We love to partner with local businesses and each quarter we share the knowledge of Melissa Olson at InTune Nutrition. This time of year there is so much fresh food coming from your garden, local farmers markets and farms. Click on the link to view Melissa’s Newsletter that includes information that will open your eyes as to why to take advantage of this season and all the good locally grown food.

Summer Seasonal Eating

By Melissa Olson, In Tune Nutrition

Summertime provides a vast array of delicious foods to be enjoying! Gardens are in full production, roadsides are bursting with fruiting bushes, and farmer’s markets are overflowing with all varieties of vegetables and fruits! The summer season is dangling an “easy button” in front of us for seasonal eating.

There are so many nutrient dense, whole, fresh foods available this time of year, and they are all excellent choices. The one food I encourage you to triple down on, is blueberries! Their deep blue color comes from anthocyanins which are powerful antioxidants. They help protect your cells from oxidative stress and damage, promote heart, cardiovascular, and brain health, and may help lower your risk of cancer and dementia. Blueberries have anti-inflammatory properties and are an excellent source of fiber and other nutrients.

Blueberries are one of the easiest fruits to pick, wash, and store. With a quick wash and dry, they can be plopped in a freezer container for use all winter long. Berries retain their nutrients through the freezing process!

Other deep blue/red/purple fruits and vegetables such as blackberries and beets contain anthocyanins and the accompanying benefits as well.

Animals have seasons too! Chickens lay more eggs in response to longer days with daylight. That means summer is egg season! Eggs are packed with nutrients! They contain all of the B vitamins including B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, choline, biotin, and folate. B vitamins support many functions in the body, from energy production to immune and digestion processes to healthy hair, skin, and nails. They contain lutein and zeaxanthin which support eye health and are a source of vitamin D, selenium, and vitamin A.

Eggs are one of the best sources of choline which is especially good for brain function. This is one of the many reasons it deserves a place on your breakfast plate, hard boiled in your salad, or soft boiled in ramen.

When it comes to protein, eggs are one of the best sources of high quality protein that is easily absorbed and used by the body. Eggs are actually considered the perfect protein and serve as the standard comparison for other protein sources.

Benefits

The benefits of eating seasonally include receiving maximum nutrition from foods picked at their peak ripeness, better taste, more variety, and supporting your local community of farmers. If you need some inspiration for how to enjoy a food that is unfamiliar to you, the farmer or front person at the farmer’s market will be able to tell you how to prepare it and they often offer recipes.

Variety

Humans used to eat over 400 different varieties of foods in a year! It is estimated that most people now eat between just 12-24 different foods in a year. Grab a piece of paper and write down all the foods you can remember eating in the last week, month, and year. How many different foods do you eat? You can increase that variety simply by trying a new food 1-2 times a month at the summer farmer’s market. Be adventurous! You never know when you might find something new you enjoy!

The more variety of foods you eat, the wider array of nutrients you consume. The various colors of fruits and vegetables are special pigments with health supporting properties.

Preparation

Try preparing foods in different ways – grill, bake/roast, saute, steam, and raw all provide for slightly different flavors to enjoy. If you don’t like a food prepared one way, try another.

Preservation

Consider preserving summer foods for enjoyment and benefit year round. Freeze, can, pickle, ferment, dehydrate, or smoke foods to keep for winter. Your local Extension Service can be a great resource for learning how to effectively and safely preserve your harvest.

One of the easiest ways to preserve summer berries is to simply wash, dry, and freeze them. Berries maintain their nutrients through the freezing process so you receive just as much benefit from eating frozen berries in January as you do eating fresh berries in the summer.

Hydration

Summer fruits and vegetables can help us stay hydrated during the summer. Foods containing more than 90% water include: strawberries, watermelon, cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini, celery, lettuce, broccoli, and bell peppers.

Load up on Vitamin C

These summer foods contain more vitamin C per serving than oranges: bell peppers, broccoli, brussels sprouts, strawberries, papaya, and pineapple.

So go ahead and take advantage of summer’s “easy button” - Enjoy the abundance of the season!

See Below for monthly fresh food lists and Summer Recipes.

Summer Recipes

Blackberry Jam (Low Sugar)

Ingredients

4 cups Blackberries

2 Tbsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice (optional)

Directions

Clean/wash fresh blackberries.

Place fresh or frozen blackberries in large saucepan and heat over medium heat. If very little juice releases right away, add lemon juice so there is liquid in bottom of pan while it heats.

Add sugar. Gently mash berries and sugar together. Reduce heat to low. Let simmer 25-30 minutes gently mashing or stirring occasionally.

When most of the liquid is gone and jam is thick, it is ready to jar. You can also check it for readiness by running a spatula across the bottom of the pan - the “liquid” will be slow to come back together when jam is ready. Immediately transfer to glass canning jar while still at its hottest.

Fill freshly washed and dried ½ pint canning jars with jam, leaving about ¼ inch of space at the top. Wipe top edge of jar clean. Place a new, washed and dried lid on, then tighten jar ring to just finger tight.

Lid will seal as jam cools on countertop.

Recipe Source: Melissa Olson, In Tune Nutrition

Kale & Chick Pea Salad

Ingredients

3-6 large Kale leaves, massaged and chopped

1 can Chick Peas, rinsed

1 Red Pepper, chopped

1 small Onion, diced

2 small/medium Carrots, chopped

¾ cup Feta Cheese, diced or crumbled

Dressing Ingredients

¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar

½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ Lemon, squeezed

Directions

Whisk together red wine vinegar, olive oil, and lemon in a medium bowl.

Massage kale leaves to soften – they will turn a slightly darker green. Chop and add to the dressing in the bowl the kale, chick peas, red pepper, onion, and carrots. Toss to coat.

Top with crumbled feta to serve.

Recipe Source: Melissa Olson, In Tune Nutrition

Creamy Broccoli & Spinach Soup

Ingredients

2 Leeks, chopped

4 Tbsp Butter

¼ tsp Black Pepper

4 cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth

1 bunch broccoli, chopped

1 small Russet Potato or small white sweet potato, diced

5 oz Spinach

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Greek Yogurt for topping

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, cook the chopped leeks in the butter, stirring occasionally until softened, about 4-6 minutes.

Add 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth, broccoli, and potato. Add up to 2 cups water to mostly submerge broccoli. Bring to a gently boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potato is cook and broccoli is tender, about 12-15 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in spinach until wilted. Add salt to taste (1/2 tsp approximately to get started).

Top with Greek Yogurt to serve.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Real Simple by Melissa Olson

Summer Seasonal eating brought to you by Melissa Olson & MKelevate