How to build the perfect summer salad

There is no doubt that we all crave lighter food in the warmer weather. And luckily, summer is the season of raw veg delights, which means lots of fresh, crunchy summer salads! A salad's place on the table is to provide freshness, texture and acidity. A good salad is all about balance; the perfect dressing, a flavour pop from herbs and spices and that all important crunch. We find that when it comes to finding the motivation to get into the kitchen and cook, there really is nothing more inspiring than seasonal, fresh ingredients – from gloriously juicy tomatoes to beans in every shape and colour. They also don’t need much preparation to turn them into a ridiculously delicious and nourishing meal.

Cooking with whole ingredients straight from nature is about so much more than just eating food: it helps connect us to our environment and to the seasons, it encourages us to listen to and follow our intuition and gives us the opportunity to be creative with flavours and textures in the kitchen.

In order to ensure you are eating delicious, summer-friendly plates of food that are nutritionally-balanced and super satisfying, we suggest …

• Cooking a big batch of grains such as quinoa, brown rice, etc at the beginning of the week and keeping in the fridge to have cold with your salads
• Opting for lighter bases such as glass noodles made from mung beans
• Making a pot of dip that incorporates healthy fats from oils and lots of flavour to dollop on top of salads or spread onto sandwiches
• Prepping a variety of crunchy toppings, such as toasted nuts, seeds and croutons to add texture, variety and healthy fats to your meals
• Experimenting with your dressings: instead of always whisking up a classic, easy vinaigrette, try a new dressing every week to keep your salads exciting and more flavoursome than ever
• If you find too many raw vegetables hard to digest, we recommend roasting a large tray bake at the beginning of the week and keeping the roast veggies in an airtight container in the fridge to add cold to your meals

Here's a handful of our go-to salad recipes of all time:

1. The everything salad.
2. Courgette and pea salad.
3. Asparagus salad with miso-avocado dressing.
4. Grilled aubergine salad.
5. Broccoli and walnut salad.
6. Tomato salad.
7. Charred corn and avocado chopped salad.