We’ve said it once, and we’re here to say it again. Eating in season is so good for us and a great way to make your home healthier and more sustainable.
As we’ve learned from the people willing to trade their law degree to become a chicken farmer, eating in season will save you money because produce in bountiful supply doesn’t cost as much as a new Tesla. Yikes.
Environmental Benefits of Eating In Season
Eating in season supports the environment by lowering the gasses emitted to grow and transport our food. It takes a lot of energy to grow and harvest food that wouldn’t naturally be growing at a certain time of year.
Long before we could just walk into a grocery store and buy whatever fruit or vegetable we wanted, humans were forced to eat what could be locally sourced and grown. This is why eating according to the season helps support local farmers.
Check your labels to be sure your produce is coming as close to home as possible. The less your food travels to your plate, the better for the environment and you.
Physiological Benefits of Eating In Season
I was shocked to learn that foods lose their nutritional value the longer they travel and sit on a store shelf. One study found that leafy greens lost almost 50% of their original vitamin C after transport, storage, and 3 days of sitting on the grocery store shelf. Eaks!
It’s so disheartening to think of the time and energy I have invested in getting my family to eat their veggies, only to learn maybe they weren’t as nutrient-rich as I may have thought. The good news is that foods that are grown closer to home are not only healthier but actually taste better too.
Our bodies actually need different nutrients at different times of the year, which also correlate with foods grown at that time of the year. It’s also a fun way to get out of the rut of making the same things over and over again.
Switch up your rotating menu with winter favorites like soups, morning porridges, and root veggies to boost your immunity during the classic sick months.
Winter Seasonal Foods
We often associate winter foods with the holidays, but there are lots of other delicious winter meals worth making after the holidays have passed. Most of these winter vegetables are often ingredients included in warming soups and cozy comfort foods. Winter is best for eating vegetables like:
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Brussel sprouts
- Cabbage
- Kale
- Pumpkin
Winter is also a good time for fruits. Just because it’s chilly, don’t discount some citrusy favorites. Winter is the time to eat fruits like:
- Apples
- Bananas
- Grapefruit
- Pineapples
- Pears
- Kiwi
Guides like this one are great resources for learning what foods are specific to each season. The Farmers Almanac is a long trusted source on planting calendars and offers guidance for eating in season all year long.
Favorite In-Season Winter Recipes
These are a couple of my favorite winter meals featuring in-season ingredients.
This Gnocchi with Spinach and Chicken Sausage is delicious and quick for a weeknight dinner. Gnocchi is shelf stable, and sausage is more shelf stable than other meats and can be frozen for freshness, making this recipe easy to keep ingredients on hand for.
Pressure cookers are a gift from the kitchen gods, am I right, or am I right? This scrumptious Pressure Cooker-Saucy Italian Chicken packs lots of flavor with minimal ingredients.
Coming in at ‘almost as easy as the pressure cooker’ oven bake casserole recipe, try this Loaded Cauliflower Casserole recipe. With a little cheddar cheese and bacon, it’s sure to please the range of palates in the family. Bacon can be omitted to make this a vegetarian meal. In this case consider adding in some nutritional yeast which brings nutritional benefits and will blend well with the cheddar
Winter invites us to cozy up with our people and snuggle in with some of our favorite winter dishes.
What are some of your favorite winter recipes?
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