August and September are peek months for enjoying locally grown, fresh Ontario produce. According to the Foodland Ontario website, availability for these two months is up near 90-95 per cent for vegetables and fruits of all sizes, shapes, and colours. A rather short harvest season due to our location in the Northern Hemisphere means we should take advantage of this window of opportunity to eat local and eat right!
Since we should have 7 – 10 servings from this nutritious food group each day – and should ensure we eat bright orange as well as dark green varieties – this is an especially great time of year.
Favourite harvest picks to keep your eye on (though it may be hard to get your eyes off them) are listed below. The common denominator between them all is that their harvest seasons peek in August/September or at least include these months.
Ontario’s Harvest Picks
- Apples – With more varieties than you can shake a stick at, and with the old saying ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ ringing in your head, pick up your fill of this highly nutritious fruit at farmer’s markets or fill up your bushels at pick-your-own locations for a little orchard getaway. Popular top varieties include McIntosh, Red Delicious, Empire and Idared. Northern Spy is the number one baking apple. Mmmm, do I spy an apple pie???
- Corn – Sweet Ontario corn is now appearing at markets and grocery stores near you, making corn fests or backyard corn roasts a must-do family event. Corn is a good source of folate and contains fibre. Go easy on the salt.
- Raspberries/Blueberries – It’s a berry-good time of year as these jewels of the fruit kingdom ripen up and find their way to our breakfast table. On cereal or as a snack, and in a host of delicious desserts, these colourful gems add flavour and are a good source of vitamin C and fibre.
- Tomatoes – Who doesn’t crave a BLT? Local, fresh-from-the-field tomatoes have all the flavour that imports usually lack. They’re a big, juicy taste explosion in your mouth. More than 300 varieties are grown in Ontario, and they are all a good source of vitamin C. Roma and Plum varieties are great for making preserves, sauces or tomato paste.
- Grapes - Native Ontario varieties include Concord and Niagara and make excellent eating grapes, but are also good for making juice or jellies. European varieties include wine-making grapes. As well, there are thousands of hybrid varieties. Antioxidants found in grapes can mean significant health benefits – and a little wine is good for the soul.
- Peaches – Baskets of juicy, fuzzy peaches can be found everywhere this time of year and can also be picked by you at peach orchards – a great way to enjoy their sweet aroma and the outdoors. Peach cobbler and pie are also great ways to enjoy them.
- Eggplant/Zucchini – Both excellent for cooking with, such as by adding to stews or sauces, these vegetables are sources of folate and potassium, and will continue to be locally available into the fall.
- Rapini – And now for that dark green veggie. Rapini, or Italian broccoli, is a source of vitamins A, C, and K as well as iron, making it an extremely healthy choice of vegetable. It can even be substituted for pasta when enjoying tomato sauce dishes… but you may first need to ‘acquire a taste’ for it, and there’s no better time than the present, when it’s fresh and local!
The movement towards eating local foods and enjoying increased health and happiness because of it continues to grow. For locavores, people who prefer only locally grown food, taking advantage of farmer’s markets or pick-your-own locales is the next best thing to growing produce yourself! Let Ontario’s bounty fuel your body, mind and soul with healthy, fresh, local produce.
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In the context of today’s world, ‘consuming’ and ‘balance’ in the same sentence seems to be an oxymoron.
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