Spring has sprung, and with it comes fresh produce. Now that the weather is getting warmer, it’s time to start grilling and making salads from all of your favorite spring produce. If you’re looking for ways to make the most of your produce, here are three tips to make the most of it.
What Produce Is In Spring
Springtime offers an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetable options that provide nutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants. Here are some fruit and vegetables that are in season during spring.
Fruit
- Apples
- Apricots
- Avocados
- Bananas
- Kiwifruit
- Lemons
- Limes
- Pineapples
- Rhubarb
- Strawberries
Vegetables
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Peas
- Radishes
- Spinach
- Swiss Chard
- Turnips
How to Make the Most of Your Spring Produce
Eating seasonal fruit and veggies is a challenge when you have no idea what to do with them. If you’re wondering what to do with your seasonal produce, here are meal plan ideas and storage tips.
1. Consider Meal Planning
Meal planning is an easy way to ensure that you’re eating healthily and using all the fresh ingredients that are available this time of year. It also helps you save money in the long run by keeping you from buying unnecessary ingredients or throwing away unused food.
Plan your meals for the week, including when each one will be served. You can plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If your creative juices run out, invest in a cookbook or search around the web for recipes to make using your spring produce.
2. Shop From Farmers’ Markets
Unlike the grocery store where fruits and veggies are often picked before they are ripe, farmers’ market produce is at its peak ripeness, making it taste better and have more nutrients. The other advantage of shopping at farmers’ markets is that most of their produce is organically grown because their produce is not sprayed with pesticides.
3. Store Properly
The most important thing to remember when you’re storing produce is that fruits and vegetables need different conditions. Certain fruits like apples and pears give off ethylene gas as they ripen, which can cause vegetables nearby to spoil prematurely. To keep your produce fresher for longer, invest in airtight containers and store produce separately in the refrigerator.
Conclusion
Adding seasonal produce to your diet is a great way to get fresh, healthy foods into your diet. It is a lot easier to make the most of your spring produce when you plan your meals and store them properly.