Celebrate BC Day with Local Produce

BC Day is here! Whether you’re using the long weekend to go hiking, camping, planning a canoe trip, having an outdoor barbeque, or just relaxing at home, you’ll want to have nourishing vegetables and fruits with you. Celebrate BC Day in style with some of these in-season, Vancouver Island-grown local fruits and veggies.

Peppers, whether green, yellow, orange, or red, are versatile culinary superstars that can be enjoyed raw or cooked! They are at their best during the summer, and with three times more Vitamin C than an orange, don’t miss out on these on BC Day! They are also an excellent source of Vitamin A and are high in antioxidant content.

Often hailed as one of the healthiest foods with high antioxidants and cancer-fighting benefits, Kale is also a versatile superstar in the culinary world. Whether you’re making kale chips, steaming them, or having a nice cold green smoothie on a hot summer day, kale is an excellent dose of nutrients.

Have you ever tried to eliminate tomatoes from your diet? It’s nearly impossible! Whether in soups, salads, pastas, or sauces, tomatoes have seemingly endless culinary usages. They also have an excellent amount of Vitamin C and E, folate, potassium, and beta-carotene. Cooking tomatoes enhances the lycopene and beta-carotene content.

Runner beans are nutritional champions with numerous health benefits. High in fibre, protein, Vitamin A, B, C, and K, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, folate, and manganese.  Like most beans, runner beans taste great sautéed with just garlic and olive oil.

Strawberries are one of the most popular fruits in the world for their sweetness and succulence. They go well with more dishes than you might think. Strawberries taste great in a spinach salad, in a fruit pie, or on its own dipped in chocolate or condensed milk! It’s important to buy organic strawberries, ensuring that there are no agrochemicals or pesticides in these scrumptious berries.