Well there goes the strangest summer many of us will ever have. We’re all mourning the postponed summer holidays and now we must contend with the long nights drawing it. It can be really tough to stay healthy in winter; the combination of chilly weather and comfort food is the perfect combination to pile on pounds so quickly that you’ll be passing for old Saint Nick in a few months.

Calorie battles aside however, boosting your immune system may be easier than you think, with plenty of delicious fruit varieties continuing to thrive well into the winter. Even though the fruit on offer at this time of year can be comparatively limited, the quality of certain varieties of fruit has even been known to improve locally in the autumn months.

Full disclosure this list of the best seasonal winter fruit comes from a published resource on the Fruitful Office website (a London based fruit delivery company). While you’re bundled up in your office on these short wintery days, get some of these delicious winter office fruits delivered directly to your office to keep your health and happy levels high. You can apply for a free, no obligation quote here. 

Alternatively if you’re not back at the office yet (#lockdownlife) then you can try one of their ‘homebox’ deliveries that come straight to your house. You can read more about these on this page. Anyway, let’s crack on with the list!

1) Oranges

A must have now more than ever, the ‘self-wrapped’ orange is particularly easy to deal with in the ‘new normal’ of Covid health and safety.  There are plenty of different varieties of oranges that thrive in the winter, and they’re all very popular thanks to their abundance in vitamin C – A single orange will net you around 92% of your daily requirement in fact. Clementine and mandarin oranges are readily available in the winter, and the Satsuma orange in particular is easy to peel and wards off the cold. 

2) Kiwis

The kiwi fruit is filled with fibre and vitamin C – over one and a half times an adult’s daily recommended amount! Originally from New Zealand, Italy is now the largest kiwi fruit producer. 

Pro tip: If your kiwi is soft, it’s no good; make sure it is firm in your hand. 

Bonus pro tip: Cut the top off like a boiled egg and eat it with a teaspoon for a mess free vitamin boost.

3) Bananas

A plump, yellow banana with brown flecks is perfectly ripe. Easy to eat and to add to other foods, it’s no wonder that the banana is a firm favourite year round – particularly with its high levels of potassium which will help everything from your heart to your nervous system perform correctly.

Fun fact: Have you ever wondered why banana flavoured drinks and sweets don’t really taste much like a real banana? The answer (supposedly) lies with how the original artificial banana flavour was created – it was derived from an old banana species called the ‘Gros Michel’ that was almost wiped out by a deadly fungus, this led to a different strain of banana becoming the mainstream (the bananas we eat en mass today). Banana artificial flavouring reportedly tastes much more like a Gros Michel than the bananas we can buy today.

4) Cranberries

Cranberries are mostly available in September and October. I.e. they’re coming perfectly into season in the UK right about now. They’re filled with nutrients and antioxidants to boost your immunity and keep you healthy – plus, they’re very easy to eat. You can go the other way of course and drink cranberry juice to avail of many of the same benefits in liquid form, however you’ll miss out on the fibre of eating the whole berry. 

5) Apples

Apples are a fruit with some of the widest varieties available. The British apple does very well in the wintertime, with the Royal Gala variety and the tasty Pink Lady being firm favourites at this time of year. Beside their famous doctor-repelling prowess they are famously high in Vitamin C and contain polyphenols – another antioxidant. 

Pro Apple Tip: If you want to keep your apples fresher for longer keep them refrigerated rather than in your fruit bowl. They ripen six to ten times faster when at room temperature!

6) Grapes

Bright, plump grapes are readily available in winter (albeit not as a local UK product). They’re an excellent source of Vitamin A. Red grapes in particular taste very sweet and contain vitamins and minerals that are excellent for the skin. 

For some fun team bonding exercises – encourage co-workers to hand-feed you your chosen colour of grapes and fan you with ostrich feathers while you recline in the break room.

7 Pears

The humble pear comes in at number 7. Did you know there are over 3000 species of pear world-wide? They deserve pride of place ahead of the apple frankly – look at the nutritional facts and decide for yourself:

Apple and pears contain approximately equal amounts of sodium, phosphorus and potassium, but pears contain more of many other essential minerals such as calcium magnetism, iron, copper and zinc! You get much more bang for your buck with a pear, all for 100 calories (less than your average biscuit).

Another fun fact – That ‘artificial banana flavour’ we talked about earlier? It’s chief component is a compound known as isoamyl acetate, when it’s watered down it actually smells more like pear than banana! Have you ever noticed a similarity between the two? Yeah me neither. 

With such a wide variety of delicious fruits available no matter what the season, there’s no need to constrict your enjoyment of fruit to the warmer months. Try out some of these delicious winter fruit varieties and make sure that you keep colds and flu at bay this winter. 

Stay Safe and Stay Healthy All!

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