--- --- # What to Eat Now: Spring’s Early Bloomers  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 12, 2015 10:38 AM UTC  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 12, 2015 10:38 AM UTC Heavy, starchy foods keep you warm–and stuffed–through Winter. but now spring is arriving, and with it a wave of light and healthy produce hitting grocery stores and farmers’ markets in prime season. We asked Deborah Madison, author of Vegetable Literacy, for a selection of nutritious foods that will be at their peak flavor in the coming weeks. And if you don’t like to eat your greens, she has a tip: “A salad that looks like spring can make you so happy,” she says. “That’s half the battle.” ARUGULA This peppery green is sweetest after a frost; a cup has 27% of the recommended daily vitamin K. EAT IT: “Golden beets with avocado and arugula make a pretty salad,” says Madison. “I think I’ll make that tonight, actually.” MEYER LEMONS A full 31% of daily vitamin C is in the juice of one lemon. Meyers are less acidic than other varieties. EAT IT: “Use the zest and the juice to make a lemon, shallot and olive oil vinaigrette.” AVOCADO One avocado has more potassium than a banana, as well as 37% of daily fiber. EAT IT: “I like it sliced and spread on toast with a squeeze of lemon and some sea salt,” Madison says. Extra credit if you use truffle salt. SORREL Meet the herb that packs 106% of daily vitamin C in every cup. The first leaves sprout in March. EAT IT: Simply. “Finely shredded sorrel mixed with yogurt is delicious,” Madison says. CHIVES Chives are among the first plants to pop up postwinter, and just two tablespoons of them have 16% of daily vitamin K. EAT IT: Madison suggests making a spread of chives with butter, lemon zest, sea salt, pepper and fresh chervil–another early-year herb that tastes just a little bit like licorice. RADISHES When you start to see radishes at the farmers’ market, “to me that’s a sure sign of spring,” Madison says. A single radish can have 124% of the recommended daily vitamin C–even more if you eat the raw tops too. EAT IT: Go raw, says Madison. Just slice the radish, chop the tops and toss with good olive oil and lemon juice. LOVAGE It’s one of the best sources of an anti-inflammatory compound called quercetin. EAT IT: Tear into a salad or sip a Bloody Mary through its hollow stem. “It tastes like a cross between parsley and celery leaves,” she says. SWISS CHARD A cup of boiled chard has 22% of daily iron, plus 716% of daily vitamin K. EAT IT: “I love it wilted until it’s tender and tossed with good butter and a little bit of vinegar,” Madison says. Source: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference What to Eat Now: Spring’s Early Bloomers ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3741848/what-to-eat-now-springs-early-bloomers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3741848/what-to-eat-now-springs-early-bloomers/"},"headline":"What to Eat Now: Spring’s Early Bloomers","datePublished":"2015-03-12T10:38:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:06:25.938Z","description":"The season brings a rush of nutritious foods at peak flavor","url":"https://time.com/3741848/what-to-eat-now-springs-early-bloomers/","keywords":["food and drink"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mandy Oaklander","jobTitle":"Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3741848/what-to-eat-now-springs-early-bloomers/","name":"What to Eat Now: Spring’s Early Bloomers"}}]}] ```