Fruits and Veggies

Your Ultimate Summer Fruit Nutrition Guide


PLUS! Three delicious, easy recipes you can add to your routine!

There are two types of people in this world: those who love summer for the sunshine and outdoor sports and those who get absurdly excited for their favorite fruits to come back in season.

Safe to say, we’re definitely the latter.

As Canadians, we’re forced to cherish the limited time we have with these delicious, temporary fruits because as quickly as they came, they’re often gone by August, leaving us a shell of the person we once we’re (this is getting very deep, we apologize.)

We have good reason for loving summer fruits, though, as they’re each packed with unique vitamins, minerals, and fibre that are necessary for maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle.

In this blog, we’re going to look at our favorite in-season fruits for summer and give you extra delicious and healthy recipes you can add to your routine!

What are the Benefits of Eating Fruits in-Season?

While it’s always better to try and eat local, available produce that grown in-season, we know that’s not always the most convenient or available option.

In-season produce will typically be higher in vitamins because it’s not being shipped for long periods of time, allowing the fruit or vegetable to degrade. It’s also better for the environment as shipping produce via train, airplane, boat, or truck often uses more energy and emits more greenhouse gases into the air.

So, if it is currently summer where you’re at now, take advantage of these delicious seasonal fruits!

The Best Summer Fruits

Here are our top picks for summer fruits. If you’re looking to incorporate even more fruits and vegetables into your diet, but aren’t sure how, speak to our certified personal trainers today who can create a custom nutrition plan based on your unique preferences!

Berries

Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries – take your pick, we love them all!

These sweet summer fruits are packed with vitamin A and C and are have a low glycemic index, meaning they won’t spike your blood sugar. They’re also packed with fibre and can be added to smoothies, on top of yogurt, or frozen for the perfect after dinner treat.

Our Favorite Summer Recipe: Strawberry Gummy Bands

This adult and kid-friendly recipe will take you back to your childhood as it’s a healthier alternative to the much-loved fruit roll-ups.

All you need to make this recipe is 225g of strawberries (destemmed) and a tablespoon of lemon or lime juice. That’s it!

Start by preheating the oven to the lowest temperature setting and puree your strawberries. Combine the pureed strawberries and lemon juice in a saucepan for 10 minutes until the moisture has evaporated.

Lay the final mixture on a lined baking pan and cook for about 4 hours until the gummy band is tacky. Once it’s cooled, you can roll it, cut it, or enjoy as-is! 

Watermelon

Nothing says summer like a juicy watermelon – seriously, tell us a time where you went to a barbeque and they didn’t have watermelon. It’s practically a rule.

These fruits, also high in vitamin C and A, are more well-known for their hydration. According to the Mayo Clinic, 92% of a watermelon is water! If you’re not a great water drinker, this might just be the better option for staying hydrated in the summer sun.

Mango

Mangos are absolutely the popular girl in school – they’re intimidating, beautiful to look at, and are an all-around fan favorite for summer!

As mangoes only ripen in the warmer months, it’s vital to pick one of these rainbow beauties up and use it in smoothies, salsa, chicken – the options are endless.

Mangoes are also rich in zeaxanthin, an antioxidant that helps in protecting eye health and filtering blue light rays.

Grapes

Grapes, in our humble opinion, are an incredibly underrated fruit. Yes, they’re a delicious and user-friendly snack, but they’re also packed with vitamins, including:

  • Vitamin B-1
  • Vitamin B-6
  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin E

They’re also the perfect freezing snack, which is how we make delicious sour grapes!

Our Favorite Summer Recipe: Sour Grapes

If you’ve been on TikTok recently, you will have seen the new crazy surrounding sour grapes! Some say it’s a healthier alternative to sour patch kids, but we’ll let you be the judge of that.

Here’s how to make them!

You’ll need:

  • .5 kg of grapes (we recommend green)
  • The juice of two limes
  • 96 g of sugar (your choice)

Combine these ingredients into a bowl and mix, making sure each grape is fully coated. Once they’ve been mixed, transfer the grapes onto a parchment paper-lined tray and set in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

After that, pop on of these sour grapes into your mouth and enjoy! 

Pineapple

Pineapple – the quintessential holiday fruit.

Filled with vitamin C, B, manganese, and fibre, this spiky fruit is a true inflammatory and arthritis fighter due to its concentration of bromelain.

Like watermelon, it’s also packed with water making it a great option if you’re not much of a water drinker.

Our Favorite Summer Recipe: Rainbow Pineapple Kabobs

This is our favorite, simple recipe for rainbow pineapple kabobs – aka the easiest and prettiest thing to bring to any party!

The fruits you will need are:

  • Blackberries
  • Cherries (de-pitted)
  • Kiwi
  • Pineapple
  • Cantaloupe
  • Strawberries

In the listed order above, start placing each piece of fruit on a wooden kabob stick and lay them flat. This is easily the simplest, but most eye-catching summer recipe there is!

Get Summer Ready with Fitness World!

Looking to up your nutrition and fitness game for summer? We’ve got you!

Head to Fitness World for help building an exercise and nutrition plan that’s right for you. We have everything you’ll need to get summer ready in no time: tanning, HydroMassage, fitness classes, and more!

Join today and let’s get started!