You know the other day when I went to the shop to purchase some veggies I was completely mortified at the price of a particular vegetable that I actually left it. Have you ever noticed why sometimes some fruit and vegetables are so expensive during certain times of the year.
Well the answer is rather simple. That veg was not in season. So I have compiled a little guide for you to show what is currently available locally in Autumn and in Winter.
Here is 3 good reasons as to why a person should also eat what is in season:
1 - It is cost effective:
When produce is in season locally, the abundance of the crop usually makes it less expensive. Think of the
packaged vegetables you sometimes see in a grocery store during the winter - a few
(usually limp) all too frequently with black speckles, maybe a moldy spot or two or three and the cost is far more than the beautiful, bright, crisp vegetables you see in both grocery stores and
at farmers’ markets
in the summer when those vegetables are in season. It’s the basic law of supply and demand, and
when crops are in season you’ll be rewarded financially by purchasing
what’s growing now.
2- Its all in the flavour:
We all love the taste of the food we buy. When food is not in season locally, it’s
either grown in a hothouse or imported from other parts of the world,
and both affect the taste and coins in your pocket. Just think of a sweet ripened juicy red strawberry that is ripened to the fullest, still warm from the summer sun with a winter hothouse strawberry that's is still a bit green, sour, and bland. When transporting fresh produce,
they must be harvested early and refrigerated so they don’t rot during export. They may not ripen as effectively as they would in their
natural environment and as a result they don’t develop their full
flavours.
Fresh and locally harvested foods have their full, wholesome flavours which is then released when we eat them. Chilled and shipped fresh produce loses
flavour. Keeping them cooled lessens their flavour. Transporting them, lessens their flavours. Held in warehouses lessens their flavours. In the end what do we eat? Flavourless fruit and vegetables!! Now i aks you: How can one be enthused and excited about eating "five a day" of flavourless
fruits and vegetables? How can you get your little ones to be enthusiastic about eating fresh fruit and veggies when you give them produce that taste like nothing?!
3 - Nature's Intent to keep us healthy:
"Just because technology makes it possible for us to have oranges summer, doesn't mean we should eat all foods whenever we please. The disadvantages of living in a technologically advanced period with modern day food practices have revealed themselves among us in the form of an increasing number of food intolerance and allergies, higher levels of obesity, modern chronic diseases like type-2 diabetes and much more.
According to many scientists, researchers and natural health experts, eating the right kinds of foods during the right times of year and avoiding them otherwise is crucial to a healthy lifestyle. Seasonal foods are a way of reconnecting with the organic cycle that nature intended for us.
Most grocery stores and food chains jazz up their fruits and vegetables to keep them looking attractive and inviting when they're out of season. This naturally compromises the nutrition level of the food. Non-seasonal foods require bending of nature's rules in order for them to survive the improper season in which they are brought into the world. Therefore, these foods are often full of pesticides, waxes, preservatives and other chemicals that are used in order to make them look fresher than they are.
By eating freshly harvested produce, you will be rotating your foods, thereby keeping your body from developing intolerance's to certain foods and reaping the health benefits of a diet that is diverse and naturally detoxifying. Seasonal foods also have a much higher antioxidant content than non-seasonal foods.
For example, in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), spring is associated with the liver -- one of the body's primary detoxification organs. Synergistically, spring is also the time when dandelion and other bitter greens are fresh and available; these bitter greens support the liver and its function of cleansing the blood." (Sic) Learn More
3 - Nature's Intent to keep us healthy:
"Just because technology makes it possible for us to have oranges summer, doesn't mean we should eat all foods whenever we please. The disadvantages of living in a technologically advanced period with modern day food practices have revealed themselves among us in the form of an increasing number of food intolerance and allergies, higher levels of obesity, modern chronic diseases like type-2 diabetes and much more.
According to many scientists, researchers and natural health experts, eating the right kinds of foods during the right times of year and avoiding them otherwise is crucial to a healthy lifestyle. Seasonal foods are a way of reconnecting with the organic cycle that nature intended for us.
Most grocery stores and food chains jazz up their fruits and vegetables to keep them looking attractive and inviting when they're out of season. This naturally compromises the nutrition level of the food. Non-seasonal foods require bending of nature's rules in order for them to survive the improper season in which they are brought into the world. Therefore, these foods are often full of pesticides, waxes, preservatives and other chemicals that are used in order to make them look fresher than they are.
By eating freshly harvested produce, you will be rotating your foods, thereby keeping your body from developing intolerance's to certain foods and reaping the health benefits of a diet that is diverse and naturally detoxifying. Seasonal foods also have a much higher antioxidant content than non-seasonal foods.
For example, in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), spring is associated with the liver -- one of the body's primary detoxification organs. Synergistically, spring is also the time when dandelion and other bitter greens are fresh and available; these bitter greens support the liver and its function of cleansing the blood." (Sic) Learn More
SUPPORT LOCAL FARMERS AND MARKETS. SOLD FRESH FROM THE LAND, VINE RIPENED, ORGANIC AND FREE RANGE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY GROWN WITH LOVE!!
Here is two helpful resources where a person can purchase fresh local produce:
When I started with this article I was only going to do each season separately but then realized that we are actually closer to winter than autumn so you get a double dose guide. Where does the time go?
AUTUMN:
WINTER
I was actually quiet surprised to see a number of vegetables and herbs that are available in the Winter Months.
So lets start with: Eat local; Eat what’s in season; Eat organic!
Our supermarket doesn't seem to stock anything but the basics and yet the list is actually quite surprisingly long. Definitely worth shopping around.
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