Keep it colourful

Whether you are entertaining or relaxing (or both) this bank holiday weekend, keep it simple with fresh seasonal veg.  Lots of colourful veg and fruit supports the immune system and helps keep skin healthy through the many antioxidants and phytonutrients.

Think of juicy corn on the cob with a knob of butter melting into it

Sun ripened tomatoes served with torn mozzarella and fresh basil

A quick salad of a selection of baby spinach leaves, cucumber, feta, pine nuts, tomatoes, peppers, spring onion, radishes, avocado, halloumi, walnuts, with a dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar 

And for dessert, make the most of the abundance of summer berries with this luscious summer pudding

Line a 1 litre/2 pint pudding basin with cling film (to make it easy to turn out the pudding)

Place 750g of mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, red/black currants, cherries, blueberries etc) in a pan with 185g caster sugar.  Bring to a simmer to allow the juices to run out of the fruit.

Line the pudding basin with thin slices of good quality, slightly stale bread with the crusts cut off.  You will need to cut the bread to fit! Drizzle the bread with some of the juice from the fruit so it is nicely coated.

Spoon the softened fruit (and any sliced strawberries you want to add) into the prepared basin.  Cut an additional round of bread to fit the top of the pudding.  Drizzle this with juice.  Place a saucer on top of the bread and weigh it down with a couple of tins of beans.  Leave overnight in the fridge. To serve, turn out on a plate and remove the cling film.  Serve with extra berries, any leftover juice and a dollop of cream.