What is Seasonal Eating?

Seasonal Eating is choosing in-season produce when it is at its freshest and harvest ready.

Let’s kick 2020 off with our first blog post! Let’s straight into Seasonal Eating. I can’t think of a better topic to kick things off than to introduce a way of getting the most out of your groceries while saving some coins. It’s not something super revolutionary but it is another tool to expand our plant-forward way of thinking about food.

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Did you know citrus is best in the winter months? Citrus fruit like grapefruit, blood oranges, and tangerines to name a few are more sweet, very juicy, and super aromatic in the winter season which will bring out the best in your dishes. Cant forget the benefits of good ol vitamin C to help ward off colds.

Here are a few things to think of when it comes to seasonal eating.

• Location. Where are your groceries being sourced, domestic or imported? What is your distance from that particular part of the country? Far north, midwest, the west siiide, dirty south, or are you rocking with the east? This is important because you want to think about where your food is being sourced from. It may sound like a lot of trouble but think of it this way, if you live far north in the New England area yet your food is sourced in Mexico, well friend that’s a mighty long way for “fresh produce”. Suddenly your produce isn’t so fresh is it? This also may be a large contributor of why your produce doesn’t last long once you get it home as the expiration clock has already began ticking.

• Shop with your local farmers, starting with your local farmers market. Pro tips to shopping at your local farmers markets; go towards the end of the day. Most farmers do not want to take their harvest back with them so ask for a bargain but be mindful this is how they “eat” so if its 2/$1 and there are 4 left ask if they’ll take $1.50 for all 4 items. You could be like me and ask how much for the last 4? Put a little pressure on em. TAKE CASH its easier to bargain with the money in your face then to offer up a piece of plastic.

• Use the internet. There are some good articles to read to further your knowledge and go deeper on the benefits of seasonal eating. I was able to find out more about what was available to me locally from this super handy seasonal guide here.

By utilizing these helpful tips, I have been able to maximize my dollar a little further while developing better relationships with the farmers/vendors at my local farmers markets. It also doesn’t hurt to be more intentional with not only buying food but eating it, promoting a healthier plant-forward lifestyle.

If you start to be more intentional at start Seasonal Eating be sure to tag @revolutionofplants on Instagram! I’d love to see!