Oh, friends – what an exciting time of the year! Summer is HERE! And along with it, an amazing and plentiful array of summer fruits & veggies sure to please even the pickiest of eaters!
Summer Fruits & Veggies – Nature’s Finest!
With all of the supply chain shortages we’ve been experiencing, seasonal eating is by FAR the most affordable way to feed your family. Fortunately, the list of summer fruits & veggies is long, with many familiar favorites, sure to keep dinnertime boredom at bay.
The bright vivid green foods of the spring give way to colorful fruits and veggies in the summer, helping to create a colorful plate and add a little variety to your meals. Not to mention that all of those colorful foods are jam-packed with loads of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. It’s like a Flintstone vitamin right on your plate.
Many of these summer fruits and veggies can also be prepared numerous ways, creating a more exciting dinnertime routine and avoiding the monotony of exclusive stove-top cooking. Most summer produce can be enjoyed raw or cooked. And forget heating up the oven when the dogdays of summer arrive. Grilling is the easiest way to enjoy many of these items, while keeping your home cooler and your utility bills lower.
The best part about seasonal eating:
Remember, seasonal eating is one of the easiest ways to maintain a healthy diet. Why? This practice offers the consumer the opportunity to consume fruits and vegetables at their peak of ripeness. Nutrients are lost the longer a vegetable is in transit or sits on a grocer’s shelf. Same with fruit. It’s important to eat seasonal foods, because these are the fruits and veggies that your neighborhood farmers can grow for you. They never take a cross country journey or sit for months in a grocer’s stock room ripening. These items are picked when they are ripe, passing on the gift of fresh & healthy fruit/veggies to you. Plus, you’ll enjoy a major cost savings when buying seasonal produce, as the ingredients are all plentiful.
Read along to fully understand what’s naturally available to you from June through August every year.
Here’s a list of the most abundant summer fruits you’ll find at your farm market:
- Berries
- Watermelon
- Cantaloupe
- Honeydew
- Apricots
- Plums
- Nectarines
- Peaches
Berries
Oh my word. Berries are one of nature’s best snacks. Whether you prefer strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries, you’ll find abundant uses for these little darlings. Throw a handful of blueberries into your morning pancakes, onto your fruit & yogurt parfaits or into your summer salad. Add raspberries to your smoothies, into your fruit crisps or cook down to create a luscious condiment. Toss a handful of blackberries into your mouth for a quick snack or add to your morning steel cut oats. And let’s not forget the star of the spring & summer – strawberries. Make into a yummy jam, toss into your cereal, add to your salads, make into a pie or dip into chocolate for the ultimate treat – strawberries can’t be beat.
Watermelon
Watermelon is the perfect fruit for a hot summer day. Why? Because it’s 90% water! So when you can’t take yet another glass of boring water, cut up a few wedges of watermelon and stay hydrated! I like my watermelon straight up, on fruit skewers or in a lovely fruit salad dressed with a lime vinaigrette. I have a friend who swears that watermelon is even SWEETER with a tiny sprinkling of salt first. Give it a shot – maybe you’ll agree!
Cantaloupe
A ripe cantaloupe can’t be beat, but the imposters are everywhere! All year long, you can find cantaloupes in the grocery store – but wait until summer to buy them…please! Those out-of-season imposters are flavorless replicas of the beautiful fruits you can (& should!) enjoy every summer. So please wait! Enjoy your cantaloupe fruit off the rind, add to your fruit salad or serve as an appetizer paired with a cured meat for a sweet/salty treat.
Honeydew
This one, like the cantaloupe, is an imposter in seemingly ALL fruit salads year-round. And the winter versions of this muskmelon are bland, nearly colorless and a complete disappointment. I often order a fruit salad in restaurants, in my attempt to avoid the less healthy side dishes throughout the fall/winter. But I’m disappointed every.single.time. But enter the summer-time honeydew. Eating summertime honeydew saves me from completely hating this melon. The fresh, seasonal honeydew is vivid green in color, beautifully sweet & balanced in flavor and a fantastic addition to any breakfast or lunch. If you’ve had a similar experience and have been let down by the honeydew – try a fresh one from the local farm this summer.
Apricots
These guys have a shorter season compared to the other stone fruits of the summer, but they are still widely available. I love a good apricot blueberry crisp, grilled over ice cream or turned into a sweet jam. You can also enjoy apricots in savory chutneys and pair with roasted chicken.
Plums
There are SO many different types of plums, but the most widely available are the red, black & Italian varieties. But sure to wait until your plums are ripe to eat, as the underripe versions can taste bitter and the texture can be off-putting. A ripe plum is juicy, sweet and a very satisfying snack. My favorites are the red plums for eating and the Italian plums for baking. Turn your plum into a delicious tart, using a walnut-based crust, & topped with a sugary crumb.
Nectarines
For those who love peaches but hate the fuzzy skin – enter the nectarine. This juicy stone fruit is delicious eaten raw, can be grilled for a warm dessert option or aired with salads, cobblers, tarts or tossed into your next smoothie. Anything you’d do with a peach, you can also try with a nectarine.
Peaches
My favorite summer fruit! I’m not a fan of the fuzzy skin, but once it’s peeled, I can eat a pound all by myself. My favorite ways to enjoy peaches: grilled and paired with vanilla bean ice cream, in a summer crisp, paired with pork chops & Kahlua, combined with apricots for a delicious jam or tossed on an arugula salad with burrata and a balsamic glaze. Just to name a few.
Here’s a list of the most abundant summer veggies you’ll find at your farm market:
- Asparagus
- Beets
- Carrots
- Corn
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Fresh Herbs
- Lettuce
- Peas & Sugar Snap Peas
- Eggplant
- New Potatoes
- Yellow Squash
- Zucchini
Asparagus
The quintessential Spring veggie is around for you to enjoy in the Summer too! The tender stalks of this vegetable pair perfectly with nearly every meal and cuisine. My favorite application is an Asian inspired chicken salad, though I also loved cooked asparagus too. Add a chopped handle to your next omelet, frittata or scrambled eggs for breakfast. Add to gemelli along with fresh sweet peas for a delicious lunch item. Or create an easy one-pan dinner by roasting alongside shrimp & lemons. If you are looking for a simple side dish, roast thick stalks at 400°F until crisp tender, about 20-25 minutes, after seasoning with EVOO & salt & pepper.
Beets
If you haven’t roasted a beet yet, what are you waiting for?? We’ve talked about this versatile veggie for several seasons. If you haven’t checked it out, now’s your chance. Roast it, pickle it, grate it – just try it!! Beets are a deliciously, sweet multi-season veg that can be roasted for a warm side dish, pickled with vinegar for a cold side dish or grated into a salad for a crunchy (& colorful) salad ingredient.
Carrots
Here’s another multi-season veggie. The next time you go to a farmer’s market, I challenge you to purchase their carrots. The ones with a little dirt still on them, maybe with or without their leafy tops. If you eat a carrot directly from the farm, you’ll suddenly appreciate what real carrots actually taste like! Those mini carrots you find in bags in the grocer’s are definitely handy – but did you notice how they taste like dirt? I have a container of (real!) carrot sticks in my fridge every week, ready for snacking. Alone or dunked in hummus, it’s a healthy treat. Larger carrots can be cut on the diagonal and thrown into your Instant Pot for a quick (3 minutes!) and sweet dinner time side dish. Shave a couple and toss into your next cole slaw. Or create a sweet raisin salad for your next cookout.
Corn
Sweet, juicy corn on the cob is a summer staple! This summer veggie can be boiled or grilled (husk & all!) and eaten straight up or topped with creamy sauces, sharp cheeses or anything you can think of. Grill, then remove the kernels with a sharp knife to add to a savory summer salad, sweet corn bread or pudding or toss onto your next green salad. Save those empty cobs – you can make a delicious corn stock that can be converted into a delectable corn chowder.
Cucumbers
These guys are so yummy and so versatile. Cut a few raw for a midday snack, pickle a handful for a jar of refrigerator pickles, grate and mix with yogurt for a cool & refreshing condiment or toss into a simple Italian salad with your other garden harvest items. Cucumbers are 96% water, so on a hot day, snack on these to stay hydrated. I like to spice things up a bit and drizzle on a tiny bit of EVOO & chili powder. If you like to pickle, stick to the ones with fewer seeds.
Tomatoes
There’s nothing quite like a fresh tomato, eaten straight off the vine. I even love the way the tomato plant leaves smell! I enjoy my summer tomatoes best raw, but you can do so much with your harvest.
In you enjoy a project, can a bunch to enjoy all winter long in the form of sauces, salsas, chopped/whole tomatoes or even soups. Slice thick and enjoy on a BLT or plate with a little mozzarella and fresh basil leaves for a light salad. Add with your cukes to an Italian salad or slice and combine with pesto for a beautiful galette. I could write an entire article on all the things I do with tomatoes every summer. Maybe I will! 😉
Fresh Herbs
Hands down, the very best way to reduce your salt intake is to cook with herbs! The bright and/or complex flavor additions from these amazing edible plants is meal-changing. You’ll never feel the same way about a dish than after you’ve added some fresh herb to punch up the flavor.
Bummer though – grocery store herbs are SO expensive. My money saving tip: grow your own herbs!
The chain grocery stores charge $3 for a tiny clamshell that often gets moldy before you are ready to use it. Conversely, a $3 basil plant will yield bushels of leaves all summer long. The leaves stay crisp, never get moldy and can also be used to perfume your kitchen when placed in a little jar like a bouquet. Or to make a delicious pesto sauce.
Even if you live in a tiny home or apartment – figure out where you can put an Earth Box (I receive no financial benefit from recommending Earth Boxes – I just love them!) and fill it up with herbs. You won’t be disappointed! Check out more on herbs HERE
Lettuce
To me, there aren’t many things more reminiscent of my childhood with my paternal grandparents than a bowl of fresh, garden lettuce. Garden lettuce is so tender and simple, it creates the best refreshing salad after a hearty Mediterranean lunch. Tossed with a little olive oil and vinegar, in my opinion, this is what a summer lunch tastes like. The lettuce you buy in the chain grocery stores doesn’t taste anything like this stuff. Join a CSA or head to your local farm market to taste what real, fresh leaf lettuce should be.
Peas/Sugar Snap Peas
Even if you aren’t a fan of peas, you’ve gotta try fresh sugar snap peas. Who likes those gross, soft peas from a can we all ate as kids? Not me. But fresh peas will put everything you’ve eaten prior to shame.
These little, edible pods pods house the sweetest, most crisp peas of the season and can satisfy your sweet tooth when you want to reach for a sugary snack. These veggies are so bright in flavor & vivid in color, you’ll question what you were previously eating. Add to salads or pasta with any of the other greens veggies above or sauté with a little butter for a sweet side dish. I actually love sugar snap peas raw, dipped in a little hummus for my midday snack.
Here’s a seasonal veggie roundup idea I love: Toss together blanched asparagus, fresh peas, & bright basil pesto with your favorite short pasta for a quick & easy summer lunch!
Eggplant
Eggplant seems to be a love/hate veggie for most people. I love it! And I think folks hate it because they’ve never really enjoyed it properly. So here are my favorite ways: via homemade baba ghanoush (basically eggplant hummus!), lightly breaded and baked for parmigiana, roasted and combined with tomatoes and zucchini for a savory pasta topping, or even via the Greek comfort favorite Moussaka.
New Potatoes
New potatoes are a younger (immature) version of the familiar potatoes you already know. They are generally smaller in size with a thinner skin. New potatoes are great for recipes requiring roasting or boiling. I like to toss mine with a little EVOO & grainy mustard and roast on high heat until the outside is crispy, and the inside is tender.
Yellow Squash
Yellow squash are a bright pop of color among an otherwise red & green sea of summer veggies. The bright yellow, yet tender skins, enhance your salads, casseroles and grilled skewers. They are great raw and dunked in hummus or cooked in the oven, stovetop or on the grill. Toss with a little salt, pepper and olive oil and cook away. Enhance via various sauces – try Italian dressing, pesto or even green goddess.
Zucchini
There are countless ways to enjoy this plentiful summer veggie. If you grow your own garden, you’ll know how plentiful these guys are, so you’ll need various ways to use them so you don’t get bored!
My favorite way is slowly baked in the oven, after lightly coating in flour and sprinkled with EVOO and crushed red pepper. The outer crispiness gives way to a tender inside – it is delectable! I also enjoy zucchini sauteed in a little garlic infused olive oil and topped with a sprinkle of freshly grated parm.
For a fun dinner party option: I love to halve & hollow out my smaller zucchinis to create a boat. You can fill your boats with any stuffing you like. My go-to: turkey meatloaf, topped with tomato sauce!
Zucchini bread is all the rage in late Summer, when the harvest is so plentiful we don’t know how to use it all! Zucchini imparts a slightly sweet and very moist addition to any of your baked goods. Don’t worry – your desserts won’t taste like zucchini, but they will taste extra special.
So there you have it – the best seasonal produce of Summer. I challenge you to try one new fruit or vegetable each week! I wouldn’t be surprised if you end up liking a few and adding them to your regular rotation.
These summer fruits & veggies are sure to liven up your dinner routines. And – all this fresh produce is jam-packed with amazing nutrients, giving your family a healthy boost. Plus, with all the cost savings of buying locally grown summer fruits & veggies, you can afford a few extra rounds of mini-golf or a trip to the drive-in theater to make even more fun memories with your kids!
Good luck and happy eating!
