With so many good food options coming into season, local Nutritionist Natalie Bourke from Health By Whole Foods explains how to maximize your nutrition and minimize your food budget.
Eating seasonally is a practice that has largely been lost due to the Westernization of our modern diets where supermarket shelves, fruit shop displays and café cabinets are stocked with similar produce year round. This is all well and good if you’re not a big fan of change, however eating foods out of season can sometimes put a large hole in your pocket and can also be robbing you of the potential to maximize your nutrient intake.
With Summer just around the corner there are plenty of delicious fruits and vegetables coming into season. By focusing your intake around seasonal produce during the coming months you’re setting yourself up for a reduced grocery budget and an optimally nutrient dense diet. Besides, who doesn’t love the feeling of biting into a juicy mango on a hot Summer’s day. Admittedly it sounds significantly more gracious than it is- but the juice running from your chin to your elbows, the strings of mango flesh left in your teeth and the sticky hands are all part of the experience right?
To help you get started with eating seasonally this Summer, I have created a list below which highlights a handful of Summer’s delicious seasonal produce.
| Fruit | Vegetables |
| BananasCherriesGrapes
Honeydew Mango Nectarine Orange Peach Plums Raspberries Rockmelon Strawberries Watermelon
|
AsparagusBeansBeetroot
Broccoli Cabbage Capsicum Carrots Cauliflower Celery Chilies Cucumbers Eggplant Lettuce Mushrooms Pumpkin Rhubarb Snow peas Spinach Spring onion Sweet corn Tomatoes Turnips Zucchini
|
So what are you waiting for? Head to the local farmers markets and get cooking!
You can find plenty of recipes at healthbywholefoods.com.au if you need some inspiration for how to incorporate some of the aforementioned fresh produce!
