Vitamins on the table in green: it's easy to stock up on them with salad and with vegetables we can eat raw without resorting to cooking, which inevitably dampens the healing power of food. Fruit, vegetables, seeds and berries are appetising all together, they brighten and colour the table, keep hunger in check with a low calorie content. They are an effective way to introduce fibre into a sluggish gut and to lighten classic meals that would otherwise leave you feeling bloated. For families, they are without doubt a fantastic way to get children interested in vegetables and to have them cook alongside you, without fire or danger. Call the little chefs into the kitchen and let them have fun with sesame, marjoram and fresh mint. And help them recognise the scents and the shapes of the leaves, even with their eyes closed, as if it were a game. Your country walks might be pleasantly surprised by the discovery of wild plants — and by picking them.

Goji

The superlative berry: this small red berry is a "superfood" and it's also absolutely delicious, making it easy to add to a salad, enhancing its colours and nutritional value. Try giving it to children instead of sweets. You'll find it dried, like raisins, but bright red. It is the plant food with the highest contribution of vitamin B, which makes it perfect for growing children, vegetarians and vegans. But it is also rich in immunity-boosting vitamin C (better than oranges) and in vitamin A, a boon for eyesight and for a summer tan. Its antioxidant power is unique and vigorous, which is why goji berries have earned their Chinese name of "longevity berries". They contain iron, phosphorus, copper and manganese. Their chromium and zinc content activates the metabolism, making them a fat-burning food.

Borage

Both the flowers and the leaves have always been used in cooking for this "sadness-chasing" plant, as folk wisdom has always interpreted it. It is also excellent cooked, in soups and pasta dishes, as a ravioli filling, fried in batter, or boiled and blended into a sauce for dressing pasta. Its properties as a "nerve tonic" survive cooking too.

Mint

Your children will love it — easily recognisable and fragrant, adding a few small tender leaves to a salad gives it a lively flavour. But you can also use it for ice lollies, for summer drinks with green tea, for homemade ice cream, to flavour a summer barbecue. And certainly for an evening herbal tea, African style.

Lemon balm

Its name gives away the fact that it is the honey plant, because it attracts bees, thanks to its sweetly scented leaves. The flavour is excellent raw, even in an original pesto with pine nuts and lemon balm instead of (or alongside) the usual basil. If you manage to grind it by hand in a small mortar, you will soon understand why bees are drawn to its fragrance.

Chives

Once children have spotted them, they'll recognise them instantly in meadows — just snap off a blade and sniff it to catch their aroma immediately. And if they've found and picked them themselves, they won't end up with the usual fate of onion, banished to the edge of the plate. You can add them to salad or simply mix them into a soft cheese for a raw preparation. Or cook them and use them in place of onion. In the gut they act as an antibacterial and antiparasitic agent, exactly as they do in nature: if you plant them in the pots with your roses, you'll keep troublesome visitors at bay.

Artichokes

Excellent for draining the liver, sliced into thin strips and added to a salad. It's true that chicory (dandelion) would do the same, but it is bitter and often not to everyone's taste in the family. The heart of the artichoke, however, is tender and with a classic Grana cheese… it's something special for everyone.

Elderflower

It's an idea for adding flowers to the plate. The elderflower is small and fragrant — a detail that elevates any dish. You can serve a risotto with fresh elderflowers scattered over the surface, or adorn your salad with a shower of blossom.

Sesame and seeds

Gomasio is made from sesame seeds and a little salt, and is a simple way to cut down on salt consumption. Sesame is a small, tasty, naturally salty seed that allows you to wean yourself off ordinary salt by using the fibre of the seeds instead. Walnuts, almonds, flaxseeds and sunflower seeds are all welcome additions to enrich your salad with plant-based omega fatty acids.

Fruit

No indulgent salad is complete without it. Pears, apples and oranges when in season, cut into cubes or slices, are delicious in a salad; berries such as redcurrants and sliced strawberries work wonderfully too. Pomegranate is excellent, with its juicy seeds. This fruit has great antioxidant power and also protects the microcirculation, veins and capillaries. And adding fruit to a salad saves parents from having to chase children around to get them to eat their fruit.