With summer produce in full swing we can all experience first hand the benefits of eating seasonally, filling our bellies with delicious ripe berries, peaches, tomatoes and more; but there is more to eating seasonally than just great taste. Seasonal and locally grown produce not only tastes better, it is also higher in nutrients, less expensive and has a much smaller environmental impact than unseasonal produce.

• Nutrient content of fresh fruits and vegetables is highest when at its peak ripeness and length of transportation time from harvest to your plate can greatly impact the nutritional content of vegetables and fruits.
• Transportation of unseasonal vegetables across countries and continents uses large amounts of natural resources. It has been estimated that the CO2 emissions attributable to producing, processing, packaging and distributing the food consumed by a family of four is about 8 tonnes a year.
• Buying seasonal produce is also often much cheaper than unseasonal produce so this can be a large incentive for your wallet.
• Living in Canada, the winter selection of seasonal produce can tend to be quite minimal. Frozen vegetables and fruits (both store bought frozen and freezing your own when in season) are great alternatives because it is frozen at its peak ripeness which helps to lock nutrients in and are much cheaper than spending $10 on a small container of bland raspberries!

SUMMER

Summer Fruits

• Apricots
• Cherries
• Black Currants
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Boysenberries
• Cantaloupe
• Grapes
• Figs
• Grapefruit
• Honeydew Melon
• Limes
• Mulberries
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Plums
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Watermelon

• Beets
• Bell Peppers
• Butter Lettuce
• Cucumber
• Corn
• Edamame
• Eggplant
• Endive
• French Beans
• Garlic
• Lima Beans
• Long Beans
• Okra
• Peas
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Summer Squash
• Tomatoes
• Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Zucchini

Fall Fruits

• Apples
• Cranberries
• Date Plum
• Grapes
• Guava
• Passion Fruit
• Pear
• Persimmon
• Pineapple
• Pomegranate

Fall Vegetables

• Acorn Squash
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Butternut Squash
• Cauliflower
• Long Beans
• Delicata Squash
• Endive
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Kohlrabi
• Mushrooms
• Spinach
• Pumpkin
• Radicchio
• Sweet Potatoes
• Swiss Chard
• Turnip

Winter Fruits

• Clementines
• Date Plums
• Grapefruit
• Kiwifruit
• Mandarin oranges
• Oranges
• Papaya
• Persimmon
• Pear
• Passion Fruit

Winter Vegetables

• Brussels Sprouts
• Butternut Squash
• Collard Greens
• Delicata Squash
• Endive
• Kale
• Leeks
• Sweet Potatoes
• Turnips