Why the heck does it even matter if you buy produce that's in season or not?
Well, first let's look at what is seasonal produce?
Seasonal produce is food that is purchased and eaten around the same time it's harvested.
What that means is the food you are getting is fresher, tastier, and actually holds more nutritional value than food consumed that's out of season. While I am a huge fan of mangos and would LOVE to eat them year-round, honestly they are so much juicier and taste way better when they're in season (which they are right now btw!). Aside from the nutritional/ quality benefits - something to consider is, produce that is "in season" will always be more affordable than purchasing things that aren't. Yay for cheaper grocery bills, right?!
But before I go on about how great in-season foods are, let's look at out of season produce for a quick second and breakdown what you're actually getting: Out of season produce is harvested early in order to be shipped and made available to you at your local grocery store. Not cool right? Especially considering studies have shown that fruits and vegetables contain more nutrients when allowed to fully ripen on their parent plant.
So now that you're all in on shopping for produce in season, what if you want to take your shopping to the next level? Look for fruits and veggies produced via local farms. These choices are often going to be even fresher because they don't have to travel super long distances as say, Washington Cherries transported to Houston (Yall, Washington cherries are the absolute bomb). It is honestly the ultimate bang for your buck and for nutritional purposes when it comes to shopping seasonal and local.
To help you out this summer below is an extensive list of produce that is "in- season" right now and if you're wondering what's locally on the in-season menu click here to use the interactive seasonal food guide to input your state and explore.
Late Summer In-Season Produce:
Anaheim Chile
Apricots
Armenian Cucumber
Asian Pear
Barbados Cherries
Beets
Bell Peppers
Black Crowberries
Black Currants
Blackberries
Blueberries
Boysenberries
Breadfruit
Butter Lettuce
Cantaloupe
Casaba Melon
Champagne Grapes
Chayote Squash
Cherries
Cherries, Sour
Chinese Long Beans
Corn
Crenshaw Melon
Crookneck Squash
Cucumbers
Durian
Eggplant
Elderberries
Endive
French Beans
Figs
Galia Melon
Garlic
Grape Tomatoes
Grapefruit
Grapes
Green Beans
Green Soybeans (Edamame)
Hearts of Palm
Honeydew Melons
Jackfruit
Jalapeno Peppers
Key Limes
Lima Beans
Limes
Loganberries
Longan
Loquat
Lychee
Manoa Lettuce
Mulberries
Nectarines
Okra
Ong Choy Spinach
Passion Fruit
Peaches
Peas
Persian Melon
Plums
Radishes
Raspberries
Rose Apples
Sapodillas
Sapote
Shallots
Strawberries
Sugar Apple
Sugar Snap Peas
Summer Squash
Tomatillo
Tomatoes
Watermelon
Winged Beans
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Zucchini
Comment below your favorite in-season produce right now!
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