The United States is a culture of “want it all, have it all” but what many Americans don’t realize is that this comes at a very high cost to your health and ultimately your life. Seasonal produce is called “seasonal” for a reason. You’re supposed to eat is when it’s in season. Even though I admit I get cravings for strawberries and cream in January, I know that it is unnatural for those strawberries to be in the market that time of year because it’s not the correct season for that fruit. Why not just wait until summer to have a delicious, fresh bowl of strawberries. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder. If there were no strawberries available in January we would all be so excited about them in the summer!
Eating seasonal goes hand in hand with eating local, which means buying fruits and vegetables that are grown in our area. This can reduce or even eliminate the impact on the environment from produce traveling thousands of miles to get to your table.
Eating seasonal also provides the opportunity to try new things you never thought you might like and to try all those recipes from your Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I recently discovered how delicious parsnip puree can be and have also become a pumpkin and winter squash cooking expert. In the summer, I eat fresh tomatoes every day and jar as many as possible to use over the cold months. Everything tastes better when it’s in season!
I would suggest you try it, or just make an effort to change your habits when going to the market. Buy produce when it’s in season in your area instead of buying produce that comes from 3,000 miles away., just because it's cheaper. The 30 cents you save is translated to gallons and gallons of gas used for that vegetable to travel to you and is thousands of dollars less for that local farmer whose only means of survival is to grow and sell one or 2 particular things.
Here is a very helpful link that tells you what is in season in your area. Happy shopping, and most of all happy and healthy eating!
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