In Season! Fruits and Vegetables (Winter), Part I

This is the winter collection. You can typically find these fruits and vegetables in season from December-February in most U.S. climates. I chose a handful of fruits and vegetables to encourage you to step out of your comfort zone (try something new) and I also wanted to shared more recipes for various veggies and fruit for those who have expressed the need. I think I'll have to add more recipes over time though because some categories are lacking (right, turnips and collard greens?!).

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). 

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! =)

Vegetables!

Brussels Sprouts

Nourishing Minimalism - Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Delicious Obsessions - Brine Pickled Brussels Sprouts

Delicious Obsessions - Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

The Humbled Homemaker - Lemon Blue Cheese Brussels Sprouts

The Organic Kitchen - Brussels Sprouts and Fingerling Potato Hash

To use for prepping - sharp tools (like this). This is one of the best I've used!

Collard Greens

Spaghetti with Collard Greens and Tomatoes from Convey Awareness

Collard Vegetable Wraps with Creamy Basil Hemp Seed Sauce via Gourmande in the Kitchen

Handy Colander - like this for rinsing leafy greens. 

Kale

Delicious Obsessions - Roasted Beet and Kale Salad

Delicious Obsessions - Zesty Kale Chips

Farm Fresh Feasts - Fried Rice with Massage Kale

Farm Fresh Feasts - Spicy Kale Pizza Dough with Mushrooms and Cheese

One Beet - Tuscan Kale Salad

The Humbled Homemaker - Sweet Kale Salad

Preserve extra kale easily - with this for freezer storage

Au Naturale Nutrition - Tuscan Bean Soup with Kale

Delicious Obsessions - Savory Baked Kale Chips

Girl Meets Nourishment - Sweet and Salty Kale Chips

Recipes to Nourish - Sauteed Kale with Pasture Butter

Recipes to Nourish - Sauteed Cauliflower Greens and Kale Chiffonade

Recipes to Nourish - Garlic Herb Raw Kale Chips

The Organic Kitchen - Kale Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Don't want to turn on your oven for kale chips, try this! 

Leeks

Convey Awareness - Whole Food Therapy with Leeks

Farm Fresh Feasts - Cheesy Leeks and Orzo

Learning and Yearning - Ramps or Wild Leeks Soup

Handy bowls for cleaning leeks, try these and let me tell you, they're practical use for most recipes.

Sweet Potatoes

Delicious Obsessions - Spicy Orange Sweet Potatoes

Delicious Obsessions - Bison Sweet Potato Stew

Delicious Obsessions - Crispy Sweet Potato Skins

Delicious Obsessions - Sweet Potato Chocolate Pudding

Farm Fresh Feasts - Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili

Recipes to Nourish - Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Recipes to Nourish - Roasted Sweet Potato and Kale with Sage Quinoa Skillet

Is this the crock pot you own? Mine was a gift. I like the programmable feature.

Turnips

Farm Fresh Feasts - Silken Turnip and Potato Soup

Small Footprint Family - Raw Turnip Recipes

Fruits:

Clementines

The Humbled Homemaker - Creamy Clementine Smoothie

My favorite blender of all time! You get free shipping, too! I've owned mine for 5 years - no black specks.

Dates

Farm Fresh Feasts - Orange Date Olive Oil Muffins

Farm Fresh Feasts - Banana Date Pecan No Sugar Muffins

Farm Fresh Feasts - Molasses Date Oatmeal Muffins

Recipes to Nourish - Bacon Wrapped Cheese Stuffed Dates

Store your dates in these upon unpacking groceries. 

Grapefruit

Farm Fresh Feasts - Candied Grapefruit Peel (choose honey)

Farm Fresh Feasts - Grapefruit Honey Bran Muffins


Oranges

Delicious Obsessions - Orange and Green Smoothie

Delicious Obsessions - Lacto Fermented Blood Orange Marmalade

Delicious Obsessions - Saffron Chicken with Orange Reduction

Delicious Obsessions - Better than Takeout - GF Orange Chicken

Delicious Obsessions - GF Orange Coconut Cake

Recipes to Nourish - Orange Sunrise Sparkler Kombucha

Richly Rooted - Easy Orange Julius

This was my go-to appliance for 14 years! I recommend this one for all juicing beginners and for pros who are short on prep and clean up time.

Pears

Bed Rock Eats - Candied Pears (Recipe only)

Farm Fresh Feasts - Low and Slow Pear Butter Waffles

Richly Rooted - Clove and Cardamom Poached Pears

Pomegranates

Recipes to Nourish - Creamy Herb Chicken Salad with Pomegranate

The Organic Kitchen - Greens with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Choose, eat, and live well! =)

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