In Season! Fruits and Vegetables (Spring), Part II

This is the Spring Collection of fruits and vegetables commonly found in most places around the U.S. Of course, as previously stated in the Winter collection published in January (as seen here), some of these fruits and vegetables grow year 'round or close to year 'round due to climate. Yay!

Let's remind ourselves why we should do our best to eat "in season" below:

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!

Now, I should ask you --- how are you doing on your goal of eating at least 5 different fruits and 5 different vegetables a day? Understand the importance of eating the [real] rainbow. Each color and type make up an array of vitamins and minerals that your body knows exactly what to do with them! When we eat the colors of the rainbow every day, the real foods work together (synergistic) and do amazing things in our body and for our wellness. 

If you're new to eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, you may want to incorporate a new fruit and a new vegetable each week until a month has passed and you're eating 3-4 extra ones a day. Keep adding new (and / or different) fruits and vegetables moving forward and before you know it, you'll be eating upwards of ten a day. 

Let's get started for an awesome collection of real food recipes. I bet you'll find some of your favorites - don't forget to pin the collection - thanks!! 

Cooking with Friends - Recipe: Fish, Rice, and Veggies

My son and I joined our friends on a Sunday afternoon to make a delectable and nutritious meal.

We baked flounder with olive oil, lemon, S&P and butter – topped with tomato, garlic and basil; sautéed broccolini and asparagus in olive oil, garlic, basil and oregano and parmesan cheese; and brown rice to boot.

The most enjoyable part was allowing the 3 youngest children to help – they were eager to join in the fun. A & B are both 3 and C is 6. Yes their names start with those letters!

C added butter to each fish (we had 9 cold water caught flounder); he squeezed the lemons for juice, and stirred the tomatoes. 

A & B helped by sprinkling the fish with s&p, covering them with lemon juice and olive oil, and finally topping the fish with the tomatoes. 

We covered the fish and baked for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the fish were baking, A & B prepared the asparagus by snapping off the ends. We sauteed the greens with 10 minutes left on the fish and finished with some brown rice.

We made a reduction using strawberries and organic evaporated cane sugar. I had more strawberries that were sliced and whipped cream to top a nice angel food cake bought from Trader Joe’s to serve for dessert. (No image available for this one because we were very excited about continuing our feast.)

All-in-all, we had a great time spending the day with friends. The kids said they enjoyed 'cooking' and are hopeful to do it again real soon. While we ate our dinner, all you could hear from A, B & C was yumm mmmm yumm as they chewed. That's a happy moment! =)

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Choose, eat, and live well! =)