Winter looks different across the country, but whether or not the season leaves heaps of snow on your doorstep, there’s one thing everyone can agree on: bringing a little bit of sunshine indoors is always a good thing! We’ve collected a few recipes, including a showstopping Cucumber Citrus Salad from Le Petit Chef, that combines tasty tropical fruits with greenhouse grown veggies to inspire you and help warm up a cool winter day.
In the South, citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and limes are ready to be picked in January. It’s the perfect opportunity to bring some sunshine indoors, even though it isn’t always shining outdoors. To brighten up your meals, pair your favorite citrus ingredients with fresh produce – it’s a powerful combination of flavor, nutrients, and eye-popping color.
Pure Flavor® greenhouse grown veggies are available year-round because we are able to control the temperature of the environment, and the light and water our plants get – meaning you never have to wonder if your favorites are in season. With greenhouse growing, your favorite tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are always in season!
With oranges, lemons and other tropical citrus fruits, producers are limited to specific growing seasons, dictated by the sun and weather. When it comes to fresh Pure Flavor® veggies, that’s not the case at all – we use the most innovative growing technologies to make sustainable growing 365 days a year possible.
Another benefit of growing veggies in a controlled environment is that we are able to control all the important nutrients they receive. This helps them grow more quickly, with more flavor, and with more vitamins and minerals.
Year-round availability of greenhouse grown vegetables means people across North America can enjoy their favorite flavors while benefiting from all the healthy nutrients they contain.
Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers are loaded with vitamins – in fact, they contain more Vitamin C than and orange! It just so happens that the two pair perfectly for an incredible combination of flavor and health benefits.
Cucumbers are made up of 95% water, offering your body the hydration it needs to replenish itself and generate the energy to work, play and exercise. From our tiniest out-of-this-world, crispy crunchy Uno Bites™ Nano Cucumbers, to our large and juicy seedless Long English Cucumbers, you can find the right source of flavorful, natural hydration to fit any occasion.
Tomatoes contain many vitamins and nutrients, including Vitamins A, E and C. Perhaps their best claim to fame in the health world is their abundance of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that has been linked to improved heart health and may even play a role in combatting certain cancers. All our greenhouse grown tomatoes, including our lineup of snacking tomatoes, contain high amounts of lycopene.
Sometimes, the best health benefits you can get from fresh fruits and vegetables are the ones you feel in your body and mind. There’s just something about enjoying food that is truly fresh – grown in greenhouses and shipped straight to a grocery store near you – that puts a smile on peoples’ faces.
There’s a biological reason for the way we feel when we eat fresh. Not only do all these nutrients help boost our immune system and increase our natural energy levels, but they can add a sense of fresh, vibrant life in the middle of winter.
One of the best combinations of tropical fruits and greenhouse grown vegetables we’ve had the delight to try is from Denisse Salinas of Le Petit Chef who makes a beautiful Cucumber Citrus Salad that will knock your socks off and help you feel the sunshine of summer on a cool winter day.
Denisse starts her recipe by shaving paper-thin slices of Uno Bites™ Nano Cucumbers lengthwise with a mandoline. Next, she slices oranges and grapefruit into flat, round circles that, combined with the cucumber ribbons, look like colorful flower petals.
Top the salad with thinly sliced fennel bulb, which adds a delicate licorice flavor, mint and pomegranate seeds. The end result is a gorgeous painting with vibrant brush strokes of bright orange, pink, ruby and green. And if you think it looks amazing, just wait until you taste it!
If you’re looking for inspiration for how to bring some tropical fruits and veggie combinations into your kitchen this season, look no further.
On a cool winter day, take a short but sweet trip to a Florida citrus grove with a Floridian Citrus Salad. Tangy slices of grapefruit and oranges complement the sweetness of Luna Sweets Cocktail Tomatoes and mild flavor of Long English Cucumbers.
For a quick appetizer or dessert, chop up some Mini Cucumbers and slide them on a skewer to make Cucumber Mango Skewers. Pair them with Sparkling Peach Cucumber Lemonade and all you need to do is close your eyes to feel the gentle sea breeze of the tropics.
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