What's in Season for Summer? Summer Produce Guide
It’s summer—that amazing time of year when fresh produce abounds. It’s an amazing time of the year and the fact that there’s an abundance of fresh, delicious and healthy choices only makes it even better. Better yet: many of summer’s fruits and vegetables are brimming with secret health benefits. Here are some of the best choices of healthy and nutritious foods in the summer.
Utilize these ingredients in the summer months to prepare fresh healthful meals for you and your family:
Corn
Nothing says summer like fresh sweet corn. And did you know that two antioxidants—lutein and zeaxanthinin corn may act like natural sunglasses, helping to form macular pigment that filters out some of the sun’s damaging rays? It’s true! The same antioxidants may also help lower your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration—the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 60 (though much of the damage occurs decades earlier).
Cherries
They deliver a host of health benefits. You may have heard that drinking cherry juice can help you get a better night’s sleep and quell post-workout pain. But did you know that compounds in tart cherries may also help you slim down and get leaner? When scientists at the University of Michigan Health System, put rats on a high-fat diet supplemented with either a tart-cherry powder (equal to 1% of the weight of their total diet) or the same number of calories from carbohydrate, those that got the cherry powder gained less weight and body fat. Why? The anthocyanins in cherries activate a molecule that helps rev up fat burning and decrease fat storage.
Plums
People often use the word “plum” to describe something good. And that makes sense – because Okanagan prune plums are as good as good gets. Deep blue-purple with smooth skins, they’re delightful eaten fresh or in crisps, tarts, sauces, and jams. Plums have a flabby, round shape, very soft and shiny. Plums fruits are rich in dietary fiber, which in turn proves helpful in improving the digestive system, making them a perfect summer fruit.
Bell Peppers
A wonderful combination of tangy taste and crunchy texture, sweet bell peppers are the great summer ornaments of the vegetable world with their beautifully shaped glossy exterior that comes in a wide array of vivid colors ranging from green, red, yellow, orange, purple, brown to black. Bell pepper is not only an excellent source of carotenoids, but also a source of over 30 different members of the carotenoid nutrient family and this vegetable actually provides us with a very broad range of antioxidants. Bell pepper is an excellent source of vitamin C and E, which makes it a perfect choice for the summer.
Eating real foods with key anti-aging nutrients, helps you become healthy on the inside which is reflected on the outside by an outer glow of vibrant health that everyone will notice. These fresh summer fruits and vegetables, which contain the following key nutrients, are the best choices for the summer so make sure to stick to this list and incorporate them in your diet!
