The stone fruits – plums, nectarines, peaches and apricots – are in season now, so make the most of them while you can. Members of the Prunus genus (part of the Rose family), these delicious fruits are rich in vitamins, fibre and antioxidants. Beta-carotene gives apricots and peaches their yellow colour, while anthocyanins make plum and nectarine skins red. The stone fruits, although sweet, are classed as low to medium glycaemic index and so will help control blood sugar. 

Of course, taste and texture of stone fruits can vary – we’ve all had a ‘woolly’ apricot or a tasteless peachy. To avoid disappointment, don’t buy pre-packaged fruits that may have been picked early and stored for a long time so the ripening process is arrested. Try an independent greengrocer and buy individual fruits instead. And it’s a good idea to check the origin of the fruits and go for a grower as local as possible (even if that’s not in the UK) for better texture, aroma and flavour. 

For a very healthy snack, team stone fruits with nuts – apricots and brazils, peaches and walnuts and so on…and maybe add in some cheese to make a light and easy picnic meal (apricots and Manchego is a pa recommend apricots and Manchego). And I’ve put together three recipes to make the most of these seasonal soft fruits.  

Peach melba smoothie

Till now, I would never put a peach in a smoothie. Why? On a trip to the Soviet Union in the 1980s, I was offered ‘peach nectar’ and have never forgotten the grey-beige colour and gloopy texture. I’m glad I decided to drop this prejudice, because the following smoothie, which brings together the peaches and raspberries of a classic Peach Melba dessert, is a lovely pink-orange colour and tastes delicious.  

Serves one

250g carton of raspberries

Two peaches, stoned and sliced

One tsp matcha powder

One tsp chia seeds

One tsp cacao powder

One tsp linseed meal

One tsp turmeric latte powder

Nut milk (I used cashew nut milk) to top up

Blend all ingredients. I left this overnight in the fridge and it was fine the next morning but I suggest not leaving it longer than that as peaches do brown.  

Nectarine Greek salad

I know some people think fruit in salad (apart from fruit salad, of course) is a bit weird but, trust me, this works.

Serves four (or two people twice – leave the salad without dressing, nectarines and avocado in the fridge overnight and add them in the next day)

Two nectarines (I used one yellow fleshed, one white fleshed), sliced

One pot of deli olives

Two peppers (yellow/orange, red/orange), chopped small

One red onion, chopped

250g feta cheese, cubed

100g plum or cherry tomatoes, halved

Half cucumber, sliced

Flaxseed oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and fresh basil and mint to dress.

Mix all ingredients and toss with dressing and herbs.

Summer fruit crumble 

I’m always experimenting with crumble mixes – different flours, sugars and additives, such as nuts and oats – and I think this one works well with the seasonal stone fruit mixture. 

Serves four 

Two peaches, stoned and sliced

Six plums, stoned and sliced

Two nectarines, stoned and sliced

Ten apricots, stoned and sliced

One tsp. cinnamon 

One tbsp. sugar

One tbsp. coconut blossom nectar

For the topping:

30g nuts, chopped 

40g oats

100g spelt flour

75g butter

One tsp. cinnamon 

One tbsp. sugar

One tbsp. coconut blossom nectar

Mix the chopped fruit with the sugar. Rub the butter into the crumble mixture to create a rough crumb. Then top the fruit with the crumble and bake at 180^oC for 20 minutes or until browned. 

When I first started planning this month’s blog, I had no idea how life was going to be when it got to actually sending it out. My original thought was how to deconstruct that childhood favourite – the Crème Egg. So, something with eggs and something with ‘ultimate’ – ie 100% cocao solids – chocolate and, of course, the usual seasonal juice. 

I don’t want to lay on any detailed health or lifestyle advice for these long days of social distancing ahead – there’s no shortage of that elsewhere. Just a couple of points…

• More time at home means more time for smoothies and juices. Why not set up a daily habit? There are plenty of immune-boosting recipes out there.
• Small, local ethnic shops can be a good source of lesser-known pulses and other new foods to try – and they need the business now! Check they’re not crowded and watch out for narrow aisles.

Green juice with extras

Spinach is just coming into season, so I combined this with grapefruit and a Bramley apple, throwing in a cucumber to boost the alkalising effect. Then checked the fridge and fruit bowl for any tired old leftovers and threw them in too.

Serves one

Bunch of spinach (from local greengrocers)

One Bramley apple, peeled and sliced

One cucumber, chopped roughly

Three tired celery sticks, chopped roughly

One broccoli stem, from last night’s dinner, chopped

One kiwi fruit from bowl husband keeps to add to his breakfast (I don’t like them on their own), peeled and sliced

One inch turmeric root, peeled and chopped

One inch ginger root, peeled and chopped

Feed everything into the juicer and drink immediately.

Spinach, grapefruit cucumber and apple juice kiwi – stolen from husband’s breakfast fruit bowl – I only like them in juice

Mung dhal with eggs and vegetables 

This is a highly nutritious and cheap meal. Mung dhal is the inside of green mung beans.  It is cheap and very easy to cook (no soaking) – I got a big bag from my local Asian shop and wondered why people seem to be swooping on the pasta and leaving the pulses behind.  Ring the changes by serving with, or without, eggs, with salad(s), with rice or naan bread, raita and pickles – or even thinned down as a soup. We had it with mixed vegetables one day, peas the next, then I made it thinner and served as a sauce with hard-boiled eggs.

Serves six (or two for three days)

Two onions, peeled and chopped

One large red chilli, chopped

Three garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

Two inches ginger root, peeled and grated

One tbps. turmeric powder

One tsp. cumin seeds, ground

One tsp. black mustard seeds, ground

400g tomatoes

400g tin spinach puree

300 to 500g mung dahl

Mixed vegetables, frozen peas 

Hard-boiled eggs

Fry onions, chilli, garlic and ginger with the spices till soft, then add tomatoes, spinach and bring to the boil. Add around 1.25 litres water (adjust liquid depending on if you want a thin or thicker dahl). Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the dahl is soft. Meanwhile, boil the vegetables/peas till tender, hard-boil the eggs if using. Stir vegetables/peas into the dahl and heat through. Serve over the halved-hard boiled eggs/with rice/bread/raita/salad. 

Chocolate peanut brownie  

I’m hearing that people are doing a lot of baking these days, so here’s a recipe I put together. I don’t normally mention brands here, but I’m going to give a shout out to British chocolate company Montezuma’s – high-quality chocolate, with a lovely range of flavours, including the Absolute Black, a 100% cocoa solids chocolate with absolutely no sugar, which I’ve experimented with here. It’s definitely an acquired taste if you eat it as is – dry, rather than bitter. I wondered how it would go down in baking. Here’s how…

80g Absolute Dark with hemp and sea salt and 80g Absolute Dark with Almonds, chopped into chips in a food processor  

Sugar (or substitute like coconut blossom nectar – try for as little as you think you can get away with – I added 2 tbsp.)

70g butter, chopped 

2 tbsp. water

2 eggs, beaten

125g flour (any flour – I used spelt)

One tbsp. cacao powder

One tbsp. cinnamon

50g salted roasted peanuts

Preheat the oven to around 170˚C. Heat the chocolate chips, sugar, butter and water until melted. Pour into a mixing just and add eggs. Mix well. Then add cacao and cinnamon to the flour in another bowl. Pour in the chocolate mixture, add peanuts and stir well. Add eggs, flour, nuts. Pour the mixture into a baking try and bake for 30 to 40 min. Leave to cool and then cut into squares.  

We’re in Lent. Dry January and Veganuary are behind us – so what to give up now? I grew up with Lent (though I haven’t observed it for many years) and the last thing I remember giving up was sugar in tea – not a bad idea if you want to manage your weight and avoid type 2 diabetes. But let’s think in terms of adding something to our diets, instead of giving up. What’s in season, what’s often neglected? I decided to go for spring greens, turnips and leeks ­– all highly nutritious but maybe overlooked as healthy choices.  

Spring green juice

Serves one

One head of spring greens, roughly chopped 

Two handfuls kale, roughly chopped, 

One lemon

One grapefruit, peeled

One cucumber, chopped

Three celery stalks, chopped 

One inch turmeric root, chopped

One inch ginger root, chopped

Juice all ingredients except the lemon. I think it’s best to squeeze the juice into the prepared juice before serving. 

Turnip and butter bean mash

There are many healthier alternatives to traditional potato mash, and turnips and butter beans make a surprisingly delicious combination.  Turnips are less starchy than potatoes, if you’re looking for lower carb choices. They have a moderate glycaemic index (GI) at 62 (potatoes have a GI in the high 80, while butter beans have a low GI of 31.

Serves two to three

Around eight small turnips, peeled and chopped

400g tin butter beans, drained

Small piece of butter (or you could use crème fraiche or cream to make the mixture smooth and creamy)

One tbsp. mustard (I used horseradish mustard)

Freshly ground black pepper.

Boil the turnips till tender, then mash with the butter beans, butter and mustard till smooth. Season with black pepper. This reheats well in the microwave.  

Super stir fry

Serves two

One head of spring greens, chopped

One bunch leeks, chopped

Sliced mushrooms

Two sliced red peppers

One small pineapple, peeled and sliced

One inch ginger, peeled and chopped

Three large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

One tbsp. peanut butter

One tbsp. soy sauce

One tbsp. juice from the pineapple 

Lemon grass paste

Fry the ginger and garlic in coconut oil till soft, then add all the vegetables and stir fry for a few minutes before adding the peanut butter, soy sauce, lemon grass paste and pineapple juice to make a sauce. Add more liquid if needed. Stir fry till all cooked and heated through. Serve with high-protein noodles.

Next month: Some healthy Easter treats

February marks the end of the British celery season (although imported celery is, of course, available year round), so grab some while you can. Celery is 95% water – and the rest of it is rich in vitamin C, minerals, soluble fibre and anti-inflammatory antioxidant phytochemicals. It’s valued in traditional Chinese medicine for treating high blood pressure. Of course, celery is an ideal healthy snack – portable, crunchy and with a handy groove that you can fill with peanut butter, cream cheese or a dip. Here are a few more ideas for adding more of this low-calorie (10 calories a stick) nutrient-dense vegetable to your 5-a-day (or more!) fruit and veg a day intake. 

Classic celery juice

Celery has an alkalising effect so, so look no further for a lovely green juice recipe if you’re interested in this potential health benefit. By the way, I’ve started to add turmeric root alongside ginger root to all my vegetable juices. 

Serves one 

One cucumber, roughly chopped

Several sticks of celery, chopped

Big bunch spinach

One inch of turmeric root, peeled and chopped

One inch of ginger root, peeled and chopped

Juice all ingredients and drink immediately.

Celery and lentil soup 

This main meal soup is a great winter warmer. I got the idea from a talk by Professor Mike Lean of the University of Glasgow about a ‘traditional Scottish’ low-calorie diet consisting of porridge and lentil soup (which he hopes will put type 2 diabetes into remission). You can keep it simple with just celery and lentils, or add any other vegetables you happen to have hanging around (I found a parsnip at the back of the fridge)

Serves four

250g red lentils

One head celery, chopped

One tbsp. dried mixed herbs

One tsp. chilli flakes

One litre of vegetable stock (you can use more, or less, depending on how thick you would like your soup to be)

Tomato puree

Cook the celery with the herbs till soft, then add the lentils and stock. Cook until the lentils are soft, then liquidise and add tomato puree to taste. 

Crunchy salad 

The point of this salad is to combine celery with some other crunchy ingredients. I was going to add peanuts for even more crunch, but decided to use them in the dressing to give an Oriental kick.

Serves four

Celery sticks, finely chopped

One red pepper, finely chopped

Two carrots, grated

Small white cabbage, grated

One cup of pomegranate seeds

One pineapple, sliced and diced

Dressing

One tbsp. peanut butter

Flaxseed oil

Soy sauce

Whizz the peanut butter, oil and soy sauce in a food processer to make the dressing. Mix the other ingredients and toss with the dressing. 

Next month: Spring forward with greens, turnips and leeks 

PPears, apples and citrus fruits are all in season this month, so I’ve highlighted them for a healthy start to the year. A recent study from the University of Reading showed that eating two apples a day, over an eight-week period, can lower LDL-cholesterol. The decrease was not as large as that brought about by statins but could be very significant over a long period of time and in combination with other healthy habits. 

Meanwhile, pears are a rich source of soluble fibre, which can also lower cholesterol, as well as lowering blood glucose. There are several varieties of apples and pears, of course, but if you check the origins and go for fruit grown in England (Conference and Comice pears for instance), you’ll also be helping the environment by saving on air miles. 

All citrus fruits are nutrient dense – being rich in soluble fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. If you only buy tangerines at Christmas, maybe try including them in your diet from now on? 

Here’s a quick and easy health tip for the New Year – get into the fruit habit. At the start of the day, put out a pear, some easy peel tangerines, and a couple of apples on your desk, if working at home, or pop them into your bag if you’re going out. It’s a good way to push 5-a-day to 7 and beyond! 

Total citrus juice

Serves two

The sweetness of the oranges and clementines perfectly balances the sharpness of the grapefruit and limes. And I’ve found that I get more juice from lemons and limes by using a glass squeezer rather than the juicer. 

One net of clementines, peeled and segmented

Four large oranges (I used Emperor, which are easy to peel), peeled and segmented

Three red grapefruit, peeled and segmented

Two-inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

Two limes

Juice everything but the limes. Halve the limes and extract the juice with a glass squeezer and use to top up the mixture. Give a quick stir, to blend in the lime juice, and drink immediately.  

Spinach, pear and Bramley juice

Again, this is a nice blend, where the sweetness of the pears nicely counteracts the taste of the apples and the spinach. I like Bramleys in juice because they’re not too sweet. In fact, in her anti-cancer non-dairy programme (The Plant Programmeby Professor Jane Plant and Gill Tidey) Jane Plant recommends juicing Bramleys rather than other varieties because of their high vitamin C and folic acid content.  

Serves two

200g spinach

Three Bramley apples, cored and chopped roughly

Three pears, chopped roughly

Two-inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

Two lemons

Juice everything but the lemons. Halve the lemons and extract the juice with a glass squeezer and use to top up the mixture. Give a quick stir, to blend in the lemon juice, and drink immediately. 

Pear and Bramley crumble

Serves four

500g Bramley, cored and roughly chopped

500g pears, roughly chopped

Sugar and cinnamon to taste

For the crumble mixture

100g nuts, chopped

175g flour 

85g butter, chopped into small pieces

25g sugar

One tbsp. cinnamon

First cook the fruit. Add three tablespoons of water to the apples and bring to boil in a saucepan. Cook on a lower heat for about five minutes and then add the pears. Cook for a further five minutes or until the fruit has softened. Set aside while you prepare the crumble mix. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until you get a crumb-like texture. Top the fruit with this mixture in a baking dish and bake at 190˚C for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown.

Next month: Celebrating celery

Seeds are probably more nutrient-dense than any other food – after all, they contain everything a plant needs to grow to maturity. They are rich in protein, essential fatty acids, fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Here are just a few reasons why my recipes this month are all about seeds.

• Pumpkin seeds – rich in zinc
• Chia seeds – high in fibre
• Linseeds or flax seeds – an excellent source of alpha-linolenic acid, which is important for cardiovascular health
• Sunflower seeds – a good source of vitamin E
• Hemp seeds – contain a healthy 3:1 ratio of omega-6: omega-3 fatty acids.

Along with the seeds themselves, sprouting seeds are also rich in nutrients. High in protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals, they are useful for adding texture to salads, soups and pasta dishes. 

 Hemp and raspberry smoothie

Three types of seeds in one delicious pink smoothie.  Hemp seed milk is made from pulverized hemp seeds blended with water – it’s creamier than nut milks and worth a try if you’re experimenting with non-dairy milks.  

Serves one

One carton of raspberries

One tsp. ground linseeds

One tsp. chia seeds

One tsp. cacao powder

Half tsp. matcha

One tsp. turmeric latte powder

Hemp seed milk.

Mix all ingredients, using enough hemp seed milk to make a smoothie of your desired consistency. How many seeds can you pack into a juice?

Insalata tricolore with pumpkin and sunflower seeds

This dish is inspired by a delicious snack I had in a café recently – avocado on sourdough toast, sprinkled with pumpkin seeds. The smoothness of the avocado contrasts very nicely with the crunch of the seeds. So, I’ve translated this idea into one of my favourite Italian dishes – insalata tricolore.  

Serves two

One large avocado, sliced

Six tomatoes, sliced

100g mozzarella or burrata, sliced

One tub of sundried tomatoes

One tbsp. pumpkin seeds

One tbsp. sunflower seeds

Olives (optional)

Fresh basil leaves

Flax seed oil, balsamic vinegar to dress

The classic way of serving this dish is to layer the green, white and red elegantly together – but you could just mix them up. Add a bit of extra interest by scattering sundried tomatoes on the top, then the seeds. Finish with the torn basil and a drizzle of flax seed oil (more seeds!) and balsamic vinegar (for that real Italian flavour). You could also add in some olives to make it extra special! 

Sprouts, seeds and salad 

This is super healthy. A recent study showed that regular consumption of asparagus improved insulin production and lowered blood glucose – so could help protect against Type 2 diabetes. And I don’t need to remind you of the health benefits of broccoli. Combined with seeds, sprouts and a flax seed oil dressing, this salad ticks all the boxes…

Serves two

Two bunches of asparagus

Two bunches of tenderstem broccoli

One tbsp. mixed seeds

Tow handfuls of mixed sprouts (alfalfa, broccoli, mung bean and so on)

Dressing: one clove of garlic, crushed with herbed rock salt to a puree, then whisked with flax seed oil and lemon juice

Cook the broccoli and asparagus, set aside to cool and chop into small pieces. Mix with the seeds and sprouts, then dress with the oil and lemon mixture.

Next month: Some Winter comfort food  

If you want to add one healthy small change to your lifestyle this October, can I suggest you include more nuts in your diet? Nuts may be high in calories, but they’re goodcalories with the fat content being of the unsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 variety. They are also high in fibre, vitamins and minerals. Only two Brazil nuts a day will give you your daily dose of selenium, a mineral which is essential for good immunity (especially relevant with the cold and flu season coming up), while almonds are rich in vitamin E, hazelnuts in folate and walnuts are packed with heart healthy antioxidants. 

There has been no shortage of research into the health benefits of nuts. The biggest health benefit of all is, of course, living longer, so I will quote just one study. A 2013 report from the long-running Nurses’ Health Study and Healthcare Professionals Follow-up Study, covering nearly 120,000 people showed that in 30 years of follow-up, those who ate nuts every day had a 20% lower mortality rate. Including nuts in your diet couldn’t be easier – just treat yourself to a handful (30g a day would be about right to enjoy the benefits) or use peanut butter on toast, slices of apple or celery or in a smoothie. In the following recipes, I’ve taken it a bit further by using nut milks, nut oils and I finish with the ‘ultimate’ nut burger. 

Nutty pink smoothie

Serves one

One carton of raspberries or strawberries

One tsp matcha powder

One tbsp. linseed meal

One tsp. raw cacao powder

One tbsp. chia seeds

One tbsp. turmeric latte powder 

One tbsp. nut butter

[the above list is my current mix of smoothie additives]

Add all the above to your blender or Nutribullet, then top up with hazelnut milk. Blend and drink immediately. 

Autumn salad with walnut oil dressing

A friend gave me some cucumbers from her garden. So fresh and delicious, I made them the basis for a salad that contains nuts and uses a walnut oil dressing. 

Serves two 

Three carrots, shredded

One cucumber diced

Handful of nuts (I used flaked almonds)

One tbsp. mixed seeds

Two spring onions, finely chopped

Dressing

One tbsp. walnut oil

One garlic clove

Sea salt

Lemon juice

One tsp mustard (I used horseradish mustard) 

Mix all the salad ingredients. For the dressing, bash the garlic with the salt in a mortar and pestle to make a puree and then whisk in the lemon and oil. Dress and serve. 

Vegan nut burgers

So lots of restaurants and pubs are doing vegan burgers now. I’ve never made a burger in my life, so I thought it was time to jump on this particular healthy bandwagon. These are dead simple – just nuts and red onion. No rice, chickpeas, spinach, halloumi… 

Serves four

100g mixed nuts, ground to a coarse powder

Egg replacement _ one tbsp. flax seed meal whisked in three tbsp water and left till it forms a beaten egg-like gel

One red onion, finely chopped

Herbs and spices to flavour – I used cinnamon, chilli powder and freshly ground black pepper

Two tbps. tomato puree

Place the nuts, onion, herbs and spices into a bowl. Now, my big worry was that this mixture would not stick together with the vegan egg (of course, use a real egg if you prefer – I’m not vegan myself and this would have been fine). I added the tomato puree as well for a bit more moisture and the consistency was just right. Shape into patties and fry in coconut oil for about five minutes, turning halfway through the cooking time, which should leave both sides lightly browned. The mixture keeps well in the fridge (I had this over three days).

Now for the fun bit…building your burger. When eating out, I’ve found that even if the vege/vegan burger is good, the dish is let down by being wedged inside a plasticy, tasteless white bun. So try wrapping this in pitta bread, a decent fresh wholemeal roll or even toast…Obviously there are lots of things you can use as a base and topping for your burger. We had sliced avocado and tomato on the base and jalapenos and spicy mayo on the top.  Next months. November is seed time

The A, B&B trio (Aubergine, Beetroot and Blackberries) group are all in season now. They’re high in fibre, low in calories, rich in minerals, vitamins and the antioxidant phytochemicals that given them their deep colour. The purple of aubergine skin comes from nasunin, a potent antioxidant which was found (in lab experiments only, to be fair) to protect brain cell membranes from damage.   

Back to School juice

There are still plenty of blackberries around, so pick them while you can. Blended with frozen berries and grapefruit, this makes a delicious healthy juice with just the right acidity balance. Amounts of berries can be varied, 

Serves two

Fresh picked blackberries

Bag of frozen berries, defrosted

Two red grapefruit

One inch ginger root, peeled and chopped

Pomegranate juice

Juice all berries, grapefruit and ginger and top up glasses with pomegranate juice. 

Ratatouille

I have been studying ethnobotanist James Wong’s new book 10-a-day The Easy Way and wondered how many veg I could add to my aubergine in a ratatouille recipe. Here goes…

Serves four

One aubergine, chopped

One red pepper, chopped

One green pepper, chopped

One yellow pepper, chopped

Three courgettes, sliced

Handful of runner beans, sliced

Two red onions, chopped

Two red chillis, chopped

Two garlic cloves, diced

Two 400g tins of tomatoes

Two tbsp. tomato puree

One tbsp. dried mixed herbs

100g pot of mixed olives

Fresh basil, torn 

Fresh parsley, chopped

Heat some coconut or olive oil and fry the onions, garlic and chilli for a few minutes till soft. Stir in all the other vegetables and soften. Then add tomatoes, tomato puree, herbs and simmer till all the veg are tender. Add the olives. Finish with the fresh herbs and maybe a drizzle of olive or flax seed oil.

This is incredibly versatile. Serve with rice, pasta, baked potato or sweet potato, hot or cold. I put this recipe into my nutrition calculator and it ‘only’ contains 2.5 portions of fruit and veg per serving. Now my challenge is to adapt this recipe to up this total. Fancy joining me in this challenge?

Beetroot and horseradish hummus – new food processor 

I have just bought a new food processor. So, to celebrate, I put together a recipe I’ve been meaning to try for a while.

Serves four

Three boiled beets, chopped

One 400g tin chick peas, drained

Two tbsp horseradish

Two tsp spices (many hummus recipes call for cumin, but I used ras el hanout and sumac) 

Flax seed or olive oil as required

Process the beets, chick peas, horseradish and spices. Add oil to create the consistency you want.

This beautiful deep pink-purple dip is great with pitta bread, crackers and crudites and keeps in the fridge for up to a week. 

Next time: Going nuts in October. 

It’s the time of year when big wedges of watermelon start to appear on fruit stalls.  Watermelon is 90% water, so a slice makes a refreshing snack on a hot day. It’s also rich in vitamins A and C, as well as being an excellent source of the powerful antioxidant lycopene, which gives the fruit its red colour. However, watermelon does have a glycaemic index (GI) of 72, which is considered high, although its glycaemic load (GL) of 2, is low. The GL value reflects the fact that the carbohydrate content of watermelon is low, so it shouldn’t cause a ‘spike’ in your blood glucose after consumption. But if you are bothered by the high GI element, try combining watermelon with other foods, as in this month’s recipes! 

Summer watermelon juice

I was curious about how much juice I might get from a watermelon. The answer is 250ml from a whole small watermelon (much less than I was expecting). Here it is used as the basis for a slightly tart and very refreshing juice that will energise you when temperatures soar.  

Serves one

One watermelon, quartered with the flesh sliced into chunks

Two red grapefruit, peeled and segmented

400g raspberries

One inch of root ginger, peeled

Pure pomegranate juice

Juice the fruits and ginger and top up with the pomegranate juice.

Feta, olive and watermelon salad

In this salad, the salty creamy feta cheese complements the crisp sweet watermelon perfectly. 

Serves two 

200g pack of barrel-aged feta cheese, cubed

One tub of black, green or mixed olives

One red onion, thinly sliced

One red pepper or Romano pepper, thinly sliced

Watermelon chunks cut from a wedge

Oil

Lemon

Green leaves

Herbs

Mix the cheese, olives, onion, pepper and watermelon and serve on a bed of green leaves. Dress with oil and lemon and top with mint and basil.  

Watermelon fruit salad

I was invited into a school recently and treated to lunch. I was interested to see what was on offer and very impressed by one of the best fruit salads I’ve had for a long time. It contained sliced plums so I’ve included these in the recipe below. Note, plums and raspberries are low GI fruits, so they balance the watermelon well.

Serves two to three 

Watermelon chunks cut from a wedge

400g raspberries

400g strawberries

Six plums cut into quartersNext month – late su