The Art of Eating Seasonally
With each change in season, it’s not just a reminder to update your wardrobe but it’s also a great opportunity to refresh your grocery list with new seasonal produce.
By expanding our palates and developing a love for local, we’re able to make a big difference in terms of budget, taste, and nutrition, all while reducing the environmental impact of food production.
So, what’s all the fuss about? Let’s explore the top 3 reasons for eating seasonally.
The spice of life
By eating the best of what each season has to offer, you can ensure your body is getting a diverse range of powerful vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Phytonutrients such as beta-carotene and flavonoids are what give your veggies their bright colour and flavour. Not only are they gorgeous to look at, but they’re known to have potent anti-cancer and anti-heart disease effects. Switching up your fruit and vegetable intake with the seasons will naturally help you get the most benefit from phytonutrients. Plus, a diverse intake of fruit and veggies give our gut bacteria the chance to build a wonderfully healthy microbiome.
It tastes better
It’s obvious when you think about it but fruit that hasn’t been handled, frozen, thawed, and carried in the back of a refrigerated van just tastes better!
Seasonal and local produce doesn’t need to travel far to hit your grocery basket, reducing the need for life-extending measures (like picking before it’s ripe) that can impact taste and nutrition! Seasonal produce that is sold locally is harvested at peak maturity, the point in which it is more nutritionally dense. One study has shown that broccoli harvested during peak season locally had double the amount of vitamin C compared to the broccoli harvested and shipped off-season.
Better for the planet, better for the community
Opting for fresh local produce reduces the need for transportation, refrigeration, hothouse gasses and irradiation of season produce. The average Aussie produce travels over 70,000 kilometres to get to our baskets. By working with nature and not against it, we can cut down this number significantly, reducing gas emissions in the process. Not just this, but purchasing produce locally is an incredible opportunity to support your local Aussie farmer. When you purchase food that’s in season from local farms, you’re supporting both local farmers and the local economy.
Building a seasonal purchasing habit may take some commitment and a little bit of research but it’s well worth it. Your health and the planet will thank you!
