Enjoy summer's healthy bounty

Hot August days make the perfect excuse for a drive to E.Z. Orchards for peach shakes or shortcake, berry picking at Minto Brown, a stroll through the garden to pick tomatoes for a batch of fresh salsa, or husking sweet corn to roast on the grill. All of these excuses are packed with hefty doses of good nutrition, with the exception of an occasional shake or shortcake.

Peaches, berries, tomatoes, green beans and sweet corn are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber you won't find in foods with long shelf lives and fancy food labels. While these fruits and veggies are at their peak, take time these last few weeks of summer to introduce your kids to convenient treats and create fond memories while you pick, slice, and dice your way to health.

1. Peaches: These juicy succulent stone fruits offer 3 grams of fiber in a 70 calorie package and are packed with 333mg of potassium, a fair amount of vitamin C, as well as magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, and copper. The primary antioxidant is chlorogenic acid, which works along with other antioxidants to help prevent cancer and vascular disease.

2. Blackberries:

Boast some of the highest antioxidant levels based on the calculated ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) value and are coined "superfoods." They're also low in calories, at 60 calories per cup, and have nearly 8 grams of fiber per serving. Their seeds, skins, and fruit provide several antioxidants from the anthocyanin family including quercetin which has anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, Oregon State University researchers found high levels of gallic acid, ellagic acid which proved to have antiviral and antibacterial properties.

3. Tomatoes: While berries might be a super food, tomatoes have received plenty of research to support development of a "tomato pill." But, why wait for a prescription, when you can start early and eat the tomatoes as part of a healthy diet? Tufts researchers revealed consumption of tomatoes and tomato products was associated with a 26% reduction in cardiac disease in hundreds of patients who consumed them regularly over eleven years. At only 30 calories per cup, they offer plenty of lycopene, betacarotene, along with vitamin C and E to protect our vascular cells, reduce our LDL's, and improve cardiac health.

4. Sweet corn: Before omitting this "starchy" veggie from your diet, consider the fact it has roughly the same calories as a slice of bread, but a whole lot more lutein and zeaxanthin associated with reducing age related macular degeneration. In addition, it has less fructose than berries and peaches, and at least 5 grams of fiber, and the type of fiber associated with improving blood cholesterol and lowering our risk for colon cancer.

5. Beans: Picking pole beans and snapping them offer kids the opportunity to play with vegetables that pop. Beans are hearty and hold up well with even the roughest kids picking and preparing them for cooking or canning. They are low in calories, high in potassium, vitamin C and K, folate, along with those antioxidants found in sweet corn (betacarotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin) and offer 4 grams of fiber in their 444 calories per 1 cup serving.

For more ideas on getting kids into the kitchen, check out kidseatright.org.

Jeanine Stice is a registered dietitian at WVP Health Authority and can be reached at nutritionetcetera@gmail.com.