By being mindful of your food choices, you’ll be surprised at how many benefits a varied diet can provide your body with, such as vitamins and minerals that you might not otherwise had.
By doing your little bit for the planet – you don’t have to completely change how you live or even your eating habits -just with a few small and simple changes, like cutting out meat for 2 weeks out a month or shopping locally (farmers markets) instead at supermarkets can make a difference. And also eating seasonal produce, as nature intended, you are not only helping to support local businesses but also reducing your carbon footprint by almost a tonne a year.
Did you know? here in the UK, only around 23% of our fruit and veg are eaten seasonally; which means that the rest is imported from other countries – which can be very pricey, and not only that the produces will lose a bunch of vitamins and minerals during transport and storage. Therefore, eating local produce is not only better for your wallet – and your bank balance will thank you later- it also reduces your environmental impact, plus you’ll be benefiting a lot more from locally sourced foods.
What Is It Meant By Eating Seasonally/How Do You Do It?
Without me writing a large paragraph and boring you, seasonal eating involves reconnecting yourself with nature’s rhythms and only eating what harvest locally right now – meaning the product will be fresher and packed with flavour, so no artificial flavours, and fewer carbon emissions…win, win!
It’s gotten so easy to grab whatever we fancy at our local 24hr supermarkets all year round, which has made us so used to having whatever types of produce, this causes a big disconnect between what’s in season and what’s not.
Ways To Eat Seasonally
Check the labels- When you are out shopping in-store, take a look at the labels and see what origin the produce comes from. This will help you to make an informed decision about what you are buying.
Have considered purchasing wonky fruit and veg – For some crazy reason, our food system prefers good looking produce rather than tasty and sustainability, this means that alot of prefectly nutritious food goes to waste every year -approx about 3 million tonnes of fruit and veg before it even leave the farm.
So the next time you going shopping, look out for wonky fresh produce (fruit & veg), you can make a positive import whilst still getting fresh ‘n’ tasty produce.
Shop at your local farmer’s market – By shopping at a local farmer’s market, means that you are supporting the local economy, climate and the opportunity to ask questions and find out what processes have been taken to grow and harvest your food.
Grow your own – You really don’t need to a large garden, allotment or even green fingers, instead all you need is a small outdoor space; like a balcony or windowsill. From kale to watercress, chillies to radishes, garlic to chives, tomatoes to carrots, micro green to edible flowers, you really can’t get more local than your very own windowsill.
What And When To Eat
SPRING – Carrot | Cauliflower | Cucumber | Asparogus | Curly Kale | Savoy Cabbage | Spring Onions | Watercress | Spinach | Gooseberries | Rhubard | Lamb | Purple Sprouting Brocoli
SUMMER – Broad Beans | Cauliflower | Beetroots | Carrots | Cucumber | Fennel | Courgettes | Peas | Garlic | New Potatoes | Green Beans | Lettuce & Salad Leaves | Runner Beans | Salad Onions | Squash | Tomatoes | Watercress | Blueberries | Elderflower | Figs | Plums | Raspberries | Strawberries
AUTUMN – Lettuce | Marrow | Field Mushrooms | Rocket | Potatoes | Pumpkins | Sweetcorn | Apples | Elderberries | Damsons | Pears | Plums | Sloes
Venison | Oyster | Brill | Grouse | Skate
WINTER – Cabbage | Carrots | Brussels Sprouts | Pears | Cauliflower | Curly Kale | Fennel | Leeks | Parnsips | Potatoes | Red Cabbage | Turnips | Apple
Goose | Turkey | Venison | Scallops | Partridge | Pheasant
