Cherry season is here! Sweet cherries are one of my favorite grab-and-go healthy snacks for summer. Take advantage of the freshest cherries in your grocery store now; they won’t be around for long!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Northwest Cherry Growers. I was compensated for my time. Thank you for supporting the partners that support Street Smart Nutrition!

Time for a story: I was still in college when I lived on my own for the first time. “On my own” meant out of my parents’ house, but my roommates were all doing their own thing and our schedules didn’t always overlap. It was ah-mazing. I just felt so…you know. COOL. 

Do you remember how good that felt?

Anyways, part of the cool factor for me was that I wasn’t reliant on my campus meal plan and I had a job, so grocery shopping was sort of a new endeavor. I still get excited about grocery shopping (weird, I know), but when food is kind of your thing, it comes with the territory. And I was a newly declared dietetics & nutrition major, so summer was prime time to get creative with some of the things I was learning at the time. 

However…I had not yet learned that shopping solo looked a little different than shopping with my family. Yep, you probably see where this is going. In my excitement over seeing fresh cherries in the store, I snagged the biggest bag I could find. I really, really wanted those cherries. 

So, for the next few days I had cherries for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and snacks. It was glorious (so long as I didn’t care about leaving traces of cherry juice on everything I touched). I remember my fingers and lips had a semi-permanent stain from the sheer number of cherries I ate that summer. 

That’s right. I never got tired of that summer-sweet flavor and kept sweet cherries stocked in my kitchen until the end of the season. I found other creative ways to enjoy them as snacks, but my go-to was always to simply grab a handful or pack a bag with me wherever I went. Now, I’m a little more strategic when I buy fresh sweet cherries, but that’s something I always think of whenever this time of year rolls around.

When is Cherry Season?

Sweet cherry season can vary slightly depending on the particular variety you’re looking for, but the sweet Northwest-grown cherry season typically runs from late June until the end of August. So, we’re right in the prime of cherry season as we speak! Eighty percent of the U.S. sweet cherries are grown in the Pacific Northwest.  You’ll find them in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Montana, and since the topography changes from state to state, there are cherries ripening on trees throughout the growing season. Cherries can be harvested, packed, and delivered to your grocery store within 2 days – so this is some seriously fresh fruit we’re talking about!

There are multiple variety options – ranging from the brightly colored Rainier cherries that are yellow and pink and easily recognizable to the sweet cherries deep red in color like Bing. 

Are Cherries Good For You?

As a dietitian, I’m #TeamFruit in any form, especially if you like the flavor. But I’m often asked if there’s any health benefit to eating more servings of fruit because of the concern about sugar. Rest assured, even if you were to take a page out of my book and enjoy multiple servings of cherries, they have some proven health benefits. 

Anytime we’re talking about sugar in our diet, I like to share a reminder that the naturally occurring sugar (like what you find in fruit) is not much of a concern. These sugars are actually simple carbohydrates, which happen to be the preferred fuel source for our bodies. Cherries are one of the lowest fruits on the glycemic index, meaning they provide great taste and nutrition with less impact on blood sugar levels than high glycemic index foods.

Choosing fresh, frozen, canned, or dried fruit can supply you with the energy to keep you fueled and full throughout the busy summer months. When it’s packaged up in such an easy-to-eat form, there’s no reason to avoid fruit! In addition to that:

• Sweet cherries can help boost your fiber intake. If you’ve followed me for a while you know I’m constantly talking about fiber. That’s because most of us aren’t eating enough of it! The USDA Dietary Guidelines recommend 25-35 grams per day but even with fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains in my daily rotation, it can be challenging to meet that amount. Sweet cherries are an easy way to get a few extra grams!
• Sweet cherries may help combat inflammation. We hear a lot about inflammation these days, and research shows that cherries contain anthocyanins. These compounds shut down the enzymes that cause tissue inflammation in the exact same way as over-the-counter anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen.
• Sweet cherries might protect against cancer, too. That’s because they contain ellagic acid, which may work to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. 

Sweet Cherries for Summer Snacks

So, don’t be shy about digging into a big bag of sweet cherries this summer! The season doesn’t last long so you’ll want to stock up on this flavorful fruit while you have the chance. Their smaller size makes them easy to adapt to any appetite – unlike larger fruit, you don’t have to worry about generating a lot of food waste if your eyes are bigger than your stomach.

I personally like to portion out a few containers of washed sweet cherries to stack in my fridge. It makes it really easy to grab one off the top before I head off to the gym or start running errands around town. 

As easy as they are to snack on straight out of the bag, they’re also really fun to mix into recipes. These Berry Cherry Overnight Oats make a really simple prep-ahead breakfast, but overnight oats are another quick snack that keeps me fueled for summer workouts or road trips. And as a summer stone fruit, sweet cherries would work great in this Summer Stone Fruit Salad with Burrata, too!

What’s your favorite way to enjoy sweet cherries? Hopefully you can get your fill before the short season is over!

For more information on Northwest Cherries and to learn about the health benefits of cherries, visit NWCherries.com.