Why buy in-season produce? (and a recipe!)
It’s harder to stick to buying in-season produce during the late fall and winter months, but being conscious of what’s in season when is important - here are a few reasons why:
Cost effectiveness
In season produce is easier to produce locally, so it typically has to travel a shorter distance to get to the store. As fewer environmental and economic resources are used to get it to the store you’re shopping at, it tends to be more affordable. If the perceived high cost of eating healthy is stopping you or someone you know from eating enough vegetables, this is one way to lessen the financial burden.Taste
In season vegetables tend to taste a lot better as they are harvested closer to their peak flavor/ripeness. This means you’ll enjoy them more and you’re less likely to want to add excess butter, sugars, salts, etc to compensate for blandness.
Environmental impact
In season produce can be farmed more locally, that means fewer miles spent in transit and/or fewer resources used to farm the produce (plants can thrive outdoors rather than in a greenhouse, less water used in irrigation, etc). Plus, while the US has enforced standards for pesticide use, not all other countries have the same laws to regulate the use of pesticides on conventionally farmed produce (important for health and the environment).
Nutrient profile
This is the one most people don’t know about! In addition to the pesticide issue I just mentioned, after produce is harvested it’s micronutrient content begins to decline. For example, one study found that the off-season broccoli contained only about half of the vitamin C found in the local, in-season broccoli (Wunderlich et al., 2008). Its best to choose fresh, local produce and if that’s not an option, frozen produce often has a better nutrient profile than imported/non local produce. It’s flash frozen in facilities near where the produce was farmed and the freezing process preserves the nutrient profile (unlike canning, which depletes nutrients and requires preservatives).
Now, how do you know what’s in season?
Check out the graphics in this post and use them for reference (see the link in the caption and print them if you’d like). These graphics provide some useful examples of the type of fruits and vegetables that are in season but is by no means an extensive list.
Massaged kale salad on my table the other night.
Recipe of the week!
One of my go-to fall and winter salad recipes (pictured here with a shrimp pasta on my table the other night). I found this recipe years ago (back in college) with a simple google search for “healthy kale salad” (really this is how I find a lot of the vegetable recipes that I end up repeating).
Kale is in season in the late fall (and in much of California it grows well through the winter months), plus it’s usually cheaper and lasts longer in your fridge than spring mix.
This dressing is easy to make and helps break down the kale leaves so they aren’t quite so tough. Plus, the toppings include pepitas (a crunchy seed that’s also in season). This recipe recommends mango, but you can sub that for an in season fruit of your choice (maybe guava or a citrus).
Again, you can get the recipe by clicking here.
In season fruits and vegetables, find the full article on these graphics and links to printable versions here.