Something to consider when deciding what to eat is the concept of eating seasonally. Our ancestors did this without a doubt. In fact, many of our parents may remember a time before the local market carried fruit year round – thanks to it being flown in from the southern hemisphere. One problem with the modern diet is it’s lack of variety. We eat some things way too often (this can lead to food intolerances) and many things rarely or never. A lack of variety in the diet can easily lead to nutrient deficiencies. One commonality in all hunter-gatherer societies that have been studied is a huge variety of plants and animals in the diet.

If you eat what is in season, you will get some of this variety build in. Now is the time to enjoy most fruits and berries, and soon we’ll have squash and pumpkins to enjoy. Below is a recipe using some seasonal fruits.

Toasted Fruit Rings

This month’s breakfast idea is a simple fruit suggestion. I originally just did this with spiced apples, but later I experimented with pears. I found that if you added jelly or some berries, you could begin to recreate the taste of toast and jelly. Not exactly, but similar enough to be good.

Time: 5 minutes

• crisp apple (jazz apples work well)
or
• crisp pear (try bosc pears)
• cinnamon

Remove the core of the apple or pear. An apple corer will make this very easy, but you can always do it with a knife. Cut around both ends; push the core out. Next, slice your fruit into 1/4 inch thick rings.

Meanwhile, heat a teaspoon of coconut oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add your fruit rings, then top with cinnamon, chili powder, or a mix of both. Many possibilities here, play around a little! Flip the rings over after 2-3 minutes, toast for 2-3 minutes more. Covering your skillet will hasten the process, but beware that this may make the fruit rings a little less crisp. Serve warm.

As mentioned above, a very small amount of berries or jelly(use real jelly, w/o high frutcose corn syrup) can make a great topping, as well. Of course, top with the jelly when you serve the fruit if you go this route.

A toaster oven or stovetop grill may work well for making these as well. I have not tried this route, though.