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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If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time you know that corn is my favorite vegetable/grain. Growing up in New England fresh corn was a summertime treat. Living in Florida, it is already corn season! Sweet Corn in Florida is harvested 9 months of the year so we are blessed with its juicy deliciousness most of the year.

When I told my husband I wanted to make a new corn on the cob recipe this week, he told me corn wasn’t in season yet, but he was wrong! I showed him the Buy Fresh From Florida Crops in Season chart on the Fresh From Florida website. We then headed to our local Publix and found Fresh From Florida Sweet Corn already shucked and packaged in the produce department, and it was on sale!

Print

Cheddar Bacon Florida Sweet Corn

Add this easy Fresh from Florida Cheddar Bacon Corn on the Cob recipe to your next barbecue.

Course Vegetable

Cuisine American

Prep Time 7 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 17 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Fresh from Florida

Ingredients

• 4 ears Fresh from Florida Sweet Corn
• Sour Cream
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Bacon Crumbles

Instructions

• Place shucked corn directly on a hot grill.
• Rotate and cook corn until charred and cooked, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Let cool for 5 minutes and spread sour cream on warm corn.
• Roll the corn in grated cheddar cheese and top with crumbled, cooked bacon.
• Portions of toppings based on preference

This recipe was so simple to make. We have been grilling corn for a while now and it really adds a new depth of flavor to the corn. We enjoyed this Florida Sweet Corn recipe and I’m sure we will be making it again. I got this recipe from the Fresh from Florida website. You can find lots of other great recipes using fresh from Florida produce. Make sure you follow Fresh from Florida on Instagram for great recipes and information.

I hope you enjoy all of the easy recipes I share here on The Mom Maven. Please share them on your social networks. I just ask that you not copy and share the entire recipe with photos. Please use the sharing buttons below and share the link to this page. Thanks!

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however all opinions expressed are my own. 

One of the many perks about living in Florida is that we can get Florida grown fruits and vegetables year round. Yes, seasons and availability change, but it is always harvest season for something delicious and local. We seldom have a harsh winter, and one good freeze sweetens a lot of the fruit. This winter lasted about 2 days and here in the Tampa Bay area we didn’t even have frost! How crazy is that? Due to our year round balmy climate, locally grown fruits and vegetables are always in season.

My top 3 favorite Fresh From Florida produce items are all in season right now! I regularly stop by my favorite farmers market to pick up strawberries, tomatoes, and sweet corn! March is also a great month for bell peppers, cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers, oranges, grapefruit, guava, squash and several more fruits and veggies.

I have some friends who work in the Florida citrus business and I’ve seen how hard they work so that we can have locally sourced produce on our tables. It is easy to walk into a farmers market or grocery store and find the Fresh from Florida label on the healthy foods my family needs. I love that I can support my fellow Floridians by buying Florida grown produce, all year long.

I don’t want you to miss out on any of our Fresh from Florida produce so make sure you look for it at your local grocery store and Follow the Fresh on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for recipes and other Fresh from Florida information.

The post Fresh from Florida is Always in Season appeared first on The Mom Maven.

In all honesty, in my house we are really bad about eating our veggies. I know this is something we really need to work on. We all need to eat healthier and vegetables are a part of a healthy diet. Living in Florida it seems there are always vegetables in season, I just need to actually buy them, prepare them and eat them. Today’s recipe is one that I think my mom would love and I hope you do too.

Pan Roasted Florida Vegetables

This recipe comes from the Fresh From Florida website. **This recipe is a bit more involved than my usual “Easy Recipes” but I think you can do this!

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, large diced (remove skin if desired)
• 2 zucchini, large diced
• 2 large squash, large diced
• 2 bell peppers, seeded and diced large
• 6 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 12 mushrooms, rinsed and quartered
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, hand torn
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
• canola or olive oil for cooking
• sea salt to taste
• fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Pre heat a large-sized sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the hot pan. Add half of the onion to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add half of the garlic and all the bell peppers to the onion mixture in the pan. Continue to cook the vegetables in the pan and add all of the yellow squash and zucchini to the pan.
2. Lightly season the cooking vegetables with salt and pepper. Let the vegetables cook until the squash is just crisp-tender (about two minutes). Remove the vegetables from the pan into a large serving bowl. Place the sauté pan back over the heat and use a spatula to remove any debris.
3. Once the pan is hot again, add 1 tablespoon oil and the other half of the diced onion. Let the onions cook for 2 minutes and then add the garlic, mushrooms and eggplant. Lightly season the cooking vegetables with salt and pepper. Let the vegetables cook until the eggplant is just tender (about 2 minutes).
4. Remove the vegetables from the pan and place them into the bowl with the other vegetables. Add the fresh herbs to the bowl of vegetables and stir to combine. Serve warm.

Do you have a favorite recipe for fresh veggies? Please share your link or pin in the comments.

The post Recipe-Pan Roasted Florida Vegetables appeared first on The Mom Maven.

It’s the new year and most of us have made resolutions to eat healthier, lose weight etc. One way to reach those goals is to eat fresh foods. Here in Florida we can get a lot of fresh meats, seafood and produce at our local Farmer’s Markets. The one closest to my house is open on Saturdays from November-May and we can get shrimp, beef, tomatoes, strawberries, oranges and lots of other Fresh From Florida food items.

Ron, Aaron and I love shrimp so I used some Florida shrimp to make my version of the Spicy Tropical Shrimp recipe found on the Fresh From Florida Website.

Easy recipes- Spicy Tropical Shrimp

Ingredients

• 1 1/2lbs shrimp peeled and deveined
• 1 cup diced pineapple
• 2 TBS fresh lime juice
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 2 TBS honey
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sweet orange habenero seasoning

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a gallon zippy bag and toss well.
2. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3. Drain.
4. Place shrimp and pineapple on broiler pan.
5. Broil 3-4 inches from heat source for 3-5 minutes or until shrimp are opaque and pineapple begins to brown.

What I Changed

The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of diced water chestnuts. None of us like water chestnuts and that ingredient wouldn’t make or break the recipe so I left them out. I also added the sweet orange habanero seasoning. The recipe is called, “Spicy Tropical Shrimp” but…the original recipe included nothing spicy. This is why I decided to spice it up with the sweet orange habanero seasoning.

Our Thoughts

We all enjoyed the meal but felt that even with the added seasoning it really wasn’t spicy enough. I am currently thinking about what other spices could be added to up the flavor in this average dish.

I’d love for you to tell me about your favorite shrimp dishes! I’m always looking for new ways to make my fresh from Florida shrimp.

If you’d like more recipes and healthy living ideas make sure you follow Fresh from Florida on Twitter and Facebook, I do!

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