Summertime brings a rainbow of fresh and healthy produce to grocery stores and farmers markets across the country. From gooseberries to zucchini blossoms, many unique fruits and veggies reach their peak during the summer months.
With fresh produce available, figuring out where to find the best fruits and veggies at the height of freshness can be a challenge. Using GPS technology, the Locavore app helps users find the closest farms, farmers’ markets or grocers carrying a specific in-season item. The app also recommends seasonal recipes and allows users to share their foodie finds via Facebook and Twitter.
When a farmers market isn’t in close proximity, a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) share can be a great option. Local farms ship out packages of the freshest produce to homes or workplaces. As these packages often contain new and unexpected fruits and vegetables, an app like Produce Guide or Harvest can come in handy, providing tips about how to store and prepare the items. With the Big Oven app, users can incorporate their new produce with what is already in the fridge by using the leftovers function that suggests recipes based on three ingredients.
Nothing is worse than buying a piece of fruit and bringing it home only to find out it is either too ripe or not ripe enough. The Melon Meter app analyzes the sound made when a smartphone is tapped against a watermelon to gauge its ripeness. In the future, smartphones equipped with mini spectrometers may have the ability to determine the freshness of produce and advise whether or not a consumer should make a purchase.
Trying new foods and recipes during the summer can help start healthy habits that last year round.