Eating seasonally, as the name implies, is all about taking advantage of the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables available at certain times throughout the year. Eating seasonally allows you to enjoy foods at their peak of flavor, since they are picked when ripe and handled with care.
Seasonal food also supports the health of our environment and reduces the amount of energy used, due to less transportation and storage needed for seasonal produce. Plus, investing in local farms helps create healthier communities by keeping money close to home and supporting a sustainable food supply.
Consuming food that is in season helps promote nutritional diversity as well, since classic winter and summer crops can often be found side-by-side in stores and markets during peak harvest times. Eating seasonally yields nutritional benefits too when compared to non-seasonal produce. Seasonal foods harvested locally have higher nutrient values due to shorter time between harvesting them while ripe and getting them to table or shelf. Fruits that are allowed to ripen naturally on the vine instead of being picked green have up to four times more antioxidants than those harvested early. In addition, food grown near you may have additional health benefits due to ideal growing conditions for that location and microclimate could potentially contain more vitamins or antioxidants than those grown in other areas or imported from abroad.
Benefits of Eating Seasonally
Eating seasonally is a great way to enjoy fresh, nutrient-dense foods, as well as support local farmers and reduce your environmental impact. Seasonal eating is when you choose to eat fruits and vegetables that are in season and grown locally. This helps reduce food miles, supports local farmers and helps to ensure that you are eating the freshest, most nutritious produce. Let’s look at some of the other benefits of eating seasonally.
Fresher and Healthier Food
Food that is in season is at its peak and has maximum flavor, nutritional value and freshness. Foods that are grown in their peak season tasted the best, are often cheaper and are even healthier for us. Eating what’s in season draws us out of a reliance of nonseasonal produce, boosting the nutritional content of our diets as well as educating us on what nature has to offer each time of year. In addition, trying new recipes may even provide you with healthy benefits you weren’t aware of or intrigued by before.
During certain seasons certain fruits and vegetables can provide us with higher levels beneficial vitamins such as Vitamin C during winter months when citrus fruits are in peak capacity for example. Many seasonal foods like apples, grapefruit, beetroots and sweet potatoes contain antioxidants that support digestion and promote healthy teeth and gums. Asparagus provides fiber to promote heart health while sweetcorn helps to improve eye sight because it contains lutein yet another powerful antioxidant.
Overall, eating more fresh seasonal food can help boost your overall diet health by improving immunity levels via naturally occurring vitamins resulting from seasonal variety in fruit and vegetable production – one key difference being for example carrots last much longer when stored properly than tomatoes which have a limited shelf life depending on supply factors such as hot weather or unexpected shortages etc.
Supports Local Farmers
Eating seasonally is beneficial for fruits and vegetables grown in your area because it helps support local farmers. This type of consumption is more ethical and sustainable since it reduces the need to use resources such as fossil fuels that are needed to transport food from faraway countries or states. Additionally, eating seasonally often means you’re getting the freshest produce around since most foods arrive quickly from farms near you.
When you buy locally grown food, your dollars directly support small family farms rather than large commercial operations. You know exactly where your produce comes from and have confidence in the quality of what you buy. Eating seasonally also lessens your grocery bill with some items as much as 30–50% off supermarket pricing because you don’t have to pay import fees or transportation costs on produce reaching its peak of freshness.
Reduces Food Waste
Eating seasonally means that fewer resources are needed to feed us, as food produced locally will travel fewer miles to get to the consumer. This ensures that less packaging and other materials need to be used, reducing pollution from the transportation of this food. Additionally, when consumers purchase locally grown foods it helps reinforce the local economy by providing farmers with a larger customer base that is more motivated to buy their products.
One of the most beneficial aspects of eating seasonally is its effect on reducing food waste. When we buy locally produced fruits and vegetables in our supermarkets they are usually loaded with preservatives and other various chemicals which can extend shelf life but at an environmental cost. Buying fermented or canned foods is one solution but this limits our options regarding taste and variety. Eating seasonally allows you to enjoy fresher produce without the chemical additives, meaning there is little waste left in our fridges after a few days — what isn’t consumed eventually can be composted instead! Furthermore local markets often feature imperfect produce which would have otherwise been wasted due to their non-standard looks but still retain their quality; getting more from our natural wealth while reducing food waste!
Reduces Carbon Footprint
Not only does eating seasonal produce reduce your grocery bill, it also has benefits for the environment. Produce that is harvested locally requires less energy to get to your plate than imported fruits and vegetables that cross oceans and multiple state lines. When you buy local food you are reducing the amount of carbon emitted during transport and shipping, which lowers your own carbon footprint.
Additionally, locally grown produce doesn’t have to be sprayed with additional chemicals in order to preserve freshness or keep it looking perfect for long trips across the globe. Imported foods are often sprayed with insecticides, fungicides or other chemicals to help them stay preserved, creating a larger environmental impact as compared with seasonal produce that’s grown locally and picked in its prime. Eating seasonally is also healthier because farmers don’t have to spray their crops with extra pesticides to keep insects away. These chemicals can be dangerous if they seep into underground water supplies and contaminate our drinking water.
How to Eat Seasonally
Eating seasonally is an important way to improve your health as well as the environment. Eating seasonally means eating fruits and vegetables that are in season and native to your region. Eating seasonally allows you to get the freshest produce with the most vitamins and minerals. Additionally, it allows you to support local farmers and cut down on transportation costs and emissions. Let’s talk about how to eat seasonally and the benefits it can provide.
Shop at Local Farmers Markets
Shopping at local farmers markets allows you to reap all the benefits of eating seasonally. You have a greater chance of finding truly fresh and locally grown produce, as well as being able to talk directly to the growers about their farming practices. At a farmers market, fruits and vegetables typically don’t travel far—unlike supermarket produce that might travel hundreds of miles. This means that it’s picked and then sold in its prime—it’s fresher, better tasting, and often times more affordable than the grocery store. Additionally, purchasing from small farms creates an opportunity for you to engage with your food until it reaches your plate.
When you buy local products from farm stands or farmers markets also helps support local agriculture and builds strong relationships between growers and buyers. When you shop at farm stands or farmers markets you not only benefit from fresher produce but also get to know where your food came from, how it was grown (conventional versus organic), what’s in season when and more. Furthermore, buying seasonally often means buying locally which supports small working family farms while conserving resources like petroleum used for transport of goods. Last but not least, buying local produce helps protect regional ecosystems by reducing greenhouse gas emissions released through transport over long distances—allowing us to share sustenance with our communities while preserving our environment for generations to come!
Buy Local and Organic Produce
One of the best ways to eat seasonally and take advantage of the health benefits that seasonal produce offers is to buy local and/or organic produce. Local produce will be fresher, less expensive, and more environmentally friendly than out-of-season produce shipped from overseas. Because it’s fresher, it also has a higher concentration of vitamins and minerals than its out-of-season counterparts.
By buying organic, you are avoiding the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers that may hurt your health and disrupt nature’s delicate balance. An added bonus for organic produce is its flavor – organic produce tends to be riper than its conventional counterpart, so it often has a sweeter taste!
It’s also easy on your wallet since organic products are often cheaper from local producers because they don’t have to ship the product in from distant locations. When you buy locally grown foods you contribute to a more “green” economy where people grow food right in their backyards or community gardens without all the bad toxins of conventional farming methods. Don’t forget to check out your local farmers’ markets and support them as much as possible!
Take Advantage of Seasonal Recipes
Seasonal eating is all about choosing the freshest fruits and vegetables available according to the season. By taking advantage of seasonal recipes, you’ll get the most delicious and nutritious foods, while saving money on your grocery bill. And with new and tasty seasonal recipes popping up each season, there’s always something wonderful to try!
With the bounty of summer produce, try out recipes like Grilled Summer Vegetable Salad, Roasted Ratatouille and other summer vegetable dishes. There are plenty of delicious uses for eggplant, peppers and squash. You can even make salads with fresh berries or create a delectable dessert with stone fruits and berries.
Take advantage of autumn’s harvest bounty and make hearty soups that feature squash or root vegetables as a base for added nutrition. Try this Butternut Squash-Apple Soup or this Sweet Potato-Rosemary Soup with kale chips as a garnish for extra crunch. Fall is also when some of your favorite nuts start appearing on store shelves–perfect for making a satisfying trail mix snack full of protein. Not only will it be delightfully flavorful with its blend of dried fruits and nuts, but it offers many healthful benefits in one package.
Winter brings in citrus fruits from warmer areas so take advantage to add flavor to green salads or use blood oranges in baking meringue tarts or panettone bread pudding. Winter can also provide great opportunities to use root vegetables such as beets or carrots in new ways–try any number of side dishes like Beet Carpaccio paired perfectly with mint oil emulsion or Herb Roasted Rainbow Carrots served with parsley-lentil salad
When spring arrives don’t overlook traditional favorites such as Spinach Frittata Pie that looks gorgeous on presentation platters served hot or cold alongside fresh spring greens salads topped with radishes, cucumbers, onion sprouts and an herb vinaigrette dressing made from freshly mined herbs from your garden (or local farm stand!). Completely shake up traditional brunch fare by trying creative main courses like sweet potato hash topped off with poached eggs accompanied by a creamy dill hollandaise sauce for added flare!
Conclusion
In conclusion, eating seasonally is a wonderful way to nurture both our personal health and the health of our planet. Seasonal eating not only ensures you’re consuming the freshest and most nutritious options available, but also reduces your environmental footprint by reducing food miles, supporting local agriculture, minimizing your contributions to industrial agriculture, and preserving the delicate balance of the global ecosystem.
Eating seasonally may take some getting used to — you may need to broaden your palate or willingness to try new things — but it’s an incredibly rewarding and beneficial endeavor in both the short-term and long-term. Plus, it can also be fun! If you start small by simply committing to seasonal produce from farmers markets or CSA organizations you can make a significant difference in both how healthy your diet is as well as how healthy the environment we all share is. Let’s commit to eating local “right here” and “right now”!