Does Local and Seasonal Eating Matter?
The first strawberries of the season. Fresh, beautiful farmers’ market tomatoes - still warm from the sun.
If you are anything like us, your Instagram feeds are full of foodie posts about the joy of eating fresh, local, and seasonal foods. And for good reason. In a world where you can get any food, from anywhere, at any time - there is something wonderful about eating based on what’s freshest, and best, at any specific time of year.
But it’s easy to take this obsession too far. While fresh, local food is delicious - and often full of nutrients - there are plenty of other healthy ways to fuel. Here are our four commandments of fresh, local food:
Find (and Eat!) What You Enjoy
Eating seasonally - by visiting a farmers’ market or subscribing to a community supported agriculture (CSA) program - can be a great way to discover new ingredients. But so can perusing the aisles of your supermarket or specialty grocery store.
The key thing is to seek variety and find the healthy foods - fruits and veggies, whole grains, healthy fats, proteins - that you, specifically, enjoy.
Cut Yourself Some Slack
Summer tomato salads, asparagus in the spring, apples in the fall - even a tasty root vegetable soup in the winter. There are real joys in seasonal eating. But let’s be honest - eating radishes all winter may eventually get old. So stay away from absolutes. Eating more local and seasonal food does not mean you have to eat only local and seasonal foods.
Remember the Freezer
Frozen foods get a bad rep. Yet frozen fruits and vegetables are packed with nutrients - often preserved within hours of being picked - and they are available year round, convenient to use, and will keep for months at home.
So be sure to stock your freezer with unprocessed, frozen fruits and veggies - (you can also freeze surplus from the farmers market!) and then include them in a new fun recipe.
Grow (Some of) Your Own
Nobody is going to grow all of their own food. But planting a few edibles can be a great way to reconnect with the seasons. Perennial herbs like rosemary or chives, fruit bushes like blueberries, or a few tomato plants in the summer—you can be ambitious or as lazy as you like.
The goal is not to eliminate the grocery shop. It’s simply to have some fun, get outside, and reconnect with how your food is grown.
Feel Free to Give Up. (For real!)
Don’t care about fresh, local food? That’s totally OK. It’s possible to eat an entirely healthy diet based just on what you get at your local, big box store. In terms of health, it’s far more important that you eat a good mix of vegetables, fruits, proteins, whole grains and healthy fats. So find a way of eating that works for you. (And don’t let Instagram tell you otherwise!)
In the spirit of embracing our approach to delicious and nutritious food, regardless of its origin, here’s a recipe you can make with either fresh and seasonal - or frozen and prepackaged foods. Enjoy!
A Year Round (or Seasonal!) Smoothie
1/2 cup - Greek yogurt
1 cup- Fresh, seasonal berries - OR - frozen, prepackaged berries.
1 cup - Fresh, seasonal greens like spinach or kale - OR frozen, prepackaged spinach or kale
1-2 TB- Nut butter
1/s cup - Ice cubes (more if you are using fresh, unfrozen ingredients)
1 cup water or milk of your choice
Instructions:
Simply place all items in a blender and blend. Pour in a glass and enjoy. (If you want to make it Instagram friendly, you can garnish it with a few berries or a mint leaf or two…)
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