Seasonal eating

Seasonal eating

As a nutritionist today I would love to say few words about seasonal food, seasonal cooking and eating, and the importance of it for our health.

Enjoying every season, it is very important to know how we can nourish our body and how we can keep up with all obstacles that cooler months will bring (talking about flu and viruses). 

Growing up, I didn’t have lot of opportunities to eat and buy berries of all kinds and other sessional products all year around. All my life I was taught that we supposed to eat food that is accessible to us at the moment, the food that can be grown in the garden or on the farm at the particular season.

What is a seasonal eating and why it is so important?

Seasonal eating is a sustainable way of changing our diet that has health advantages by eating   fruits and vegetables that are in season and grown in our geographic area, like eating pears in the fall, strawberries in spring, tomatoes in the summer, and so on.

Seasonal food is a real food that uses all natural elements to grow, without pesticides, herbicides and other toxins. Definitely it is fresher, tastier and more nutritious than food consumed out of season. These seasonal foods provide a diverse range of flavours; often they are richer in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants then the non-season products and also offer the nutritional benefits needed to stay healthy during the colder months.

Each season offers unique varieties of fruits, vegetables, and other culinary delights, encouraging all of us to be creative. But you will ask: What about winter when it’s cold and nothing is growing outside? You are right about that. In winter, we don’t grow fruits and veggies but always we can use a variety of hearty, Rooty and comforting options that thrive in cooler temperatures.

Some common seasonal foods for fall and winter are all root vegetables like carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, Jerusalem artichoke, parsnips. Varieties of squash and pumpkins, apples and pears, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, leek, cabbage and kale are also winter seasonal food that we can incorporate in our diet. They can be roasted, mashed, or used in soups, stews, compote, or deserts.

If you don’t have an access to a local farm or farmer’s market around you always you can buy seasonal products at your closest grocery store or there are lot of farms who do weekly delivery to your home. When buying seasonal food always be mindful to look for the producer origin. Baying local products means you are supporting local farms, community and the environment.

Happy grocery shopping folks, I hope I gave you lots of excellent ideas to change the loop and the habit of eating and preparing meals with seasonal products that are available around in the cooler months.