{"id":8635,"date":"2018-03-15T13:59:12","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T20:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lifeandhealth.wordifysites.com\/?p=8635"},"modified":"2021-09-27T14:40:49","modified_gmt":"2021-09-27T21:40:49","slug":"weekly-roundup-welcome-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/food\/why-plant-based\/weekly-roundup-welcome-spring\/138635.html","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Roundup: Welcome, Spring!"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 20 marks the first official day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. If we were to get scientific about things, the first day of spring is actually called \u201cthe spring equinox,\u201d equinox<\/em> meaning the length of day and night are almost equal. It\u2019s the point at which the Northern Hemisphere tilts towards the sun, which leads to longer, sunnier days.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you but I\u2019m giving the thought a warm welcome. Currently, I\u2019m wrapped in a throw blanket, one hand clutching a warm beverage, the other hand pecking out this post. My toes are freezing. <\/em>I\u2019m usually the type who gravitates to coziness and all things hygge<\/a>, <\/em>but with this fickle, almost-spring-but-alas-it\u2019s-still-winter weather teasing us with on and off rain showers and sunny days, I\u2019m ready to call an end to this winter.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s stopping us, anyway? Get ready to fill your fridge and pantry with spring. Here\u2019s what\u2019s likely to show up at your local farmer\u2019s market in the coming weeks:<\/p>\n

Spring veggies<\/strong>: asparagus, arugula, beets, collard greens, green beans, peas, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, swiss chard,<\/p>\n

Spring fruits<\/strong>: apricots, cherries, grapefruit, honeydew, limes, mango, oranges, pineapple, strawberries<\/p>\n

Others spring goodies<\/strong>: fava beans, garlic scapes, fiddleheads, new potatoes<\/p>\n

To celebrate these beautiful ingredients that are coming our way not soon enough, here are some of our favorite recipes from Life & Health and around the web\u2026<\/p>\n

From Life & Health:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Mango Avocado Salsa<\/a>: Hands down, this is the salsa of my dreams and probably yours, too. Smooth mango and avocado, crisp red onions and red peppers, and cilantro to round off the sweetness. It\u2019s so good.<\/p>\n

Herbed Potatoes with Spinach and Lemon<\/a>: Did you know that spring is the best season for potatoes, too? Be on the lookout for \u201cnew potatoes,\u201d they\u2019re the smaller, creamier versions of their bulky counterparts, and make for a beautiful potato salad<\/p>\n

Sweet Pea Soup<\/a>: The most adorable name for a soup, really. Swap out the frozen sweet peas for the fresh kind for a serious flavor punch.<\/p>\n

Strawberries & Honey Sorbet<\/a>: More like a lovely granita you can scrape out for a refreshing after-meal bite. This recipe has only three ingredients and is a must-try for fresh strawberry season.<\/p>\n

From our friends around the web:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Spring Abundance Bowl<\/a> from My New Roots: \u201c<\/em>This Abundance Bowl is taking advantage of seasonal produce and the fresh flavours of now<\/em>. Living in the moment, and eating in the moment go hand in hand after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Grapefruit Green Smoothie<\/a> from Minimalist Baker<\/em>: \u201cAs far as texture, it\u2019s somewhere between a juice and creamy like a traditional smoothie. In other words, light and super refreshing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto<\/a> from Vanilla and Bean<\/em>: \u201cScapes may be challenging to find, although I have seen them at co-ops, farmers markets and through CSAs. They have a short season in the Spring, so if you see them, buy them up!  They have a delicate yet pungent, spicy, garlicky flavor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice<\/a> from Cookie & Kate<\/em>: \u201cThis pineapple fried rice was inspired by a meal at Sweet Basil<\/a> in Norman, Oklahoma over the holidays. I really loved the combination of sweet, caramelized pineapple with Thai spices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gluten-Free Cherry Crisp<\/a> from Bakerita<\/em>: \u201cThe cherries here are barely sweetened, with just a tablespoon of maple syrup. By not over sweetening, the inherent sweetness and richness of the cherries is allowed to shine. A hint of cinnamon brings out that rich flavor without adding a bold cinnamon flavor \u2013 it\u2019s just a little something something ;)\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 20 marks the first official day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. If we were to get scientific about things, the first day of spring is actually called \u201cthe spring equinox,\u201d equinox meaning the length of day and night are almost equal. It\u2019s the point at which the Northern Hemisphere tilts towards the sun,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":10867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,7],"tags":[147,527,349],"thb-sponsors":[],"yst_prominent_words":[1770,1472,842,1569,1634],"class_list":["post-8635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","category-why-plant-based","tag-plant-based-nutrition","tag-spring","tag-weekly-roundup","post_format-post-format-image"],"acf":[],"views":616,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8635"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21294,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8635\/revisions\/21294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8635"},{"taxonomy":"thb-sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thb-sponsors?post=8635"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=8635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}