Nature is blessing us with thousands of vegetables and fruits every year. They come to serve us in rotation according to the season. You find some vegetables in spring but not in the winter. It depends on the weather and the temperature that affect their growth. This article will carry you through the benefits of eating seasonal food and a Seasonal Food List to help you to shop the right products at the right time!
Nature provides seasonal food for good!
As you know, nature is clever! Thus, it intends to help us in getting better nutrition according to the season. With different dietary pattern, it provides us the best health benefits in order to survive (more or less fats, vitamins, carbs, and protein). Indeed, our food intake is synchronised with the natural world. The key here is to balance our body with nature!
Moreover, eating seasonally makes your menu variety more interesting and fun! You can polish your cooking skills with new groceries and make the best out of it! Attitude Organic wants to help you in conscious shopping and shares with you a Seasonal Food List below.
Seasonal Food List
Next question you have in mind now might what kind of seasonal food list do you need? The answer is coming!
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Spring Seasonal Food (March-May)
The weather is great for harvesting and consuming any green leafy vegetables and fresh fruits! Go for spinach, romaine lettuce, parsley, basil, asparagus, beets, celery, cherries, peas, rhubarb, spring onion, strawberries, turnips, oranges, apricots, kiwi fruit, leeks, and other green food!
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Summer Season Food (June-August)
We need to stick to cooling and nutritious vegetables and fruits to help us fight the heat from within! Opt for pear, plum, apple, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, summer squash, watermelon, broccoli, cucumber, artichokes, aubergine, rhubarb, nectarines, peaches, peppers, sweetcorn, tomatoes, zucchini, leafy green lettuce, mint, basil, cauliflower, salad onions, broad beans and green beans.
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Autumn Food In Season (September-November)
The weather starts to feel a little bit cold and the days get shorter. Start slow with warming fruits and vegetables as a transition from hot weather to a colder one. This includes figs, plum, persimmons, apples, beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflowers, field mushrooms, sweetcorn, celeriac, potatoes, winter squash, kale, onions, blackberries, garlic, squashes, sweet potatoes, and ginger.
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Winter Season Food (December-February)
Winter is definitely the coldest season of all! Therefore, it is important to eat rich food cooked with herbs and spices to warm us up! This includes apple, brussels sprout, celeriacs, carrots, cabbage, celery, citrus fruit, leeks, radishes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, turnips, spinach, ginger, pears, and winter squash.
Benefits of Eating Seasonally
Eating according to the season is healthy, good for the environment and better for people.
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Saving money to eat healthier food
The higher the supply, the cheaper the price. Buying what’s in store according to the season means that the food supply is at its peak. It also implies that it is cheaper to harvest the food as the season is suitable!
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Support local and sustainable farmers
If you buy locally, you probably get better quality while supporting the life of local farmers and the surrounding communities. You probably also buy more organically produced vegetables and fruits. This is ethically right and obviously healthier.
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Eating food at its peak of freshness
Again, this one is quite obvious. Seasonal food is grown during its ideal period. Thus it contains the best nutrition for our body. Also, the food is grown near you so the distribution process does not reduce its quality and freshness. After all, eating fresh food is a good way to invest in a you health, don’t you think?
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Avoid products contamination from overseas
If we import food, you are not sure about the harvest process, right? Organic apples imported from another country may be labelled organic, but how about their freshness? Does the ‘organic’ quality meet your usual healthy consumption? What kind of ‘organic’ regulation the origin country has?
Additionally, we also have to think about the hygiene practices of the exporting country. Is their soil contaminated? Is there any additional chemical to make the food looks tastier? These are definitely the questions we need to ask as a conscious buyer!
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Seasonal Food Is Environmentally friendly
If you truly care about the environment, it is also fair to ask about the CO2 emission of the food transportation. Does it worth importing the food we temporarily crave while harming the environment? We could just eat what the nature give us whilst supporting local farmers.
We hope that your learn a lot reading this article. If you want to know more, read our Healthy Food category!
