“This post was sponsored by Fresh From Florida as part of Influencer Activation for Influence Central.”#FreshFromFlorida, #IC
Last October I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Florida for 2 conferences. One was a travel bloggers conference the other was for the World Food Championship Blogger Summit. Oh my it was amazing! I had so much fun. We were catered to, pampered and fed like there was no tomorrow. It was wonderful to learn all about Fresh From Florida’s locally grown produce, seafood, and other commodities.
Just a little about Florida, did you know Florida ranked second in the U.S. for vegetable production; first of course in the production for oranges, next in line are fresh market tomatoes, watermelons, grapefruit, fresh market snap beans, fresh market cucumbers and squash; second in the production of greenhouse and nursery products, are bell peppers, strawberries, fresh market sweet corn, spring potatoes, tangerines and avocados; did you know Florida comes in 12th in beef cows?Florid accounts for 63% of total U.S. citrus production. Your not surprised about the 63% in citrus. I would say this is a pretty healthy report card.
We were welcomed by many local farms and were treated like royalty. There were two farms that stood out to me. The first is My Yard Farm which provided the most delicious tomato salad with a tasty seasoning spray. I learned about a micro greens which I had never heard of before, they are beautiful tiny versions of larger greens and could not be prettier.
See tiny versions of larger plants.
And here is a look at the beautiful Tomato Salad they served us and look at the beautiful micro greens on top. All locally grown in Florida.
We were hosted by Long and Scott Farms for a breakfast of fresh fruit (grown locally of course) with pastries and fresh juice. I was very impressed to see the whole farm decked out with Old Glory! Being a military family it warmed my heart to see them flying all over this farm.
We were then able to really see how local Florida growers work their land. We piled high on large hay laden wagons. We were taken out into their corn fields where they told us all about the history of their farm and how they grow mostly corn, but they did grow other produce as well.
A photo posted by Laura Food & Lifestyle (@pinkcakeplate) on
I cannot tell you how much I learned about the local growers and the beautiful produce that comes out of Florida. Honestly I was surprised, I thought Florida was all about theme parks and alligators which isn’t a bad thing but I was certainly educated about the wonderful bounty in Florida.
Some of my favorite fruits and veggies can be found at your local Florida markets including Blueberries,Tomatoes,Sweet Corn and Watermelon. With spring and summer here brings on the outdoor celebrations and lots of cooking for friends and family. From summer barbecues to spring cookouts, or simply just enjoying the sunshine, a plate full of colorful, locally grown food is always welcome. From local farms to our kitchen tables, Fresh From Florida and the Florida Department of Agriculture guarantees fresh and delicious food that makes every recipe a win. Beautiful produce and fresh fruits inspire healthy and wholesome meals for the whole family to enjoy. Produce that is locally grown in the wonderful state of Florida will always create that perfect recipe for those spring and summer activities.
I hope you come back next week when I share with you my recipe inspired by Fresh From Florida produce. I promise you will want to make this for your Memorial Day celebration!
