There are pros and cons to living anywhere, even Florida. For me the 2 biggest Florida cons are traffic and heat. We just finished the hottest February on record with 22 days in the 80s! Thankfully this week we are back in the 70s (my favorite) so we get a bit of a respite. Soon enough we will be in the upper 80s and 90s for 8-9 months, UGH! Thankfully there are a lot of pros to living in Florida and my top 3 would be family,  Walt Disney World, year round fresh local produce. I usually buy my fresh local produce at my favorite farmer’s market but I haven’t had time to make that drive recently so instead, I shop at Publix because I know I can get Fresh from Florida Produce in their stores.

I like to support local businesses and farmers and one way I do that is to shop local, farmers markets or Publix, a Florida based supermarket, and make sure that the fruits and veggies I buy have the Fresh from Florida label. By buying locally grown produce I know it is fresh and I am helping my state’s economy by supporting Florida farmers.

On my recent trip to Publix I picked up some strawberries, tomatoes, snap beans, and green bell peppers which were all Florida grown. As you can see from the picture, I wasn’t the only person shopping for Florida snap beans, there was only about 1 serving left! We’ve enjoyed the strawberries with whipped cream for a light and healthy dessert, I’ve had delicious tomato sandwiches for lunch and I made the snap beans for a dinner side dish. I got the green bell peppers for Jordan who will be cooking them up this weekend.

Here is a great chart that shows what produce is in season when in Florida. The Fresh from Florida website is full of great information including recipes and how-to videos so that you can make Florida produce a part of your family’s menu plan. You can also follow the fresh on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for even more recipes and food preparation ideas.

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