As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer many people are looking for ways to freshen up their diet. This is the time of year that we can easily switch from the winter comfort foods to the wide variety of springtime fruits and vegetables. In-season produce is not only more cost effective it also packs the biggest nutritional punch. Eating seasonal is important and it can carry many health benefits.

Eating “seasonally” means consuming foods that are being grown and then harvested during the same time of year when consumers are purchasing and cooking them. In the past this happened naturally, but with the advent of global transportation we have access to most produce year round. Therefore, the movement of eating local in-season food requires consumers to be more conscience when choosing produce.

Here are a few examples of what to look for, during the Spring time, in the produce section or your farmers market: sugar snap peas, strawberries, asparagus, radishes, rhubarb and morel mushrooms just to name a few. Many of these foods can be teamed together in a salad or side dish to provide the best tasting, highest quality food available.