Summer vegetables are the best. It’s the time when you can buy local and plant your own-and that, some experts say, is when veggies are their most nutritious. We’ve rounded up a list of veggies from A to Z and are offering up recipes that are good ol’ favorites and some unexpected dishes.

Arugula

Summertime meals tend to be light and fresh, and that’s why arugula tops our list. (And also that it starts with A.)

The Classic: Watermelon, Feta and Arugula Salad

(Recipe from RecipeGirl.com)

This dish is a nice balance to meaty summer barbecues. The peppery flavour pairs well with BBQ spices, and the sweet watermelon and salty cheese make it the perfect combination of flavors. And we like how easy the vinaigrette dressing is to make.

The Unexpected: Lemon Arugula Pizza

(Recipe from TwoPeasAndTheirPod.com)

You will have to turn on your oven for this (or your barbecue, if you’re savvy to cooking pizza dough on the grill). You bake the pizza dough, olive oil and cheese, then when it’s cooked, top with arugula, lemon juice, parmesan and salt and pepper. It’s such a sophisticated way to serve ’za.

Beets

This vibrant root vegetable has been getting a lot of buzz lately. Fitness athletes love the hearty addition to dishes, and it also helps with moving oxygen to muscles.

The Classic: Pickled Beets

(Recipe from SimplyRecipes.com)

Say beets and instantly you think of a jar of beets soaking up a pinky-red vinaigrette. If you’ve never pickled before, you might think there’s a whole big production but it’s really quite easy and simple: boiled beets, cider vinaiger, a touch of sugar, olive oil and some mustard, et voilà!

The Unexpected: Roasted Beet Arugula Goat Cheese honey Crostini

(Recipe from GimmeSomeOven.com)

Beets as a crostini topper? Sign us up. The bright colour of beets makes a typical cheese crostini app look boring. You’ll love how pretty these are. All you need are four beets, a baguette, some olive oil, goat cheese, milk, arugula and honey. Your guests will be more than impressed.

Bell Peppers

Don’t you find the biggest, juiciest peppers are available in the summer? Well, take advantage with these two recipes.

The Classic: 5-Ingredient Pesto Chicken Stuffed Peppers

(Recipe from LayersOfHappiness.com)

First of all, the limited ingredients list is a huge time saver: bell peppers, cooked chicken breasts, cooked quinoa, pesto and shredded cheese. Kids love them and parents like to make them.

The Unexpected: Bell Pepper Slaw

(Recipe from Recipe.com)

You know cabbage and carrots make an excellent slaw, but so do bell peppers. The secret is to slice them as thinly as possible. It’s time to dust off the mandoline! We love the variety of bell pepper colour in this recipe: red, green, orange, yellow and purple. If you have more variety, add it to the salad!

Carrots

Your Instagram feed will soon be loaded with photos of beautiful, colourful carrots. While we see heirloom carrots in the prettiest red and purple shades, the orange kind are still just as delicious.

The Classic: Rosemary Roasted Carrots

(Recipe from OhMyVeggies.com)

What could make your kitchen smell more delicious than a pan of carrots, roasted with olive oil, rosemary and a pinch of salt and pepper. This is the reason you love cooking.

The Unexpected: Collard Wraps with Carrot Hummus

(Recipe from LoveAndLemons.com)

Speaking of Instagram, you will want to snap a picture when you finish making this beautiful dish. The secret is in the bright carrot hummus. And the carrots add more than just colour to the chickpea spread – the smoky roasted flavor is perfection.

Corn

When you’re shucking corn next time, take a sniff of the sweet kernels. It’s something you really miss with the canned and frozen stuff.

The Classic: Summer Corn Chowder

(Recipe from CookingClassy.com)

The problem with fresh corn for chowder is that you don’t have the same juice you get from the can. But this recipe says you don’t need it and corn-on-the-cob is more than perfect for chowder.

The Unexpected: Parmesan Garlic Grilled Corn

(Recipe from EclecticRecipes.com)

Street-style corn-on-the-cob is seriously good. Not only is the messy aftermath worth every bite, it’s really fun to make and serve. This Italian style tastes like it came right from a food truck. Best part: you don’t have to line up!

Cucumber

Cucumber is one of those underrated veggies. We mindlessly add them to salads and sandwiches, but it really can be the star of a recipe.

The Classic: Paleo Tuna Salad & Cucumber Boat

(Recipe from HorribleHouseWife.com)

When the whole anti-bread and anti-carb movement searched for bread alternatives, we saw cucumber crostini recipes come out of nowhere. This is a similar idea, serving tuna salad on a cored cucumber.

The Unexpected: Lemonade Cucumber Spa Popsicle

(Recipe from MarlaMeridith.com)

Cucumber water isn’t a big surprise, but we love this recipe that makes it into a refreshing iced treat. They’re good for dessert or lounging by the pool. You just need cucumber, lemon and water.

Garlic

You might not think of garlic as a summer veggie, but it is! Not only will it keep vampires away, but some experts say it boosts the immune system – exactly what you need before the cold-season starts in the fall.

The Classic: Roasted Garlic

(Recipe from SallysBakingAddiction.com)

Nothing gets guests more excited than a cheese plate with roasted garlic cloves. Just the scent has them salivating. Cook more than one at a time with olive oil, salt and pepper.

The Unexpected: Pickled Garlic

(Recipe from EatingWell.com)

Garlic can be a pickling ingredient for flavor, but you can also pickle garlic too. This recipe calls for white or red vinegar, some sugar, and kosher salt, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, fennel seeds and crushed red pepper for seasoning.

Radishes

Radishes are often added to salads for their crunchy texture. But they’re also good sources of vitamin C, folic acid and potassium.

The Classic: Radish and Cucumber Salad

(Recipe from NatashasKitchen.com)

Chopped salads are so good this time of year, which is why we went for this hearty radish dish. It’s super crunchy and pungent with flavor, which pairs nicely with the creamy dressing (made with sour cream).

The Unexpected: Radish Toast

(Recipe from TastingTable.com)

Bored of avocado toast? Get inspired with this surprise winner recipe. Instead of crushed avocado pieces, you get the prettiest toast layered with paper-thin slices of radishes. It’s been described as flower petals.

Rhubarb

If you have your own vegetable garden you likely grow your own rhubarb. It’s low-maintenance and grows like a weed, so to speak.

The Classic: Perfect Rhubarb Pie

(Recipe from TasteOfHome.com)

You can freeze this or eat it right away. The taste of summer can last all year long. You make it with fresh rhubarb, some sugar, flour, tapioca, an egg, a bit of butter and piecrust pastry. If you’re going to indulge, this would be the dessert to do it with.

The Unexpected: Smoky Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce

(Recipe from Rhubarbarians.com)

Rhubarb BBQ sauce? We’re just as surprised as you are. But what king of the grill wouldn’t want to make his own barbecue sauce, especially from rhubarb. The tartness is unexpected but impressive.

Zucchini

This really is the most versatile vegetable of the season. Cold, hot, spicy, fresh. Any way you prep it, zucchini is de-lish!

The Classic: Healthy Zucchini Bread

(Recipe from TastesLovely.com)

You can’t have zucchini with out making a batch of zucchini bread. This recipe, though, cuts half the sugar and flour, and uses honey, Greek yogurt and coconut oil as binders.

The Unexpected: Grilled Zucchini Nachos

(Recipe from TwoPeasAndTheirPod.com)

Toss the greasy tortilla chips, and make room for zucchini nachos! When you slice up the zuc’, grill them in the oven with cheese. And don’t forget your favorite toppings, like black beans, chopped tomatoes, green onion and cilantro.

Are you planning a barbeque, but you want to be health conscious? Barbeques are notorious for having lots of unhealthy, fatty foods, and it can be hard to resist temptations. Fortunately, it is totally possible to plan a healthy barbeque that all your friends can come to without worrying about packing on the pounds. These life hacks will help you make sure your barbeque is healthy and delicious.

1. Guac It Up

Guacamole is a healthy alternative to other dips like queso or refried beans, and it will be a total hit at your barbeque. Guac’s main ingredient is avocado, which is a superfood packed with all sorts of nutrients and antioxidants. I like to throw in some extra jalapenos to give my guac a little kick.

2. Lots and Lots Of Veggies

There are so many delicious veggie dishes you can serve at a barbeque, it’s almost tempting not to serve any meat at all! Give this grilled asparagus recipe from Epicurious a try, and watch as every last piece is devoured by your guests. Serve a huge salad, and of course put out every veggie you can think of for burger toppings. The more veggies the better. Ask your guests if they’d like to bring veggie dishes of their own to contribute, and you’ll have more healthy options than you’ll know what to do with.

3. Sweet Potatoes Are Your Friends

Sweet potatoes are significantly healthier than regular potatoes, and they are perfect for barbeques. This grilled sweet potato recipe from Real Simple is mouthwatering, and it makes a great replacement for french fries. You can even make desserts with sweet potatoes, like this sweet potato pie from Cooking Light.

4. Fishy Business

You might want to consider swapping out the beef burgers for salmon burgers. Try this savory salmon burger recipe from Food and Wine and you’ll wonder why you ever ate beef burgers. Even if you don’t want to replace the traditional burgers, you should consider serving fish as an addition or alternative. The health benefits are totally worth it.

5. Everyone Loves Kebabs

Serving kebabs is the best way to trick (ahem) people into eating healthy. Load up kebab sticks with all sorts of veggies (you can kebab almost anything) and grill them. You can add a healthy meat like chicken pieces or shrimp, but you don’t need to. Grilled veggies are delicious, and eating them off a stick is just plain fun.

6. Don’t Serve Alcohol

This seems like a huge thing, but honestly it makes a huge difference. Most alcoholic drinks are so packed full of unhealthy calories that a few drinks will undo any healthy efforts you made during your barbeque. Obviously whether or not you include alcohol is completely up to you, and a few drinks now and then never hurt anyone, but limiting the alcohol consumption at your barbecue will make it considerably healthier.

7. No Sugary Drinks

Cut the soda and the sugary lemonade. If you want to have a healthy barbeque, you should make an effort to only serve healthy drinks. Try making a batch of iced tea to serve in lieu of the traditional sugary line-up. Coffee is also a good option (weather depending). Just shy away from anything like soda or fruit juice that has high amounts of concentrated sugar.

Relax

If you’re having a barbeque, chances are it’s not going to be your healthiest day ever. Allow yourself a few indulgences, and don’t worry if you eat one or two things you shouldn’t. Do your best to make your barbeque healthy, but then just enjoy it. You deserve it.