In Season: 6 Summer Picks For Your Health

The sun is blazing and farmers markets are popping up everywhere. Yes, it seems summer has arrived. Lucky for us -- and our bodies -- the early summer season also brings with it a fresh crop of nutrient-rich superfoods.

During the spring and summer it is easier than ever to get a hold of fresh produce. With all of the choices out there, we've narrowed down a list of six of the most delicious -- and best for you -- seasonal picks. Whether you're making yourself a packed lunch for work, hosting a dinner party on your deck or having a picnic, these foods can be easily added into your meals alongside year-round staples.

1 of 6

Baby Beets

1 of 7

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

Although beets are available year-round, young beets are particularly fresh during the spring months. Varietals can be found in array of brilliant colors -- yellow and orange in addition to the traditional deep red. Besides being low-calorie and virtually fat-free, beets are incredibly nutrient-rich. They are a good source of Vitamin C, potassium (which has been shown to reduce blood pressure), manganese and folate, and the vegetable's rich color comes from beta-carotene, which is a major source of Vitamin A. How to Buy and Eat Registered dietitian and author of "American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide," Roberta Larson Duyff, counts baby beets as one of her favorite healthy choices for spring. She urges consumers to use the beet's greens and stalks, as well as the beet itself. Duyff recommends buying beets at a local market or Whole Foods and roasting them in the oven with a bit of olive oil, or including them raw in a salad. "When you get beets, don't cut off the tops and throw away the greens," she says. "Slice them and toss them into your salad, or stir-fry them the way that you would spinach."

Poland Face Transplant

Health Benefits Of Friendship

gadgets/slideshows/298735/slide_298735_2482900_small.jpg

Oklahoma Tornado Coverage

Travis Steffen's GPS Guide

Unexpected Side Benefits Of Exercise

12 Things We Learned From The Harvard Sleep Summit

Although beets are available year-round, young beets are particularly fresh during the spring months. Varietals can be found in array of brilliant colors -- yellow and orange in addition to the traditional deep red. Besides being low-calorie and virtually fat-free, beets are incredibly nutrient-rich. They are a good source of Vitamin C, potassium (which has been shown to reduce blood pressure), manganese and folate, and the vegetable's rich color comes from beta-carotene, which is a major source of Vitamin A.

How to Buy and Eat
Registered dietitian and author of "American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide," Roberta Larson Duyff, counts baby beets as one of her favorite healthy choices for spring. She urges consumers to use the beet's greens and stalks, as well as the beet itself. Duyff recommends buying beets at a local market or Whole Foods and roasting them in the oven with a bit of olive oil, or including them raw in a salad.

"When you get beets, don't cut off the tops and throw away the greens," she says. "Slice them and toss them into your salad, or stir-fry them the way that you would spinach."

comments(22)

Total comments: 22 | Post a Comment

1 of 7

This Superfood

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

No, thanks. Looks delicious!

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Top 5 Superfoods

loading...

Top 5 Superfoods

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

The Bottom Line

Go forth, eat superfoods and prosper. But, remember that the best way to ensure that you get the greatest health benefits from these foods is to include them in a balanced diet -- just take a cue from MyPlate. No one food is a shortcut to a healthy lifestyle.

Says Duyff, "It's really the whole diet that is super." And when the foods you are buying come from a local source, have been picked recently and are integrated into a home-cooked meal, nothing is more "super" than that.

Comments

[AlwaysAnObie]

09:05 PM on 06/13/2011

I like how this article says blueberries & kale are super healthy, while another one on Huffpo says, unless you buy them organic, eat them at your peril.

[brotherdoc]

06:50 PM on 06/12/2011

Man would love to see fresh figs in a local market. I don't know what zones fig trees are hardy in but it must not include where I live. Never met anyone with a fig tree....Guess they like places like Israel and Palestine, they are in the Bible!

[Jamesb333]

08:38 AM on 06/12/2011

I've found the best way to eat Kale is cooked with onions and cannellini beans. Got this recipe from the Food Network"s "Neelys" Great southern dish.

[Daws]

07:52 AM on 06/12/2011

I still haven't had beets yet (adding them to the shopping list!).

[kudzumaster]

10:55 AM on 06/12/2011

Try them fresh grated and tossed with pecans and balsamic vinegar. Best slaw ever. :)

[Daws]

02:54 PM on 06/12/2011

That sounds tasty! Thank you :)

[50PlusSam]

03:24 AM on 06/12/2011

There is no argument about the importance of fruits and vegetables in our diet and their contribution to our health but let us not forget that the fruits contain plenty of sugar, especially watermelon, so we must limit the consumption.
http://www.lifestyle-after50.com/fruits_and_vegetables.html

[LovingFit]

06:16 AM on 06/12/2011

I don't think fruit sugar should be limited. I am a huge fruit and especially watermelon lover, I probably eat over 20 servings of fruit on a daily basis, and I've eaten like that since I was a child. I feel and look great, so fruit sugar will stay in my diet as long as I live.

http://www.lovingfit.com

[Coogabooga]

02:29 AM on 06/12/2011

Vitamin K : essential FOR blood clotting, not against. If you take blood thinners (coumadin) watch your green leafy veggie intake because it has an antidotal effect on your medication.

[KarateKid]

11:46 PM on 06/11/2011

Blueberries are one of my favorites. I like to put some in a small bowl, then pour some Blueberry Kefir over them. Yum. It's also good with chopped strawberries mixed in, also.

[michael medeiros]

11:27 PM on 06/11/2011

The price of blueberries has gone up but the benefits from them are to great for me not to get them. I am a big fan of greens like kale and spinach also.
http://exerciseandnutritiontips.com

[deepintheheartoftejas]

09:25 PM on 06/11/2011

I only discovered garlic scapes a couple years ago. I'd easily trade them over every other item in the slide-show. They're great for stir-fries, fabulous for pesto, stupendous for garnishes on salads or meats.

[leftyirishwoman]

08:37 PM on 06/11/2011

Kale is easy to grow and store. We plant a row and have managed to keep it producing April through November for the last three years. Blanch it lightly and pack it away in quart sized freezer bags for the rest of the year.

[Gasparilla]

09:46 PM on 06/11/2011

I like to mix greens. Usually collards or kale with mustard or turnip greens.

[sleek]

08:07 PM on 06/11/2011

Kale chips rock.

[ConnectedTraveler]

07:54 PM on 06/11/2011

Peaches, nectarines, cantaloupe, golden apples, rome apples wow I am going to the market right now!!!!!!

[AZreb]

07:19 PM on 06/11/2011

Blueberries look great - problem is that they are over $2.50 a pound!!!!

[Ms NYC]

03:51 PM on 06/11/2011

I never heard of garlic scapes. I think I'll take a walk to the farmers market.

[jgarma]

02:38 PM on 06/11/2011

Good post and important, too, because we do both our bodies and the planet a great service when we eat fresh food from the earth (instead of processed, manufactured "food") that's in season and grown locally.

The body thrives on fresh veggies, particularly organic, and the earth appreciates less carbon emitted into the air when consumers' choose locally grown foods that don't need to be transported thousands of miles.

So, a good list in the above post. But there's plenty of more super foods to know about.

"Eat Right by the Numbers" introduces readers to sectarian billionaire David Murdock and his research into "A Billionaire's Recipe for Longevity" and Men's Heath's report on "The 40 Best Age-Erasing Superfoods": http://wp.me/pA04z-Cc