Spring has arrived - a time to start introducing more raw foods, more salads and light freshness into our diets - moving away from the longer-cooked, warming stews and soups of winter. So what are some good lunch choices if one is pursuing a wholefoods diet

I personally can't go past a sandwich made on home-made sourdough bread. My favourite choices are grilled tempeh with grated carrot and any fresh organic greens (rocket & romaine chopped finely) plus spring onions! Instead of butter, a smear of miso and tahini makes just about the best sandwich on the planet. Using the same salad, substitute baked or grilled tofu, hommous or any other bean spread or just a nice herbed tahini/tofu spread with extra greens (can even include some grated beetroot with a sprinkling of sunflower seeds.) A tofu pattie, lentil pattie or a really delicious grain burger (like millet or buckwheat) is also great on its own or part of a sandwich.

Now let's not forget sprouts with their high vitamin C and live enzymes - there is a large selection of organic sprouts at most green grocers these days include alfalfa, sunflower and the mixed crunchy combo with chickpeas and mungbeans and azuki beans. A must on top of a sandwich or salad. Salads make a great light lunch and the chickpea salad is one of my favourites for combining greens with the high protein of the legume and the most tangy delightful dressing. We often make salads for lunch served with grilled fish for the non-vegetarians or adding (as in the sandwiches) crumbled or cubed grilled or baked tofu or tempeh or roasted almonds or seeds or the lot. I often lightly par-boil a selection of veggies for example, broccolli, carrots, cauliflower, summer squash and let them cool a bit and make that into a salad on it's own or with fresh, organic greens served with a lovely tangy dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and a splash of tamari (with or without garlic and/or tahini for creamy texture). I'm also an advocate of adding cooked brown rice (warm or not) and throwing that into any salad I've previously mentioned to make a one-dish meal that's got it all

My last lunch suggestion includes a light stir-fry of seasonal organic veggies served with brown rice, or a spring/summer soup perhaps a corn chowder served with a bit of fresh bread (preferably sourdough) or a brown-rice salad on the side. Enjoy having a healthy lunch - not too heavy to digest which will put you to sleep in the afternoon - but full of seasonal organic veggies to make you soar with chi (life-force). Add protein from soy and other legumes, nuts and seeds and complex carbohydrates from. whole grains, pasta and sourdough breads made from organic flour and you will feel balanced and energized..