My husband and I are in Dubrovnik, Croatia, home to an incredibly pristine example of a medieval walled city, the clearest water I have ever seen in a city harbor, and luscious, perfectly ripe apricots.

When we eat fruit in season, we are getting it at its best tasting, and it’s cheapest. This is when we can get our children enamored with fruit and educate their palates–help them love something that is unprocessed and really good for them.

Two of our daughters came to visit us on this trip and we got them obsessed with apricots right away. It wasn’t hard. At their first bite both of their faces lit up and their eyes widened. Every morning we would enjoy two or three each. In the afternoon, one of them would remind us to “pick up more apricots” at the market. Completely hooked!

In the Doctrine & Covenants it says in Section 89:11:

” Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.“

I love the word prudence in the above verse of scripture. I feel like what God is saying is if we are wise, when the fruit is at its best tasting we can think of ways to preserve it for when it isn’t plentiful and cheap. Because we live in a very accessible food world this is seen as too much trouble and work. We can buy preserved fruit in the winter, but in America at least, sugar is added and other things I cannot pronounce. The best time to preserve fruit is when we don’t have to. Then we can start learning the skill it takes. When we buy a food hydrator, or use our freezer we are preserving fruit in a very easy way. We then can really stretch ourselves and learn to can fruit or salsa which takes more skill and time, but worth it to me for the taste. I have loved drying peaches and pears and enjoying them while snow is falling outside. The only fruit canning I do is peach jam. All of it tastes like summer to me, every time.

When I eat and enjoy perfectly ripe fruit I feel thankful that I get to eat the wide variety that I do “in the season thereof” . I feel God loving me so much and blessing me abundantly with His creations. As I try to avoid sugar as much as I can, I am so glad there is a healthier and delectable option for me to eat, that will help my body instead of harming it. Eating fruit in season is a triple play! Delicious, cheap and healthy!