9 Spring Fruits & Veggies Your Family Will Love

Spring is here and with it comes an opportunity to have a fresh start with your family’s usual foods. Together, you and your family can enjoy exploring new fruits and veggies as they become available near you at a farmer’s market and your grocery store. There are so many different spring fruits and vegetables for your family to explore, and when you choose foods that are in season, you’re getting the freshest and most delicious choices!

If your kids are weary of trying new foods, try making it fun and don’t put any pressure on them to taste anything the don’t want to. You can talk about a food’s color, texture, smell, how it grows, if there are little bugs hiding in the leaves (that’s how you know it’s fresh!). When you treat new foods as an adventure, it helps to get your picky eater to be more excited than fearful about these new flavors, textures, and colors.

The best way to find spring produce is to visit your local farmer’s market or farm stand, or look into a local CSA (community supported agriculture), a weekly produce subscription from a local farm. Here is a directory published by USDA where you can find a market near you. You will get the best deals, the freshest product, and you can support your local economy. If you don’t have a farmer’s market nearby, keep an eye out at your local supermarket, many stores now feature local produce.

Let’s head to the farmer’s market! Here is what to look for:

1. Spinach

Spinach is an early spring veggie sure to pop up at your local farmer’s market while the weather is still crisp and cool. Spinach, rich in vitamin K, folic acid and iron, can also be tucked into sandwiches, tossed into smoothies and sautéed with olive oil and garlic for a quick side dish. Your children will love helping you to wash, dry and chop the spinach leaves.

2. Sorrel

While you’re looking for spinach, keep an eye out for the tart, lemon-flavored green called sorrel. Sorrel can be used as an herb, minced and tossed with other spring greens - this lets the flavor not overpower the salad. Sorrel is also delicious sautéed and paired with fish or chicken, just like you might sauté spinach with some olive oil and garlic. Sorrel is rich in vitamins A and C as well as fiber. 

3. Baby Carrots

True baby carrots, crisp and sweet young carrots that have been sweetened by frost, have so much flavor and crunch! You may even find carrots in a rainbow of colors at your local farmer’s market. Try roasting baby carrots, or even slicing a few and letting them soak in pickle juice brine for a crunchy and salty snack.

4. Strawberries

Children who are involved in all aspects of food prep are more likely to enjoy eating fruits and vegetables. What better way to be a food explorer than to go strawberry picking as a family? Tender, sweet strawberries are nestled amongst the leaves, ready for your child to find them. Look for a local U-pick farm and let your adventure begin!

Enjoy tender fresh strawberries whole as a snack, sliced onto toast, or paired with fresh baby lettuce for a delicate spring salad. You can pick a lot and save money when you freeze more for later; you receive the boost of vitamin C either way! Click here to find a farm near you. 

5. Radishes

Did you know that radishes and broccoli are cousins? They are both in the brassica family. Radish seeds grow really fast. Make a mini window garden by poking drainage holes in the bottom of your container and filling with potting soil. Sprinkle a few radish seeds into tiny holes, cover, gently pat the soil down and water. 

Your children can start tasting tiny leaves as they grow and pull out radishes over the next 2-3 weeks, reporting back to you about how the taste changes as the plants grow up. You can serve this healthy spring vegetable by slicing into salads, sprinkling on to tacos and tucking into sandwiches for a little zippy crunch. Or try the French way; sliced in half and topped with a bit of butter and salt. Eating radishes supports your gut health.

6. Rhubarb

Rhubarb looks kind of like red celery and is tart-tasting, like cranberries! Rhubarb is often used in dessert dishes, including strawberry rhubarb pie, but it can also be added to muffins, coffee cakes, and jam. Swirl rhubarb jam into plain or vanilla yogurt for a new flavor for your family to try! If you like orange cranberry muffins, you’ll want to try rhubarb muffins. Rhubarb is rich in vitamin K - the vitamin that helps your kiddo’s blood to clot when they scrape their knees playing outside. Be sure to throw away the leaves, they are not safe to eat. Rhubarb stems are almost always cooked before eaten.

7. Lettuce

Did you know that there are many different kinds of lettuce? Branch out with your family and taste test a few! Some lettuce leaves are more crunchy than others, some are more tender. Some lettuce is bitter and others are sweet. Lettuce can be picked when it is small or you can let it grow to be bigger, more crunchy and perhaps have a stronger flavor. 

8. Swiss Chard

Rainbow chard, as beautiful as a bouquet of flowers, captures the attention of your whole family. The stems are a good sub for celery - rinse and dice them and sauté them with onions or garlic. The leaves are a great sub for any recipe calling for baby spinach. The flavor is mild - sautéing Swiss chard with scrambled eggs in the morning is a quick way to kick off your day with vegetables as well as a boost of vitamins A, C and K.

9. Asparagus

Asparagus is a signal that spring has sprung! Tender, green stalks poke out of the ground as the frozen ground thaws. If asparagus is new to your kiddo, let them pretend the stalks are magic wands, swords, or drum sticks. Then, let them help you break off the woody ends so that you can all enjoy them together - without fear over a new, unfamiliar vegetable. 

Asparagus is delicious gently steamed, roasted, or grilled. Add your child’s favorite seasonings or toppings - garlic, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese are my favorite way to enjoy roasted asparagus! Any way you cook it, you’ll enjoy a boost of minerals including iron, copper and manganese. 

Which spring fruit or vegetable are you most excited to try? Let me know in the comments!