Nowadays, when you step into a supermarket, you find all kinds of produce—seasonal and non-seasonal. Although non-seasonal produce may look great, it's not as healthy as seasonal produce which was grown in the area where you live and was plucked after ripening on the vine. Produce which has ripened on the vine has a richer flavor than produce that ripened while it was being transported. Additionally, it contains more nutrients than produce that did not ripen on the vine. This is why it's best for seniors to eat locally grown produce such as the kind you'll find at the Summerville farmer's market. Below are some recipes for creating healthy snacks for seniors. Read on!
End-of-Summer Produce in South Carolina
If you or your senior live in Orangeburg, Santee, Summerton, or Ridgeville, keep in mind that the following produce will be in season at the end of summer:
Fruits
- Apples: August to November
- Blueberries: May to August
- Cantaloupe: June to August
- Figs: July to August
- Grapes: July to October
- Melons: June to September
- Peaches: May to August
- Tomatoes: June to October
- Watermelon: June to September
Vegetables
- Basil: May to September
- Beans: May to October
- Cucumber: June to August
- Edamame: June to September
- Eggplant: June to October
- Garlic: May to October
- Mushrooms: All year
- Okra: May to October
- Onions: March to November
- Peanuts: September to December
- Pecans: September to December
- Peppers: June to September
- Potatoes: May to August
- Summer Squash: May to October
- Sweet Potatoes: August to February
- Zucchini: May to October
Recipes Featuring End-of-Summer Produce
There are many great ways for seniors to eat end-of-season produce. Below are some ways you can incorporate these ingredients when preparing healthy snacks for seniors.
Using Fruits
When it comes to fruit, you can just eat it by itself or make a fruit salad by cutting up 3-4 types of fruit. You can also make fruit juices and smoothies. Here are some ingredients that you can put in smoothies:
- You can add whatever seasonal fruit you have at hand.
- Peanut butter, almond butter, and chia seeds can also be added to smoothies for healthy fats.
- Flavors like vanilla, cinnamon, honey, and maple syrup also make a good addition.
- If you like the taste of vegetables like cucumber and basil, you can add these to smoothies too. And sprinkle a few crushed pecans on top.
Using Vegetables
When it comes to vegetables, late summer can be a great time for seniors to eat Italian food, given that tomatoes and basil are in season. Here are some ways you can create healthy snacks for seniors using different seasonal vegetables.
- Pasta Sauce: You can make a large batch of pasta sauce and use it for a couple of weeks. All you need is olive oil, an onion (also in season), garlic (in season), basil (in season), dried oregano, tomatoes (in season), salt, pepper, and sugar if you want to add a hint of sweetness.
- Pasta Sauce With Veggies: You can also make pasta with veggies by sauteing peppers (in season), mushrooms (in season), and zucchini (in season) and adding these to the pasta sauce.
- Mini Pizzas: Pizza sauce pretty much requires the same ingredients as pasta sauce, but it's made thicker by cooking it for longer. You can spread it over slices of bread with shredded mozzarella cheese and put it in the oven for mini-pizzas which are a great anytime snack.
- Caprese Sandwich: You can also buy French bread, cut it in half, and make a Caprese sandwich with slices of tomato, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and salt and pepper to taste. It's easy to make but, with fresh produce, it's amazingly delicious.
- Fries: When it comes to potatoes and sweet potatoes, you can slice them and shallow fry them with a drizzle of olive oil to get French fries which are somewhat healthier than those you would get at the supermarket or in a restaurant.
Contact us at Senior Helpers for more great end-of-summer recipe ideas and how to create healthy snacks for seniors and their caregivers.