great benefits for all round health and weight loss so get into them as frequently as possible.

Salads are easy to prepare foods and their versatility can be seen in the number of ways you can prepare them. If guests drop in suddenly you can make up a quick snack for them just using your imagination. But doing a little preparation for a rainy day is worth it, you can cut and slice into tiny pieces fresh foods and refrigerate. Next if salads need to set or mix their flavour, then plan. These types are macaroni, marinated veggies, gelatine, and the salad you’ll use as a main dish.

Use up any meats, cooked veggies, or rice’s that is remaining from the day before. Add these with home grown tomatoes, lettuce, etc or some cheese to create a new meal. Potatoes are a great way to keep you from getting hungry, and boiled potatoes are low in calories and ideal as an addition to any salad.

The beauty of salads is that they can fit into any meal. Not so hungry then a small appetizer, good sides dish to add variety to your table, your main meal, or as a light snack or tasty dessert. If you want your salads to be tastier and flavoured then throw in spices, chopped carrots, grated cheese, or croutons.

Got to get a move on? There’s a big hurry? Then open up your can fruits, canned vegetables, chicken or tuna fish or others. Drop these among the leaves for a great tasting meal. Stay cool this summer on your salad treats.