Why do we want to eat produce that's grown in season?
1) Higher nutrient value; they fully ripen
2) Lower impact on the environment; reduce food miles
Bonus:
3) Costs less!
Most of my readers know that I advocate for families to eat more fruits and vegetables daily. My goal for my subscribers is to shoot for 5 -- five different fruits and five different veggies every day! Is this hard? Depends. The region and your resources could influence your options. Plus culture may have something to do with it too. But we can choose to have an open mind and embrace that real, colorful food by way of fruits and vegetables (and a variety from good sources), can promote healing and recovery in our wellness journey.
If you're struggling to try something new because you're eating the same 2 or 3 veggies (or fruit) day in and day out, you may be interested in learning that I was just like you a handful of years ago (learn more here).
You can also download my free eGuide (no affiliations mentioned) if you'd like to incorporate more colorful foods by way of fruits and vegetables in your regimen here.
Lastly, you can always bridge the gap with dehydrated fruits and veggies that are non-GMO, more information here. Whether you choose to incorporate the whole food based nutrition product or not, I encourage you to set a new goal every week: Try a new fruit or a new vegetable. Go online, find a recipe, how to clean or prep it, and how to make it (if it needs cooking). Open your mind to the possibilities!
The aforementioned product served as a catalyst for me to change and nowadays I really enjoy fruits and veggies. So the goal of 10 (5 fruits / 5 veggies) is in addition to the 30 whole foods I always get daily!
From this list below, share your favorite fruit and vegetable. I'd love to hear a memory about why these are your favorites.
How to find fruits and vegetables in season in your specific region - visit Sustainable Table and for a list of produce generally available, go to Fruits and Vegetables: More Matters.
Lastly, you may want to see if there are any farmer's markets in your area or community support agriculture programs or co-ops (like Azure Standard or Frontier), visit Local Harvest. You can Google the co-op programs and find the site and drop off information for your city, if available, on their websites.
Ready? Let's dig in! =)